Yesterday I pulled out my buddy and when I went to change from 4wd to
2wd I had a hard time finding 2wd, just a bunch of grinding. Could it be linkage? I checked the fluid level it is full. Also I cant find the marking on the TC to tell what model it is, I dont even see a mounting hole where is should be, do all of the TC's have a marking?
BTW it's an auto tranny.

Thanks for the help:)

May sound like a dumb question but did you try to back up about 10 feet and then pull it out of 4x4. You may also want to climb under the truck and put some spray lube on the mechinism and the 2 rods that go into the TC.

I didnt try to move in 4x4, I will try the lube. My buddy said syncros whatever they are.

I've had that happen in the past and what I did was to drive it in reverse for a few feet and then forward again and it popped right out. You might want to try that first before you get to far into it but the lube will help either way.

If it ever sticks in 4 wheel drive again and you can not get it out you can unlock one hub and drive it that way to get by in a pinch. Won't hurt anything. If you have an auto and you overshoot the shift into 2 wheel just shut the truck off and pop it back in. I have heard tons of poeple shift the transfer case into nuetral and then try to grind it back in if the tranny is in anything but park. I have also heard people put the truck in park while the transfer is in nuetral and grind park gear. Nice sound.

If it ever sticks in 4 wheel drive again and you can not get it out you can unlock one hub and drive it that way to get by in a pinch. Won't hurt anything. If you have an auto and you overshoot the shift into 2 wheel just shut the truck off and pop it back in. I have heard tons of poeple shift the transfer case into nuetral and then try to grind it back in if the tranny is in anything but park. I have also heard people put the truck in park while the transfer is in nuetral and grind park gear. Nice sound.

Just curious why only unlock one hub???

That keeps everything spinning the same speed but is not locked. If you turned out both fronts then one side could spin at different speeds and that would work the spider gears. The only time I would unlock both is if the front has a posi, locker or spool.

The transfer-case should be a New Process 205.

Even in the manual transmission trucks, it is common for the gears of the 4x4 system to get "loaded", or "in a bind".

Backing up sometimes is enough to take the pressure off things enough to get the transfer-case to shift; but then, one might not always be in a position to be backing up, such as when coming off a very slick snow-covered side-road onto very clean dry pavement with other vehicles close under your bumper, or maybe the side-road is climbing up onto the big road and backing up would only put you back in need of 4x4.

What I have found to work best is a quick burst and release of throttle and immediately shifting the transfer-case lever at the instant you feel it become slack; it takes practice and attention to find this "sweet spot".

Also, especially in an automatic, you don't want to get carried away and shoot past 2WD into Neutral.

With an automatic, one would then need kill the engine, wait for the gears to quit coasting, then find the right gear with the engine not running.


In my old NP-205 equipped 4-speed 1978 Chevy, in some over 400,000 miles of driving, I have gotten good enough that I can shift the transfer-case into any gear, including 4-LO, on the fly, regardless of road surface. :cool:

Mine will stick sometimes if it is cold. If I drive it a couple of miles to warm it it engages/disengages fine.

Thanks for the help guys, it turns out I was overshifting out of 4 past 2. Did a lot of trial and error this morning in the new snow to find this out. So it seems that these TC are a little sloppy lets say, coming from a 04 Sierra with push button shifting I am in need of some adaptation[redface]

So it seems that these TC are a little sloppy lets say,



Actually, the NP-205 is not at all "sloppy", but quite tight, which makes for some getting used to by the uninitiated.

The NP-205 is [director] THE TRANSFER-CASE, by which all others are measured by, PERIOD. [guitar]

What I have found to work best is a quick burst and release of throttle and immediately shifting the transfer-case lever at the instant you feel it become slack; it takes practice and attention to find this "sweet spot".

Also, especially in an automatic, you don't want to get carried away and shoot past 2WD into Neutral.


That's the Ticket there! Wouldn't shift it any other way.