hello;

what year dodges changed from the lock the transfer case in and the front housing works to needing 4wd motors or vacuum motors or whatever to lock the housing and axles in...and what transfer case was used...

thanks for the info.

 

You can't tell by the year. Some trucks have the vacuum lock axles and some don't in the same year. Different transfer cases were used with vacuum axle locks and with hub locks in the same year.

 

ok, well would i be correct in assuming that the '74 - '79 did not use vacuum anything?
and if so, and as long as it was not a 'divorced' unit, what transfer case was used in those years behind the 727?

thanks.

 

Nothing 4x4 related was vacuum operated in the 70's trucks.

All '74s used a divorced np205. '75-'80 trucks usually have a full-time np203 Tcase.

Some still had a part time system, using a married np205 if I'm not mistaken. Either that or a 208. They are very easy to tell apart, 205's have a full cast iron case, and are fully gear-driven, making them bigger and heavier, while 208's have a cast aluminum case and are chain driven. These part-time equipped model's are quite uncommon.

In '81 they went to part-time 4x4 only, with an np208.

Hope this helps.

 

thank you for the info, thats exactly what i was seeking. i am looking at doing what your pic shows, taking a newer body style truck and transplanting it on an old frame...i had a late 70's dodge 4x4 before and the best i ever got was 12-13mpg but when i pulled that transfer case shifter with the hubs manually locked in, it worked...my '97 only gets 14mpg but when i pull that transfer case shifter, its a question of how long before it decides to pump enuf vacuum and lock the damn thing in, then if it loses vacuum when i really need the 4x4, i'm screwed...sure i can buy a posi lock but my question is why should i havta do that, if a posi lock is required to make these trucks work in 4x4 then dodge should have put them in as factory equipment.
transdapt makes an adapter to mate the 46RE to an older style transfer case, just wasn't sure which case i needed this i didn't know which adapter i needed.

3 shafts in the front housing, axle seals that cost $425 at the dealership to replace because they are inboard, $100 actuator on the front axle that can be damaged...i honestly dunno what the heck dodge was thinking when they did this, because it saves absolutely no one any gas mileage, all it does is cost more in the pocketbook when it breaks.

i appreciate the info, thanks.

 

To each their own I guess. But to address your points.

Dodge didn't do this. Dana did. Dodge just decided to use it. I like not having to get out of the cab every time I want 4x4 and that is what Dodge was thinking when they used it. I use 4x4 almost every time I leave the house. This system makes 4x4 convenient.

I don't know of anyone that puts a posi in the front end of a vehicle that is intended for street use due to the steering issues that brings.

If you are experiencing a delay something is wrong with your set up. Mine locks in immediately without delay.

Stealership labor rates don't bother me because I do my own work. If you are paying $100.00 for a vacuum actuator I would advise you to ask the forum for advise to save money on your parts.

My truck is 23 years old and still has the same vacuum motor and inboard seals so it is a reliable system if you understand it. Sure I have had some problems over those 23 years but if you know of a perfect totally trouble free system I would like to hear about it.

 

Seal - google "posi-lok" It is not as it sounds

JYDF - I dont understand the reasoning behind taking a newer style body and putting it on an old frame, I own both truck's in the pic, they are not being put together....

I love both bodystyles, but am partial to the older ones because they aren't so common.

But whatever you want to do, I hope it comes out great, and just the way you envision it!

 

Seal - google "posi-lok" It is not as it sounds

JYDF - I dont understand the reasoning behind taking a newer style body and putting it on an old frame, I own both truck's in the pic, they are not being put together....

I love both bodystyles, but am partial to the older ones because they aren't so common.

But whatever you want to do, I hope it comes out great, and just the way you envision it!

 

Thanks for the clarification on what he meant by posi lock. The rest of my statements stand and I still do not believe you need the posi-lock cable system to make the Dana 44 axle work. There are hundreds of thousands of these axles in use.

 

i am sorry if i didn't explain 'posi lock' better...it is not posi traction for the front end of a 4x4, its a cable actuated setup to replace the troublesome vacuum actuated axle CAD unit on gen 2 dodges...i am not trying to put posi in the front of this truck for street use, i am trying to have a trouble free setup like i had in the late 70's when i would lock in the hubs in the winter, and when i needed 4x4 i just pulled the lever. i got 12-13mpg then, and with my '97 and all its vacuum operated junk i get 14 mpg and havta pay more to have its nit picky parts fixed, and i would unlock the hubs when i didn't need them and all was just fine and dandy....makes no sense to me.

i understand u have a truck thats 23yrs old and has no problems with inboard seals...however if u go over to 2nd gen, u will find that the inboard seals on them are going out faster and more readily than the chances that custer would fall at the battle of the little big horn. those seals are $11 each and the dealer wants $420 to install them...and aftermarket shops want the same as well...in the 70's, i took off the hubs, pounded out the axle seals from the back of the hubs, installed the new seals and re-installed the hubs...with the gen 2's, u take out all 3 axles, the cad unit, the hubs, the carrier with or without a case spreader (some say they have had to use one, some say they haven't), and then use a special tool to remove/install the seals, then re-shim and re-install everything, hoping when u do that u don't damage those new seals when shoving the axles back in or u get to do it again in a week...which way to replace axle seals actually sounds cheaper and more efficient: seals in the hubs to stop gunk, water, snow, mud, etc from getting down the tubes, or inboard seals which allow anything and everything down the tubes and around the axles...
and on the gen 2's, autozone and o'reilly's charge $99 for the front axle vacuum actuator CAD unit.

yes dana did this, i understand all that...all i am saying is i believe the older setup was not only a more efficient method since it was in place for how many years, compared to what they have now that one can actually believe was built to fail.

again i appreciate all the answers and help and i am sorry if anyone feels i have offended them, as that was not my intentions.

Thank You.