anyone swap a 700r4 and on the road?

[jamesdart]

i did some searching but didnt come up with much.
i really want to get rid of my QT, since the trans has to come out, i want to put a 700r4 in it. im looking at the AA adapter, its cheaper than the novak. any issues with the AA vs Novak?
for the transfer case i really want a cast iron gear drive case. want to go with a chevy np 205 i have done a bunch of searching on that, i was going to go with the AA short shaft but it looks like that puts the driveshaft way too close to the trans pan flange. instead i either have to put the 2" spacer between the trans and t-case adapter. or a guy on pirate sells and infinite adjustable weld up adapter kit that is pretty sweet. i just dont think there is much room to clock it up between the frame.
i have the 205 and 700 and a set of 4.10s to swap in.

[Stuka]

Blake was going to do the swap, but then ended up swapping out the engine too. I think he actually got the adapter as well, I know he was going to go with AA and he also has an atlas and has been happy with their service.

Personally I would not go with an NP205 because the low range is horrible (1.96:1). The case is certainly stronger than an aluminum case, but the internals of an NP241 or the like is plenty strong unless you are running big big power. And they have a 2.72:1 low range. But if you do go with the 205, its going to have to hang down some for the reasons you state.

Unfortunately I do not have any first hand experience with what you are wanting to do.

[AwesomeJ10]

I have a little input here.

Back in Sep of this year I ordered the AA kit to adapt an AMC 401 V8 to a 700R4. They (AA) ended up having supplier issues with the flex plate and I canceled the order. I think they had 10 kits made up, so you may be able get one right away. As far as AA goes; I've burnt up 3 Atlas 4spds's and they warrantied them, but I had to wait forever to get them. They seem to be ok and I continue to do business with them. I have no experience with Novak other than looking at their AMC adapters kits only to find they cost way more than AA.

I agree with Stuka on the Np205 - the low range would suck unless you are also running a doubler...

I dunno much about 700R4's (yet) but I have recently done a swap. I put a GM 4.3 liter V6 from a '93 2wheel drive S10 and a 700R4/NP208 from an '88 burban into my '74 J20. I was able to make the stock shifter linkage work with a little bending and welding. Got it all running and I think I burnt up the 4th gear. This may be due to the fact that I've yet to install a TCC switch. I'm still doing some research on how to setup a manual TCC lockout switch using a 4 wire brake switch from an '80's chevy with cruise control. I think you need to really pay attention to the TV (kickdown) cable on a 700R4. I used the stock cable from the 700R4 into the stock 4.3 TBI throttle cable bracket, but I didn't adjust the cable. So that may be why my 4th gear doesn't work. I dunno...

I can say that first impressions of a 700R4 over a stock 727 are favoring the 700R4...

[jamesdart]

i know the low range stinks of the 205, i did consider that. i just dont want a chain driven case. im thinking 1st with the 700r4 and 205 works out pretty close to the 1st with the th400 and QT, but at the same time ill be switching to 4.10s. im only running 33s. the doubler would be cool but i cant really justify it. we dont have rocks here in NJ.
one guy on ifsja i talked too had the 205 on his and he said it didnt hang down. i cant see how, but he had his running. i think he used a 727 with a dodge 205 and a dodge front axle. maybe the dodge is clocked up higher than chevy?
i considered a dana 20 or 300, but the adapters required for the 700 are pretty expensive and i cant really justify that when its weaker than the 205 that almost bolts up. i think they have the same low range?
the passenger side 241, those are pretty hard to find arent they? do they have a fixed yoke or do you have to do a sye?
i definitely want to run the 700, im kind of open on the transfer case.

[jaber]

I have flogged on my 208 and it is holding up beautifully. I would highly recommend one, and it will save you time, money, and headaches.

[jamesdart]

at first i wanted to go 208, but found the chevy one has the slip yoke. i saw how you can combine a dodge 208 and chevy 208, for a fixed yoke. but then i see all kinds of guys saying how weak they are with a narrow chain.
im not arguing anyone, jsut using this as a discusion. just throwing ideas around.

[Stuka]

Pass drop 241's are on the rare side. They are a lot stronger than a 208, but would realistically require a front axle swap. And there are both fixed and slip yoke variants.


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[jamesdart]

i found a passenger side 241 on CL locally for 150, im not sure if the adapter is there. ill have to call the guy. some turnoffs i found for me, it looked like they were all slip yoke, but maybe im wrong. also looked like it was only made 1 year with a mechanical speedo. im thinking with my luck, this one has no adapter, electric speedo and slip yoke. i saw the slip yoke eliminator from jb fab with the mechanical speedo output, but its 400 bucks. it looks like the 241 can get real expensive.

[AwesomeJ10]

I solved all these problems with an Atlas in both my 'wheeling rigs. Gear driven, SYE, both drops available, low range, more gears, yoke selection, warranty, etc.

I simply can't justify the $$$ for a 3rd atlas, so I stuck with the GM NP208 on my J20. I got all the dodge SYE parts and actually did the SYE conversion using the dodge case and output shaft, but it didn't work out. I welded the shift rail bung onto the dodge case about 1mm off from where it should have been. Battery welded it with aluminum rod. Got it all back together and working fine, but it was hard to shift since the shift rail bung was about 1mm off. Ended up putting all the stock GM stuff back together and I'm running the 700R4 with it's original slip yoke NP208.

[jamesdart]

when i was looking at the 208 i saw another option to the dodge/chevy setup im a welder and i wasnt into the idea of welding that bung in. i knew i wouldnt place it right. i think the other option was to use the whole dodge setup with the chevy input swapped in. something like that. i cant spend the cash on the atlas, thats definitely not an option. this thing was supposed to be a budget beater. we dont have any rocks here, some hills, some sand, some mud. i guess if i go to rausch creek there are rocks.

[AwesomeJ10]

I think you can swap in the entire dodge NP208 in place of a chevy, with perhaps only changing input shaft. I've read the clocking is different on the dodge 208 and it clocks the case all the way 'up' leaving no room between the frame rail.

If your not gonna be doing severe rock crawling, then the stock slip yoke chevy np208 will do fine. Just carry an extra tail housing if your worried about it breaking.

You will still need to figure out the TCC lockup on the 700R4. I'll be wiring mine into a 4 wire break light switch tonight. Just need to do some research on how to do it...

[jamesdart]

the 241 i was looking at would still need the mech. speedo drive.

[jamesdart]

i called about the 241, guy said there is no adapter. the only adapter i saw for sale was as much as the transfer case. between those 2 and the jb sye, that would be like 700$ and id still want to go through the case. thats getting close to doubler money.

[jamesdart]

i got my advance adapter kit, flexplate, and the spacer to put the 205 on the 700. im gonna try to go with the 205. i already have it. i definitely like the strength aspect of it. yeah the low range stinks, but i cant see spending the extra cash it would cost me to run a 208 or 241 from where i am now. well see. i want to mock it up first. if i dont like the fit, ill come up with a new plan.

[carnuck]

Do a 208J with Chev input gear

[jamesdart]

wouldnt that be a driver side drop? my jeep is a 78, i need passenger side drop. who knows by the time i get farther along, the plans might change.

[carnuck]

NP208C input gear in a Dodge NP208 for RH drop

[jamesdart]

that was my original plan when i started thinking 700 r4, but i read a lot of negative things on the 208 for a wheeler. i have to see how this 205 fits before i change my plan.

[The PIG Smith]

On the Mothership, there have been a two members that have swapped in 4L80E.
I've been watching these builds as I would like a 4L80E or 4L85E behind a Cummins 6BT someday.
I have a 4L80E behind the 6.2L Diesel in my cargo van and I love it!
I will go and dig up those posts and provide a link.

There are some 700R4 swaps on the Mothership, but I do not recall any finished or on the road.
A search may results in some hits of some projects that I am not remembering.

Flint and others have commented very well, that swapping in a OD transmission to save gas is foolish.
The cost of the swap will buy a LOT of gasoline.

[jamesdart]

yeah people say that, but im doing it for multiple reasons. i need lower gears, i have 4.10s to install. i like to drive on the highway and keep up with traffic, so id like od to keep the Rs down. i also like the idea of the low 1st gear. i have a quadratrac right now, i want to do away with that. when i got it on the road earlier this year the chain seemed nice and tight. i dont know the age of the chain. a few wheeling trips and some highway miles later, its skipping like crazy. step on it on the road, doing anything under highway speed and it starts banging away, like im getting shot at. after that i really dont want a case with a chain. i know they all arent like that but i want something tuff. i could put in a new chain, that would be the cheapest and easiest option. but i dont really like the full time. i dont need it. i never use it on my dd jeep with the 242.
so to ditch the qt, i have to find a trans and transfer case, really 2 transfer cases to do the 208 with a fixed yoke. im sure i would have to have the driveshafts modified if i do anything other than qt. i want to move the rear back, so im going to need the rear shaft lengthened no matter what. i then have to rebuild the trans, to change the output of the 400, to get rid of the qt. in theory, im out the cost of the extra bs to swap to the 700. the cost of the 700, and the trans rebuild is a wash. i need a core trans and a rebuild to do away with the qt anyway. im not doing it only for gas savings, but i do think it will do a lot better than im doing now. im thinking the lower 1st, 4.10s, and 2wd will help out, it seems to have to work pretty hard to get rolling. i could be wrong and that would suck to still get 9-10 mpg after the whole thing. well see, ill keep everyone updated with progress. unfortunately i have some other car stuff going on right now thats going to take priority.