73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks > 4 Wheel Drives

New to GM 4WD Pickups: The Good and the Bad

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roo_ster:

--- Quote from: bd on February 19, 2021, 07:34:40 PM ---
--- Quote from: roo_ster on February 19, 2021, 07:22:59 PM ---
--- Quote from: blazer74 on February 19, 2021, 03:10:19 PM ---Might want to reference your intentions with the truck.

--- End quote ---

4WD truck stuff.  Like the 2WD trucks I have owned, but with more off-road/bad-road and snow capability.

Am I missing something?

--- End quote ---

Daily driver, work truck, rock crawling, mudding, overland, expeditions, hunting/fishing, graded forest service roads, highway, mall queen, etc...

--- End quote ---

Oh, I see. 

Daily driver I can toss gear in the back and take hunting.  Not looking to 4WD as the end, but as the means to get other things done.

JohnnyPopper:
Or just looking nature over...but hey!

You really don't need a truck for that but it helps  ::)

75gmck25:
The NP203 Full-time 4WD transfer case was used by all three US manufacturers in various models during the 70's .  The NP203 is chain-driven, which is less durable than the gear driven NP205, but it seems to be stronger than the later NP208 chain-driven transfer case.

Full time 4WD seemed like a good idea because the NP203 also has a differential in the transfer case that allows you to go both on and off road without any binding of the drivetrain.  You just leave it in the High position. Whenever you need traditional 4WD you just move the shifter to one of the Loc positions and you have regular 4WD high or low.   It was a very early version of All Wheel Drive, with the option to quickly shift into traditional 4WD whenever you needed it.

However, the NP203 got a reputation for horrible gas mileage because it was used during the early emissions period when none of the manufacturers knew how to lower emissions without screwing up horsepower and gas mileage.   Those were the days of SBC 350's rated at 175 HP.  Milemarker and other manufacturers developed a part-time conversion kit that could be used to convert it to part-time operation.  There was a cheap conversion kit that only changed a few internal pawls, and a more expensive/stronger conversion kit that replaced the entire shaft inside the case.  The cheaper kit usually works fine, but may break if abused, and the stronger kit is no longer manufactured.

Bottom line - you probably want to look for a truck with something other than the NP203, but keep the big picture in mind.  If  your potential "off-road truck" gets a couple miles per gallon less because it has an unconverted NP203, is that really enough to make you not buy it?

Bruce

Mike81K10:
My NP205 in my 81 4x4 (manual locking hubs) has taken some heavy loads of wood, pulling a boat cross country, 4x4 off road in woods for deer hunting, rough mountain trail driving, steep and rocky mountain trails, snow, mud, and has never let me down (never had a break down - pulled others that was stranded). Of course my truck has always got TLC with regular maintenance. Love my truck and is why I am doing a complete rebuild.

75gmck25:
I have a stock NP203 in my '75 K25 and it has held up well over the years as a farm truck and for construction hauling.   

And despite all the discussions I've read about the NP203 and its merits, I have never run across one where someone was complaining that it had actually broken and left them stranded.  Even the old ones with a stretched chain just seem to get noisier.

Bruce

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