I'm the proud new owner of a 1980 chevy 3/4 ton. The price was right so I bought it. Looks like it has a 350, sm465, 10 bolt front axle and 14 bolt rear with 4.10 gears. I was wondering about the t-case. I didn't spend a lot of time underneath looking.

According to the Pirate Bible all 1980's had np205 t-cases, is this accurate? The previous owner tagged a buried pipe with the t-case crossmember, tweaked the crossmember and busted the linkage off the t-case. Are parts available, or should I just find a complete case to swap in?

Also, how crappy is that 10 bolt front? This a budget beater, so I'll probably just weld up the spiders and wheel it till it breaks. Is the dana 44 much better? Or should I just wheel the 10 bolt till I can get a 60?

The Bible is right, ALL 1980 GM 4x4's had a 205 t-case. As for the shift linkage, all 205's up to 84 have interchangeable shift linkage (85 thru 91 may also interchange but I'm not sure because the adapter changed and I've never had one to play with). I would try real hard to save the 205, it's bulletproof!

As for the 10 bolt, it really depends on how big of a tire you're going to run. It will probably due alright until you get over 36's then you might have some axle breakage problems. Since you're eventually going to get a D60 I wouldn't go to the trouble of swapping a D44, both the D44 and the 10 bolt are similar enough (ring gear size, axle dia., etc.)

John

Yes, all 1980 GM trucks came with Np205's, this is more important to owners of auto tranny trucks, as the NP205 behind an auto is harder to come by, nearly all manual trans trucks had a Np205. The corporate 10 bolt front is not crappy at all, is just as strong if not stronger that a Dana 44, is easier to work on, and if it is taken care of will last quite nicely. I wouldn't weld the front spiders unless you like changing axle shafts, but it is much easier in a 10 bolt because you don't have to pull the ring gearto get the spiders out. I doubt that you'll need a 60 unless you talking 38's and up.

Exactly what got damaged by hitting the buried pipe? Bent crossmember? Whoopy ding dong, they only made about 20 billion Chevy trucks with the exact same crossmember, or one that can be made to fit with very little effort. Broke the linkage off the transfer case? How in the hell did he do that? The linkage is above the front driveshaft and very well protected, more than likely he tossed the front shaft and it smashed the linkage, or the case bound up and he forced it and bent it up. The linkage is quite stout, so some severe abuse would have to cause either. It could be that you just got taken and either the front axle is junk, or the case is junk and the owner told you the shifter was broke to keep you from trying out 4wd, you should be able to shift the case manually with a crowbar, the tow rods with a bar going between them coming out of the case above the front drive shaft control 2-4, and hi-lo. The shifter on the 205 is bolted directly to the cast adapter between the trans and transfer case, and those adapters are know to break, but the ones for a manual trans are a dime a dozen. Is the truck missing the t-case shifter, or is it just unhooked? For some reason, those shifters seem to get lost, I have 4 NP205's that are missing shifters, and half the people I know are missing shifters to their spare cases, so somewhere someone's got a big pile of shifters with no cases.

I dunno what all is busted. I saw the pinched exhaust pipe, and the x-member bent upward so I believed the guy's story about hitting something from beneath. I guess the t-case was pushed upward when the x-member bent and broke at least the shifter off the t-case, that was my understanding. Could be wrong.

We bought it as a parts truck, and we'll be towing it home within the next week or so and then we'll figure out exactly what happened. Even if the t-case and front axle are :nuke: I could probably still part the thing out and make back my investment and then some. But I'm thinking at least the axles are good to go. Thanks for the replies.

It's definately the makings of a nice trail truck, and parts are super plentiful. Can it be driven? I would bet that the adapter between the trans and t-case is broken.

205's are rock solid. if your adapter is busted it's a great time to go dual case. like these guys have http://www.offroaddesign.com/