this has probably been covered before, but i cant find the answers i need by searching.
i drive a 1977 1/2 f250 4x4. 4 speed manual transmission, (i think its a T-18), and NP205 transfer case. i have never used 4 wheel drive before and im a bit confused. the **** on my transfer case is marked like this: L, 1, 2, 3, R, but i can only push the lever forward and back, as if i only had 4hi, 2wd, and 4lo. is my **** incorrect or do i have transfer case problems. i had the bearings done in it when i had the tranny rebuilt, but havent used the four wheel drive until last night. i locked in the hubs, pushed the transfer case lever forward and put the transmission is 2nd, (1st in my truck is the granny gear), i drove it a bit but was afraid to gas it as i dont know if im over revving the transfer case or what.
can someone tell me the proper procedure for shifting my truck into four wheel drive? and how to shift the transfer case while in 4x4, if thats even possible. please help, the bug has bitten me hard and i want to climb some hills!

 

well i have some pretty good news for you. a LOT and i mean a LOT of hard core rock crawlers and mud boggers use the 205 in there trucks and in stock form the 205 can easily handle up to like 5-600 horsepower. you'd have to be beating it like a redheaded stepchild to break it (no offense to anyone... just a figure of speech).

your shift pattern shoule be 4HI-2HI-N-4Lo

BTW...welcome to the addiction

-cutts-

 

It sounds like somebody slapped some sort of transmission **** on your transfer case lever. All the way forward (towards the wheel) should be 2H, then one back from that should be 4H. Now you have to do some sort of extra movement (Push down, pull to the side, something - have to ask somebody who has an NP205, I have a BW u nit) before you can get the bugger all the way into neutral. Then from there you can get it into 4Low after anotherpull backwards towards you.

 

i have been driving the truck in the middle, if i have my hubs in the "free" position, am i turning the front axle?

 

I always thought that transfer case shift patterns were the same, just as the basic automatic setup: PRND. Guess not. To find 2H find a friend and have them watch as you rock back and forth. If the front driveshaft spins, its a 4WD, and as long as your moving you know you're not in neutral. Once you rock forward with no driveshaft movement you're good. ^_^

 

no the 203 and the 205 are very different. 2wd should be right next to N so if you are driving in the middle then you should be driving in 2wd! theoretically of course

-cutts-

 

cutts is right in his first post don't be afraid of stepping on the gas with that transfer case it definatly is not the weak link especially if you have had the bearings replaced, I run a np205 in my truck and it never sees anything but full throttle (well maybe when I load it on the trailer)
Another way to check to see if you are actually in 2wd and don't have a friend handy to watch the front drive shaft is turn the engine off, put the trans in any gear unlock the hubs crawl under the truck and try and turn the front drive shaft by hand if it moves you either in nuetral or 2wd if it doesn't your in 4x4

 

The 205 is gear driven....wouldn't the gear inside the transfer case on the front output limit it from moving and keep it locked?

 

I don't normally pick on you but this one is too easy think about it for a minute
no if that gear were to stop it from turning then you would either have a situation were if you left the hubs locked in and the tcase in 2wd something is gonna break or it would be in4wd all the time. So the answer to that one is no it will not stop it from turning, you will just be turning the gears in the case too (plus the ones in the differential)

 

thanks for all the responses! all of you!
monsterbaby, i will try to turn the driveshaft when i get off of work. if i remember correctly, i was able to turn it one time when i was under the truck.
any more word on which gear i should be in for what speed? again, i have never driven a 4 wheel drive and i need some instruction on how and when to shift. these questions may seem stupid to some of you, but here goes. if i am in 4low, can i use all 4 of my transmissions gears? same question with regards to 4hi? if i want to go in reverse, is there a reverse on the t-case or can i just use the tranny? if you read my orig. post, you will notice that my t-case **** seems to be incorrect. mine says that my t-case has reverse. a friend at work just told me that in his old ford, he used the tranny gear shift in 2 and the t-case shifter when in 4.
thanks in advance

 

I think someone else posted it but ignore the **** on the tcase shifter I think that the original one has gotten lost and someone threaded a **** off of a transmission shifter onto it, so what is printed on it has no bearing on anything, if you need to write it down, and tape it to your dash but it should be all the way forward 4hi, one back 2hi, next position N, and all the way back 4lo, I might be exactly backward on that but I think that is right (I don't even have the shift lever in mine)
as to the rest of your question no there is not a reverse in the t-case, put it in whatever range you think is appropriate for the type of wheeling you are doing, and use your tranny gears to change speeds or back up just like you are in 2wd. if you find that you are having to stay in granny or second all the time you might want to switch to 4lo, and if you are in 4lo and always in 4th gear then maybe you should switch to 4hi you just have to kinda get a feel for when to use each of the ranges

 

ok here is a rundown...BTW there is no stoopid question here (unless it has been asked repeatedly and we keep answering it)!!!

ok you have your motor, which as you know powers everything on the truck

next you have your transmission. this handy lil device is used to take the power the motor gives off and turn it into power that the truck can use. if you had just a driveshaft hooked to the back of the motor you'd have a hard time starting and stopping and could only go so fast! not to mention you wouldn't have much of a reverse gear in it

the transfer case is what divides the power that comes out of the transmission and distributes it to either both front and rear axles in high range, both axles in low range (a low set of gears when all you want is pure torque and not much wheel speed), neutral for when you want to disengage the driveline but have the transmission still in a gear (handy for being able to bleed a tranny out after draining all the fluid out), and finally 2 wheel high for the rear for normal street driving.

it's nothing conplicated once you look at it from a couple of different perspectives.

my biggest and most common piece of advice i give to newbies (not an offensive term, only true!) is just to get out there and try it out! if you are gonna break something in your driveway playing with the transmisson and t-case then you need to upgrade anyways! better in the drive than out on the interstate or on the trail! also remember that with your setup it'd be pretty dang hard to mess something up. you should see me doing 2500 RPM clutch drops in my truck (i have no clutch, lol)

-cutts-

 

Now I know. You're right...in that case if the hubs were thrown then you'd have the differential ripping up on the TC.

I brought the picking on myself. =P

 

Okay i'm thinking that the 205 shift pattern didn't change from 76 to 77 1/2 but on my 76 hiboy from front to back is the 4L N 2H 4H there is no pushing down or to the side you either push it forward or pull it back.

 

no your right I had written it then realized that I thought that looked backwards, and added that but like I said my truck with the 205 in it doesn't even have the shift lever anymore, and stays locked in 4lo all the time so was just putting it backwards thanks for correcting that in a clear manner