New Member with a Q

[Blaze74]

Hi there ..

1st of all I wanna say that I am glad to join you guys in this helpful chat .

2nd ..

I have bought a '74 Blazer k5. It has a 350SBC w/an auto tranny. The previous owner told me it is a All Wheel Drive Blazer !!

Is it ?? and if it is .. How does this system ( mechanicly )work ??

I am gonna use the Blazer for my daily trips from & to downtown . Is it gonna work or should I replace the front axle mechanism .

Plz help with info ... Thanx again . /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[jekbrown]

yeah, some K5s have np203 transfer cases which are full-time 4wd. I'm not a guru but AFAIK, they have some kind of differential inside the t-case that allows things to work ok on-road. A forum search would prolly yield a more technical answer...

j

 

[GM Man]

Your Blazer will be fine for around town driving, just keep it out of "HI-Loc" and "Lo-Lo" until you reach the dirt or snow. Welcome.

 

[monte0172]

My 79 is full time and I use it for daily driving. When its running!! I have never had any probs with the drive terain other than the transmission. But for 200+ thousand mile what can you expect. Hope you enjoy the site and welcome.

 

[gravdigr]

I have a 79 K5 with the np203 full time case. If I remember the pattern is
high
low
neutral
low loc
high loc

That could be wrong as I have yet to get to drive this and my shift knob is gone. There is a kit you can get to convert this to part time from mile marker. In high and low there is a differential inside that *I think* works kind of like positraction clutches. It will not put power to the front drivetrain until the rear wheels slip. The loc position locks the transfer case so it will power both front and back regardless of wheel slip. The full time 4wd will cost you some gas mileage and wear and tear on the front drive components as they are spinning all the time. But people have run em for many many years without fail. DO NOT just put manual locking hubs on this and think you fixed the problem, you will break something.

 

[Blaze74]

J;
GM Man;
Monte

Thanx 4 the info Guys .. Sorry this is late, Thats 'coz I was under that truck more than I was on ma feet .. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanx again /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[Blaze74]

gravdigr

I donno 'bout your '79, but I know one thing 4 sure .. that nothing is readable on my knob .. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

And I think it goes as this
High
Low
Thats it !!

I checked out the kit from Mile Maker .. & I think this will do the job, but it will be my 2nd move ( F I can afford it ) after fixin' the engine .

Thanx /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif

 

[docgab]

Welcome first of all!

Check out this page to help ID your T-case: Clicky here AFAIK it should be the NP 203 which is indeed the full time 4WD case. The shift pattern is (from front to back):

4 Low Loc
4 Low
Neutral
4 High
4 High Loc

As stated above, just keep it out of the Loc positions for your everyday driver and you should be good! The conversion kit is a good thing in my opinion as I now have:

4 Low Loc
2 Low
Neutral
2 High
4 High Loc

Good luck and have fun!! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[MOTORHEAD]

I use to have a mid 70's k10 with full time 4X4. Get the part time conversion kit, makes a dramatic change in the way the truck will drive + you'll get some much needed extra gas miles (just a couple but every little bit helps). It's worth the money.