Please help! Drivetrain GONE

[thaiboxer04]

First Id like to thank the great people here. Ive been lurking on the site a couple months but never had to post until today. Also, please excuse the typing... im posting from my cell phone at work. I have a 74 k10, auto 350, np203, 350 ci, 373 gears, 31" tires. Ill start at the beginning to give all info i have. Bought the truck 2 months ago, ran well but is a dog off the line, tach at 2000+ at only 45mph. I expected much more power and acceleration. It shifts through all gears but i noticed the kickdown doesnt work properly when i start to go uphill etc. It does have a hesitation between gears but I dont know if that is normal or not. Two weeks ago I lost the tranny totally, it ended up being a tranny cooler line blew. I fixed the line and filled fluid, lost about 4 qts. Afterwards truck ran as usual until this morning. I left for work... mafe it about 100 yards and lost the tranny again. But this time it made a noise as if splines were rubbing and even stranger is that it is totally in nuetral. If i put it in park, it makes a small grind noise but will just roll right away. I had to sit in the truck wiyh a foot on the brake till the tow truck came. I dont know what this indicates, im new to all this but im suspecting transfer case even though i just had tranny issues recently??? Any help will be much appreciated! Thank you everyone in advance.

[VileZambonie]

did you try shifting the transfercase into another range? Does it move in 4WD with the hubs locked?

[velojym]

My first truck was the same year/model and everything. I was 18 years old, and had been spending some... err... quality time  with my girlfriend. When we went to leave, the truck acted just as you described, and I freaked out, called Dad....


He shifted the t-case back into gear and we drove off, a bit red in the face. Turns out we accidentally nudged it into neutral during our... workout.

[thaiboxer04]

HaHa... great story Velojym. Im sure dad realized he was young once too. Unfortunately its not that simple in this case because I have a stock np203 that is full time 4wd with no shifter. I just have manual locking hubs on the front to save some gas mileage. Thanks guys. Any other ideas?

[Grim 82]

You should still have a shifter. Here is some info on the shift pattern.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=4177.0

That was a great story. We used the neutral t-case trick back in high school on a kid who insisted on driving home from a party completely wasted. The next day we charged him a case of beer to fix his truck

[thaiboxer04]

Thanks for the link but in there, they all refer to a shifter. Mine has no shifter at all, just like a 2 wd cab looks. The previous owner said he put locking hubs on last summer because he heard it will save some gas mileage even though the front driveshaft always has power to it.

[velojym]

You should still have a shifter. Here is some info on the shift pattern.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php?topic=4177.0

That was a great story. We used the neutral t-case trick back in high school on a kid who insisted on driving home from a party completely wasted. The next day we charged him a case of beer to fix his truck

Oooh, snap. Did he eventually learn what really happened?

I'm just glad it wasn't HER father who came to help... I'd probably not be here today. *gack!*

My truck was a full time 4x4, and still had a tc shifter to control what range it was in. I added Milemarker hubs later for the same reason (hoped for better mileage), but the shifter was the one that came from the factory. If there's no shifter.......... I dunno...

[thaiboxer04]

Wow, now im really baffled. I guess ill be doing some investigating after work. For all i know... someone may have cut the shifter lever off and put a 2 wd hump cover in the middle. It isnt the original cab so i guess its a possibilty???

[Grim 82]

We told him, but not until after we drank all the beer.

I've never seen a K-series without a 4wd shifter, but I haven't seen it all...
Check the linkage underneath.

[Canadian 4X4]

I would say some one just removed the shifter and stuck a 2wd cab on it.

[thaiboxer04]

Let me just say... YOU GUYS ROCK!!!
I pulled the carpet back and as expected... no shifter cutout but there was a magic marker drawn where the cutout should be. They must have got lazy, put a 2wd cab on and not finished the job. Underneath i found a bracket on the passenger side of the Tcase where the shifter should be connected, used a pry bar to move the bracket towards the front of the truck and it clicked into place. Fixed everything.     Thanks for everything and Happy New year to all of you.

[Grim 82]

Glad you got it squared away. Now you know what your next project will be...

[velojym]

Fabricate a radical balls-to-the-wall one-of-a-kind lever!

Woot!

(and, if you're romantically involved... something with a padded grip...)

[beastie_3]

I have a shifter for sale, check in the parts section.

[thaiboxer04]

Yea I think its defenitely due for a shifter install. What i really want to do though, kinda scares me LOL. I bought all parts to transfer to a manual. I bought an sm465 4 speed mated to an np205 transfer case, bell housing, flywheel, clutch pedal bracket and linkage. The more i read up on it the more worried im getting. It sounds like custom driveshafts and all kinds of crazy stuff. I dont know if im ready for that nightmare because the truck is my daily driver. I couldnt have it out of commission for more than a few days.