Gary Lewis Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 My friend, Ben the fabricator, asked me the other day if I know where an NP205 is for his Jeep. He's found a right-drop Chevy unit, but needs a left-drop married Ford unit. So, if you know of one please let me know. And, by the way, his name is Ben Compton and I think he'll be joining. He has a '78 F150 and wants some help on it. Speaking of which, his and my friend Scott Ringler, the welder man, also has a '78 F150 and has joined. So look for a thread from him in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Gary, I will keep my eye out. I have been casually shopping for one myself because of the possibility of running a divorced unit behind the DNE2. Which leads me to ask if he is looking for a married or divorced case? From what I am seeing, all 205’s are fetching a pretty hefty price and they are a bit scarce. Most seem to be back east. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 12, 2018 Author Share Posted December 12, 2018 Gary, I will keep my eye out. I have been casually shopping for one myself because of the possibility of running a divorced unit behind the DNE2. Which leads me to ask if he is looking for a married or divorced case? From what I am seeing, all 205’s are fetching a pretty hefty price and they are a bit scarce. Most seem to be back east. He's looking for a married one, I think. But I'll ask to make sure. Both he and Scott have them in their 78's, but they aren't about to give them up. I tried. But, in reality I like the 2.74 low gear of the BW1345 that I have in Big Blue as opposed to the 1.96 of the NP205. The difference is that at 2000 RPM in 1st on a wide-ratio ZF5 I'll be doing 3 MPH where an NP205 would have me going 5 MPH. And, I found that easily using the new calculator. (Really helpful to have your own info loaded in. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 He's looking for a married one, I think. But I'll ask to make sure. Both he and Scott have them in their 78's, but they aren't about to give them up. I tried. But, in reality I like the 2.74 low gear of the BW1345 that I have in Big Blue as opposed to the 1.96 of the NP205. The difference is that at 2000 RPM in 1st on a wide-ratio ZF5 I'll be doing 3 MPH where an NP205 would have me going 5 MPH. And, I found that easily using the new calculator. (Really helpful to have your own info loaded in. ) I will keep my eye out... sometimes they turn up on the Facebook groups. They are easy to find on eBay if you want to pay $600-$1,000 plus freight! 😬 And that is typically without the fairly unique cross member, shift linkages or lever.... ouch. The Lo ratio isn’t as low as the chain cases, but aftermarket gear reducers are available. Again, not cheaply. If you have a manual transmission with a granny 1st gear, there might not be much need for it. I would (by far) prefer a direct gear-drive design and eliminate the chain and oil pump anchor issue... but it is all too easy to keep throwing money at the truck to the tune of thousand dollar fist-fulls 😈 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 I will keep my eye out... sometimes they turn up on the Facebook groups. They are easy to find on eBay if you want to pay $600-$1,000 plus freight! 😬 And that is typically without the fairly unique cross member, shift linkages or lever.... ouch. The Lo ratio isn’t as low as the chain cases, but aftermarket gear reducers are available. Again, not cheaply. If you have a manual transmission with a granny 1st gear, there might not be much need for it. I would (by far) prefer a direct gear-drive design and eliminate the chain and oil pump anchor issue... but it is all too easy to keep throwing money at the truck to the tune of thousand dollar fist-fulls 😈 Yes, please keep your eye out for one. As for gear vs chain, I'd probably install a 205 if I had it available. But I don't so I'll claim the reason I'm not worried about it is the lower ratio on what I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Yes, please keep your eye out for one. As for gear vs chain, I'd probably install a 205 if I had it available. But I don't so I'll claim the reason I'm not worried about it is the lower ratio on what I have. Justin Anderson has competed in sled pulls with his built IDI and runs the stock 1356 for his bricknose. I’d say they are robust enough... but I do think the oil pump anchor mod is a good idea. I plan to do at least that to both of mine once I get my welder up and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 Justin Anderson has competed in sled pulls with his built IDI and runs the stock 1356 for his bricknose. I’d say they are robust enough... but I do think the oil pump anchor mod is a good idea. I plan to do at least that to both of mine once I get my welder up and running. Dad's 1356 has had that added. But Big Blue is running a 1345. Hmmm, I wonder ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 Dad's 1356 has had that added. But Big Blue is running a 1345. Hmmm, I wonder ...... 1345 has exactly the same issue... needs a piece of rod welded to the pump anchor to keep it from chewing through the case. For those who may not be aware, this is the problem: The triangle shape piece is the pump anchor, and it has worn through the notch in the case that holds it still. If wears all the way through and spins free it’s pretty much game over for that transfer case. And this is one way you can prevent it... by welding a piece of round stock to the tip to distribute the force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted December 13, 2018 Author Share Posted December 13, 2018 1345 has exactly the same issue... needs a piece of rod welded to the pump anchor to keep it from chewing through the case. For those who may not be aware, this is the problem: The triangle shape piece is the pump anchor, and it has worn through the notch in the case that holds it still. If wears all the way through and spins free it’s pretty much game over for that transfer case. And this is one way you can prevent it... by welding a piece of round stock to the tip to distribute the force. So, what I could do is to put the 1356 in BB and have the 1345 rebuilt and that mod done for Dad's truck. Or, and probably better since I want to put Dad's engine/tranny/t-case together before I start on BB, just have BB's 1345 rebuilt while he's down getting the engine EFI'd, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted December 13, 2018 Share Posted December 13, 2018 So, what I could do is to put the 1356 in BB and have the 1345 rebuilt and that mod done for Dad's truck. Or, and probably better since I want to put Dad's engine/tranny/t-case together before I start on BB, just have BB's 1345 rebuilt while he's down getting the engine EFI'd, etc. Does it matter to you which one gets the fixed rear yoke? I have heard it claimed that the 1356 is slightly smoother at shifting on the fly. What shape is your 1345 speedometer drive gear in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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