Hey all, I have an 80 F-150 and I think my transfer case is shot. I believe it has the chain drive type but, was wanting to know which transfer case has gears and what it would entail to swap them and which one I would need. Any thoughts?

the NP 205 is a gear drive unit. Its very strong, however you will need drivelines to do the swap as im guessing you have a 208 tcase. The downside to the 205 over the 208 is a drop in fuel mileage and most 205 tcases are 2:1 gear ratio (although some are 4:1 but not as common) and the 208 tcase is 4:1. the 205 is significantly heavier than the 208.

The only way for the 205 to be an actual upgrade is for you to be pushing enough horse power to destroy 208's.

What is your shift Pattern?

If it is a chain unit and the pattern is
2H
4H
N
4L
then you have a 208

If you have a chain unit and the pattern is
Low Lock
Low Open
N
High open
High Lock
( i think thats the pattern)
then you have a 203 Tcase. If you have a 203 case then you can swap in a 4wd kit and swap from Awd to 2wd, This case is almost the same weight as a 205 case and its actually a very strong case.

What is your Tcase doing? Is it clunking? You might check the U-join or Cardone Joint if you have one, If you feel it wont engage 4wd, have you checked to see if your hubs are broke? If its kicking out of gear and its a 203 have you checked to see if your linkage is adjusted?

In most cases, replaced your tcase with a working one of the same type is usually the best option, simply because its cheaper, and if you have a 208 its probably just worn out form being 35 years old, nothing to do with the strength or chain vs gear drive.

More then likely I have the 208. I put new u joints and replaced the hubs and went through the drive train. It makes almost a banging noise and if I have the hubs locked but the t case in 2high, at about 60 MPH it vibrates so bad it will rattle a filling loose in your teeth. LOL I took the drive shafts to a 4x4 shop and had them check and they said they were true. My only guess would be the dif in the front or the chain is loose and worn out. Would it be hard to rebuild it?

its not toooooo bad to rebuild but you need a book to make sure you set it right. test your pinion slop too