what are the symptoms of a broken chain in a 208?

[az ranger]

after climbing out of a wash I wasdriving around and I felt a load pop and everything slipped into nuetrual for a second. Now I can drive fine in 2 hi but if I put it in 4 hi it tries to engage but just keeps slipping and popping. I am not able to shift into 4 low it is hung up on something.

sound like a chain?

or a stripped gear?

or shift fork?

something else?

I had this thing apart about two years ago and changed the output gear to a 32 spline. but I cannot remember how everything looks inside there. IIRC the chain does not turn in 2hi therefor I could still drive around in 2wd with out noticing anything. I know I need to tear it apart and see, but would like to have parts on hand when I do what are your thoughts?

 

[randy88k5]

Hard to say, but it does sound like a broken chain or sprocket. The 208 is probably one of the easiest transfer cases to remove and rebuild on our trucks, so I woukd yank it and see what you find inside. They are pretty cheap and plentiful at the junkyards if you need parts or a replacement case...

 

[marv_springer]

I've had a couple that do this....

Usually the plastic is gone off the shift fork and it's lost half it's thickness.

Just get another whole case. Seems like they turn up for $75-100 quite often. Just get there before I do.

Marv

 

[az ranger]

I would like to keep this one becuase it already has the SYE done otherwise I would just pick up another.

 

[Chevy305]

A little hijack for a moment...

I recently changed the fluid in my 208 and looking through the drain plug, I could see the chain, so I put my finger in there and it felt like the chain had some slack. Is that normal? I haven't really noticed anything unusual when using 4x4 though...

 

[randy88k5]

Yeah, Im pretty sure my chain has a small amount of slack that you can feel

 

[Hossbaby50]

The chains are supposed to have some slack in them but not to much. I believe the number is 1/2" slack max.

As for AZ Rangers problem it sounds like the shift forks most likely. If the forks are as bad as they sound the forks are probably wasted. You will probably need to find a donor case with good forks & swap the good forks into your current case.

208's are pretty easy to rebuild. I have rebuilt several with only the exploded parts diagram that Pauly 383 has or the GM dealer can print for you. They are really simple. The last one I did I pulled out of the truck, swapped planetary gears in the case, & had back in the truck in under 4 hours. If you get a good donor case you should be able to remove your current case & swap out whatever parts you need in a weekend tops.

Harley

 

[az ranger]

So would I still be able to drive around in 2wd with bad shift forks.

thanks

 

[Hossbaby50]

yes but if there is alot of metal from where the forks are rubbing floating around in your case (which there probably are) then you run the risk of damaging the bearings & if the forks wear on something it could be bad for other components.

The longer you what the worse shape the case will probably be in when you open it up and it will be harder to fix.

Harley

 

[sandawgk5]

Hell you dont even have to remove the case from the truck inorder to rebuild it.






Just becareful of these when you pull it apart. They are kinda fun to put back in with the case in the truck. I wanna say there are 2 rows of 31



Ira