NP203 Torque Split

[fouronereason]

I was out wheeling the other weekend and got stuck a couple times, and I noticed the back tires spinning for days but it was like the front tires weren't doing anything, I believe it's a 203 with a part time kit in it, my question is the whats the split between front and rear?

 

[sweetk30]

well first go under your rig and i.d. tht sucker.

203 first pic

205 second pic.

then we can go from there.

 

[6.2Blazer]

If it has a part-time kit installed than your options are either 2wd or 4wd locked (50/50 split between front and rear - or there will always be the same power going to both the front AND rear). If it still the stock full-time case and you leave it in regular 4 hi or 4 low then the t-case acts pretty much like an open diff, meaning all the power can go to the either the front or rear. The stock case has the options of 4 hi or 4 lo LOCK which also gives you a 50/50 split between the front and rear.

What position did you have the shifter in?
Where the front hubs locked in (assuming part-time kit)?
Are you sure neither front tire was spinning (with an open diff only 1 front tire will spin)?

 

[gotblazers]

kinda a silly question but its happen to me before. Did you push it back into 4wd with the truck in neutral then put it in drive while holding the shifter in 4wd otherwise it may have just slipped out so you actually were in 2wd.

 

[fouronereason]

It is definitly the first pic, the 203, I had the shifter all the way foward which I assume is lo loc, and the front hubs locked in, and I had my wife looking at the front and she said it looked like they wanted to spin but werent even with the back tires spinning

 

[ChrisPerry]

Try putting the shifter in low lock and locking the hubs. Now with the truck in park,brake set, tires blocked, etc. jack up one of the front tires and see if you can spin it. If you can look to see if the front drive shaft is turning. If the drive shaft IS turning then its the t-case if it IS NOT its one of the hubs not working.

 

[sweetk30]

also 203 shifters are bad on staying in adjustment from what i have read.

 

[driney]

My biggest problem was rust and or dirt in the shifter mechanism. I would pull the shifter boot off and pump some solvent through the shifter while working it. If I recall correctly, the low lock position was the one that was the hardest to keep working correctly. It's been a long time, but I seem to remember the high lock position moved both shift levers the same way, but low lock moved them opposite ways. I bet you weren't all the way in the lock position.

 

[fouronereason]

Its possible it wasnt in lo loc because the shifter, i noticed, will move back one notch from lo loc when torque is applied, i also have my shifter boot off so I can watch the front driveshaft spin but dont recall looking at it when i was stuck

 

[sweetk30]

if dead set on keeping the 203 there is places like www.offroaddesign.com that make a replacement shifter to twin stick it and get rid of the stocker.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

The 203 as it came from the factory was a great box.
When the part time kits were installed, most of them caused the oil pump to stop working.
Unless the thing is run in 4x4 regularly there are parts that dont get lubed.

As mentioned, the twin stick setup is really good.

The 203 has two levers on the case one is for the Range section and the other is the Lockup.

With the twin stick setup you can control the lockup section separately from the range.

The 203 was a really nice setup as it allowed for all wheel drive all the time.
Many times you dont need to touch anything, just drive the thing.

As was mentioned this box acts like an open differential in so much as the power flows to both front and back equally until one wheel loses traction.

The wheel without traction will spin and the rest will not receive any power until the lockup is activated.

GM, Ford and Dodge used the 203 in the Early to late 70's

The 203 and its cousin the 205 were tough as nails and really hard to break.

Now this said, out in the bush with a heavy foot, anything can be broken

Snowy