2WD SuperDuty, any hope for offroad

[underdrive]

BFTank, I only suggested the NP205 as that's a good strong case that could be had in divorced-mount configuration, never seen a factory-divorced NV271. Agreed, factory-style "married" configuration is best for a bolt-on-and-go job, however that could very well require replacement or at the very least major surgery of the transmission - some people wouldn't care, for some that would be a deal-breaker. On a truck we 4-wheeled few years ago the transmission got replaced as there was simply no space for a divorced case without losing the front tank which was unacceptable, in an ideal world the transmission would have been retained though... In hindsight it's possible we could have been able to get away with the divorced case stuck in front of a smaller front tank, but ah well, live and learn.

Pretty cool that you coiled your Excursion, is that posted in that build thread in your signature?

 

[bftank]

agreed it is a pretty decent case. and i agree with your thought process, the divorced np205 would work fine as long as he was nice to it and had it properly mounted. i was coming from the stand point that op came across that he was wanting a fairly factory setup. i may have misunderstood his intentions though. and to clarify by no means am i suggesting that he needs to have a fully built prerunner to get out there either. just something to build up to, to maximize the fun potential. heck, somewhere on here i have a chrysler minivan on mud terrains that we used for a year or two to get "out there". :Wow1:



as far as the excursion goes. i havent formally introduced it on here. i need to make a build thread for it. i might try doing that this summer. i work a week on week off schedule and it feels like i only get about an hour to myself during that week off, between keeping the baby out of trouble and making sure the right "mighty machines" episode is playing for the toddler. lol.

 

[underdrive]

Hm, seems like you've had bad experience with the 205 before, care to share? Only asking cause it's touted as one of the best things since sliced bread, we got one also so it would be nice to know how it could let a person down.

We were actually considering the NV271 for our camper hauler truck, however it has one big problem - it lacks a VSS provision. Our speedometer is cable-driven but can be converted to electronic to read of the rear axle if need be, the real challenge would be the cruise control - it also uses the t-case VSS, the signal coming from the rear axle is way different and the cruise brain won't know what to do with it...

 

[bftank]

no bad experiences. they are a great transfercase. twin sticked, doubler, etc. good stuff. i have one that will eventually get used in a rock crawler in a doubler setup.

because they are gear driven they tend to explode when given too much torque, being that it is behind a diesel this shouldnt be an issue unless he gets into sled pulling high horsepower/tq stuff. cummins came factory with a 205 behind them. thats why i said hed have to be nice to it and make sure it was mounted properly.

the nv271 because it is chain driven has to implode from too much torque, which is a lot harder to do. which is why sled pullers typically lean towards a chain drive case over a gear drive case when it comes to factory transfer cases.

 

[underdrive]

Ah, alright then. We're not pushing any big power in our frankentruck, actually it's probably less than factory 429s and 460s from the early 70s so she should live a long and happy life Thanks for the info on the failure types, I gotta admit i never considered they would behave in a different manner, but it does make sense.

 

[bfdiesel]

It would probably be cheaper in the long run to buy a 4x4 and sell the 2wd, if you want 4x4. Take it out and see if you are comfortable with it. A 2wd locked or a good ls and chains can do amazing things. Sometimes they go in and pull the 4x4's out.

 

[underdrive]

It would probably be cheaper in the long run to buy a 4x4 and sell the 2wd, if you want 4x4.

Yeah, there is that too. IMHO it depends on how much has already been put into the truck, usually with our vehicles by the time we get to 4-wheeling them the conversion is actually less work and hassle than selling them, buying the respective 4x4 model (if even available to begin with), and then doing all our mods all over again. Close to stock truck tho, yeah, sell and buy 4x4 is the path of least resistance.

 

[MrWesson]

Sell or trade.

Plenty of guys out there looking for better gas mileage/ride in a 2wd diesel.

 

[kojackJKU]

Yep, Mild lift to fit some bigger tires, locker in the rear, and winch mounted up front and you can do 90 percent of whats out there, issues are deep mud and rocks.

 

[DividingCreek]

IMO the biggest drawback to the 7.3 250/350 offroad is how stiff the suspension is. A supple suspension/articulation often does more than 4wd offroad.