Twolines Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Hey guys, looking at buying this 81 gmc k35. Its 350/th400/205. Took it for a test drive and all seemed well..shifted fine and went down the hwy no problem. Got back to the meet up place and went to go about shifting through hi lo on the case just to make sure. Sitting there in neutral, engine running shifted to 4 hi smoothly. Went to put it in 4 low and it grinds.. waited grinds again. Then the guy says "oh yeah u have to shift it into 4lo with the engine off"... i ask why..he says "all 205s shift this way" i politely disagree as i have a 1 ton dodge with a 205 that shifts into 4 lo just fine while engine is running...in fact ive never had to kill any vehicle with a 205 to shift 4lo. Well just out of curiosity i killed it and promptly shifted into 4lo...put it in drive and confirmed it worked. So what gives? What am i missing? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowrosefarm Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I had a couple back in the day that were like that. On an automatic trans I could get it to go by shifting the trans from forward to reverse at the same time I was pulling on the 4x4 lever. But, sometimes it would still get crossed up and need to shut the engine off to get in 4 low. I'm sure someone else will know the why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeper61 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Does it grind with the trany in park? Did you have your foot on the brakes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy WP Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 If you left the transmission in drive I could see it grinding. Maybe even in neutral, but park there is no way. I am not an auto transmission guy, but I would think that either the transmission has a warped disc or tight band. It’s not the transfer case that is the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR.EVIL Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Hmmm. Every 205 T-case I had was behind either an NP-435 or ZF 5-47. They all shifted fine. My new RAM 1500 has a push-button T-case, has an "automatic 4wd position", Let's the t-case wet clutch shift into 4wd as required by sensing slippage thru the anti-lock brakes. The salesman told me to engage it into Auto around Thanksgiving and run it that way till Easter. My manual hubs and T-cases used to frustrate me, I needed 4wd to get up my driveway to the road then didn't need 4wd the rest of the 30, or 50, or 70 mile trip to work. There was that one night coming home on Rt-151, 70 miles in 5-6 inches of new snow and more still falling in my F-250. No traffic so 60-70 mph, talk about blowing snow behind me! I caught several guys creeping along 30 mph and they quickly disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtfireman85 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Ive met some cantankerous NP transfer cases, my utility sometimes gets a wild hair and i end up shutting it off to get into low. Personally if you are able to get it in and it works I wouldn’t let that hold you back. Could be as simple as an adjustment. This happened with my current 2500, it was not properly adjusted from new, around 4K miles i put it in low for the first time, got stuck in the middle, couldn’t get in or out and it took a real wrestling match in the middle of the road to get it back to high. Was an easy fix and i had them flush the T-case just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1965Dennis Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I have had 2 over the years, both automatic transmissions, and if I leave it in any forward or reverse, the hi/lo shift would grind. Owners manual said vehicle should be stopped and in neutral or park to shift. Both were still working when I sold them and both had over 300,000 miles without transfer repairs. Think of it like a tractor transmission. You are in neutral, clutch pedal up, and try getting it in gear. Everything in the transmission wants to be turning, at different speeds. On the truck, the automatic transmission is wanting to drive the wheels, but the transfer case is between ranges when shifting so hi and lo are turning at different speeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acem Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 If it's grinding the transmission is spinning up in neutral. Sounds more like a transmission problem than the transfer case. The transfer case is not normally synchronized. Thx-Ace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKwelder Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 58 minutes ago, acem said: If it's grinding the transmission is spinning up in neutral. Sounds more like a transmission problem than the transfer case. The transfer case is not normally synchronized. Thx-Ace Correct. Which tranny? Maybe a manual with cold fluid? Would not surprise me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sledgehammer Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Had several 205s and some are harder than others but never had to turn truck off. Maybe put tranny in neutral but never shut truck off. It wasn’t converted from a 203 at any time was it? I had a Ford with a “full time” 203 case and automatic tranny. The grinding on it was a worn out drive flange on the front axle. Set of manual lockouts fixed that along with swapping in a 205. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iowaboy1965 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Only time I had any do it was if I accidentally put transmission in gear while t case was in neutral. Other wise no I never had one do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmall57 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Any automatic I've been around, Chrysler 727 in Scouts and IH pickups in particular will "coast" in neutral causing the transfer case to grind when you get it into neutral. If you go thru neutral in the transfer case rapidly with the trans in neutral you can catch it before it begins turning the gears. However if you miss it, just turn the engine off and then complete the shift. It doesn't work very well to try the reverse to drive motion and try to catch the gear and don't try to put it into park thinking you can stop the gears, it will just grind against the park pawl. If you are parked on a level spot and can shift while in park that will work too. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowrosefarm Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 27 minutes ago, farmall57 said: Any automatic I've been around, Chrysler 727 in Scouts and IH pickups in particular will "coast" in neutral causing the transfer case to grind when you get it into neutral. If you go thru neutral in the transfer case rapidly with the trans in neutral you can catch it before it begins turning the gears. However if you miss it, just turn the engine off and then complete the shift. It doesn't work very well to try the reverse to drive motion and try to catch the gear and don't try to put it into park thinking you can stop the gears, it will just grind against the park paw. If you are parked on a level spot and can shift while in park that will work too. You said it much better than I did. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twolines Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 Thanks guys! Plenty of answers/info to confirm my opinion. I knew IH guys on redpower would come through! Also the guy tried to pass me a COPY of the title...lol that was kind of my first red flag...although he insists dmv will honor it. Was sposed to meet him there this morning but have ultimately backed out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twolines Posted January 31 Author Share Posted January 31 11 hours ago, AKwelder said: Correct. Which tranny? Maybe a manual with cold fluid? Would not surprise me at all. Th400. So this morning i contacted the local trans shop this unit was supposedly rebuilt by and they have no record of the guys name or the vehicle it is in. He also said shutting the engine down to shift into low is bull with the exception that there is an underlying issue..is worn out, has a shift rail issue or even severly low on fluid..it was leaking. Either way they didnt disclose the reconstructed brand on the title, so i walked. Had they been honest from the get go i may have been more flexible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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