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1987 Transfer Case Removal with Pics

LeoneSM

LeoneSM

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I removed my transfer case over the weekend to resolve some leaks and thought I would post a detailed guide. I searched here prior to doing this and saw a lot of conflicting answers and ambiguity. My truck is a 1987 with a 700R4 and an NP208 transfer case. It really was a pretty simple process and I had it out in an hour and a half or so without any help. This was the first time I'd done this on a square body and really wasn't a big deal. Here's my steps:

I did not have to remove the crossmember or put a jack under the transmission. Everything stayed in place with the exception of the transfer case and associated parts.

1. Drain transfer case. The drain plug is the large 30mm bolt on the rear side of the case.



2. Remove front driveshaft. Remove bolts on flanged end first and then at axle. Be careful not to allow U-joint cap to come off if you're reusing them.

3. Remove rear driveshaft. Remove bolts at rear axle and then slide the yoke out of the transfer case. You'll have fluid coming out of the case at the rear output.

4. Remove 4WD indicator light plug. This is located on top of the transfer case and has a small clip that you'll need to pull out on to release it.



5. Remove nut and washer for shifter linkage. Note that this bracket has a slot that will have to be realigned when you put it back together.



6. Remove two large bolts for brace that goes to bellhousing.

7. Remove bolt holding speedometer gear. The bolt comes out along with a small Y shaped bracket that holds the gear in place. Gently slide the gear out. Note that there are tabs on the gear housing that the bracket seats into. I pulled the gear and housing aside and hung it over my exhaust.

8. Remove six bolts on back of transmission to transfer case adapter. Make sure you have a drain pan below because you're about to make a mess. The transmission output shaft will hold the transfer case up with the bolts removed.



At this point you can slide the transfer case off and out from under the truck. I was on a creeper and just bench pressed it onto my chest and then set it onto a small furniture dolly to move it around and work on it. I did set it upright and blocked it up on 2x4s when I split the case open.

I would suggest working on a tarp or some type of drop cloth. I split the case open and resealed it and then replaced all the rest of the seals while it was out. I made a huge mess on top of a drop cloth and then wrapped it all up and threw it away at the end of the day. If you're doing this, invest a few bucks in a seal puller to make your life easier and avoid marring the surfaces. All of the rest of this can be done with basic hand tools. The only somewhat oddball socket size is the 30mm drain/fill plugs. You can use a crescent wrench if you don't have it. I ordered a seal kit from American Powertrain Warehouse that had almost everything I needed as well as some that I didn't. It did not have the seal for the front output and I had to get that from O'Reillys as well as RTV. I had a rubber gasket between the transfer case and the transmission adapter and chose to clean that up and reuse it as opposed to the paper gasket provided.

Putting it back in place is simply the reverse. I filled mine up with about 5 quarts of ATF (until it starts coming back out the fill plug) and topped off the transmission.

-Steve
 
LeoneSM said:
I removed my transfer case over the weekend to resolve some leaks and thought I would post a detailed guide. I searched here prior to doing this and saw a lot of conflicting answers and ambiguity. My truck is a 1987 with a 700R4 and an NP208 transfer case. It really was a pretty simple process and I had it out in an hour and a half or so without any help. This was the first time I'd done this on a square body and really wasn't a big deal. Here's my steps:

I did not have to remove the crossmember or put a jack under the transmission. Everything stayed in place with the exception of the transfer case and associated parts.

1. Drain transfer case. The drain plug is the large 30mm bolt on the rear side of the case.



2. Remove front driveshaft. Remove bolts on flanged end first and then at axle. Be careful not to allow U-joint cap to come off if you're reusing them.

3. Remove rear driveshaft. Remove bolts at rear axle and then slide the yoke out of the transfer case. You'll have fluid coming out of the case at the rear output.

4. Remove 4WD indicator light plug. This is located on top of the transfer case and has a small clip that you'll need to pull out on to release it.



5. Remove nut and washer for shifter linkage. Note that this bracket has a slot that will have to be realigned when you put it back together.



6. Remove two large bolts for brace that goes to bellhousing.

7. Remove bolt holding speedometer gear. The bolt comes out along with a small Y shaped bracket that holds the gear in place. Gently slide the gear out. Note that there are tabs on the gear housing that the bracket seats into. I pulled the gear and housing aside and hung it over my exhaust.

8. Remove six bolts on back of transmission to transfer case adapter. Make sure you have a drain pan below because you're about to make a mess. The transmission output shaft will hold the transfer case up with the bolts removed.



At this point you can slide the transfer case off and out from under the truck. I was on a creeper and just bench pressed it onto my chest and then set it onto a small furniture dolly to move it around and work on it. I did set it upright and blocked it up on 2x4s when I split the case open.

I would suggest working on a tarp or some type of drop cloth. I split the case open and resealed it and then replaced all the rest of the seals while it was out. I made a huge mess on top of a drop cloth and then wrapped it all up and threw it away at the end of the day. If you're doing this, invest a few bucks in a seal puller to make your life easier and avoid marring the surfaces. All of the rest of this can be done with basic hand tools. The only somewhat oddball socket size is the 30mm drain/fill plugs. You can use a crescent wrench if you don't have it. I ordered a seal kit from American Powertrain Warehouse that had almost everything I needed as well as some that I didn't. It did not have the seal for the front output and I had to get that from O'Reillys as well as RTV. I had a rubber gasket between the transfer case and the transmission adapter and chose to clean that up and reuse it as opposed to the paper gasket provided.

Putting it back in place is simply the reverse. I filled mine up with about 5 quarts of ATF (until it starts coming back out the fill plug) and topped off the transmission.

-Steve
Click to expand...
OOOOOK, hows about a summary of the np208 overhaul?
 
Thanks dude. Since I have an 88, this might come in handy. I have a SM465, but shouldn't make much difference.
 
4xfrankie said:
OOOOOK, hows about a summary of the np208 overhaul?
Click to expand...

I didn't actually overhaul the case, just replaced seals and redid the RTV. I had a small leak where the case halves came together and tried to patch it without pulling the transfer case. I drained the case and used RTV around the outside and fixed that one. When I filled the case back up, I had fluid spraying everywhere from the front output. I'm guessing that it had leaked in the past and the fluid level wasn't high enough to leak prior to me filling it up. Once I topped it off, the bad front seal showed itself. I bought this truck about a month ago so I don't really know the full history. Since I had the case out already, I decided to go ahead and open it up to fix the initial leak the right way.

Here's a photo of the case split open. There are two slots on the ends that are used to pop the case open and two locating pins/threaded barrels to line the case halves up. You can see one of the barrels in the bottom of the photo and the other is on the opposite end. These two bolts are a little longer than all the rest when you take it apart. I cleaned the mating surfaces, used a good dose of RTV and put them back together. My magnet was pretty clean and everything looked good. That spring/washer deal in the middle was a little tricky but you can get eye level with it to make sure it goes back together properly.


 
Last edited:
I just did a simular thing to my NP205, but no case split because there is no case to split, just access plates. I bought a complete re-seal kit for it, which came with all the yoke seals, and hub / access plate gaskets for $23. Since my NP205 has never been taken apart since coming off the assembly line, getting the old gasket materail off the yoke hubs was a beeeaaatch. driving all the 25-year old seals out of the yoke hubs was fun too.
 
1-ton said:
I just did a simular thing to my NP205, but no case split because there is no case to split, just access plates. I bought a complete re-seal kit for it, which came with all the yoke seals, and hub / access plate gaskets for $23.
Click to expand...

You have a part number for that seal kit?
 
Hey guys,
I know this thread is a few months old now. But, I just recently bought the same year and have no history on the truck. I have been going through everything and doing complete services on it. Transfer case with on the agenda last night, I guess one of the previous owners didn't have a 30MM socket to get the fill plug off an by the looks of it resorted to a hammer and chisel after an adjustable wrench rounded it off. Any ideas how to get it off - it is completed rounded off with big chunks knocked out of the sides.
 
Your best best is probably vise grips and then go buy a new plug.
 
plug weld a big nut to it ? ? ? like we do with broken bolts the head poped off on .

or a read good pipe wrench and a dead blow hammer .
 
sweetk30 said:
plug weld a big nut to it ? ? ? like we do with broken bolts the head poped off on .

or a real good pipe wrench and a dead blow hammer .
Click to expand...

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^. The right size pipe wrench should work, with a cheater bar if necessary.
 
Thanks for all the help, the pipe wrench worked - but still a pain in the arse. Buying a welder next week - new skill to learn!!!
So, on to the next issue:
Finally got the fill plug out and the case was over filled with fluid, about 3/4 quart came out the fill plug. Drained the fluid and found a lot of metal shavings, metal chunks, and some rubber (looked like black RTV) in the bottom of the case. The last time I drove the truck, after about 2 miles - at a stop sign the transfer case slipped into to neutral - well that is what I thought happened anyway - now I find this. So, a few questions: Based on the experience on this forum can you answer the following or need more info: 1. do I need to pull it and take it apart to see what is actually going on? 2. Is the transfer case something worth rebuilding vs. replacing? 3. If yes, on a scale of 1-10 what is the skill needed to rebuild - my mechanical skill is about a 5 (but learning everyday)

Going Premium Member as soon as I can remember my PayPal account info - I will post some pictures then.
 
sounds like your 208 is ready to BLOW UP . . . . . I had one pop out of gear a few times . only way to move was 4wd low range .

pulled the drain plug and dark fluid and lots of junk and needle bearings .

if you start looking for another case try and find a 241 over a 208 much better and lot less problems . also basic direct swap bolt in .
 
Got it out last night and didn't see what I was expecting;

Picture shows metal shaving around the magnet: Is this amount normal?

194629-0f1ee2d8be95eea40a2b707777ae2397.jpg


Didn't see any other significant wear or broken gears. Not sure what the next step should be with this. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Couple more pics are below: One pic show the inside of the case with what looks like small cracks, or maybe scaling of some type of coating that was applied to the inside of the case, the same thing is on the outside of the case as well.
 
That's not normal. Mine looked just about like it does in the above picture. You definitely have something broken or binding.
 
Chris Gossett said:
Got it out last night and didn't see what I was expecting;

Picture shows metal shaving around the magnet: Is this amount normal?

194629-0f1ee2d8be95eea40a2b707777ae2397.jpg


Didn't see any other significant wear or broken gears. Not sure what the next step should be with this. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Couple more pics are below: One pic show the inside of the case with what looks like small cracks, or maybe scaling of some type of coating that was applied to the inside of the case, the same thing is on the outside of the case as well.
Click to expand...
The scaling or hairline cracks are in the casting. Every 208 or 241 i've seen has these. If it was cracked fluid should have been leaking out. Debris on the magnet does not look good.
 
Crack looking stuff is probably fine, I can't see the picture.

Really guys? If that case has never been apart, it looks pretty normal. You have to wipe it up with a paper towel and inspect closely
 
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