I think this will be a better (and cheaper) way to clock the t-case than buying a ring. This is my Bronco's ORIGINAL ('83) NP208F, which grenaded a few months ago. I'm cutting the front off through the factory-threaded mounting bolt holes so I can put sharpened bolts in backward, and use them as center pricks to mark the transmission extension. This is the most-precise way I can think to do this, without using Ford/NP's original blueprints & CNC machinery.

Using an old trashed t-case as a template, I redrilled the tailhousing to clock the t-case up closer to the body so the skidplate wouldn't have to be so low. But I might have gone a little farther than necessary... Fortunately, the bolt holes AREN'T what keeps the t-case from spinning, so the one that's outside the casting doesn't matter. It still provides the clamping force, and the dowel pin was also moved, so it's just as strong as before. Aftermarket clocking rings delete the dowel pin, so this is stronger than any of them.

This is slightly higher than I intended, but I'll check it with the body in-place on the poly mounts.

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It's certainly closer than I wanted, but with poly body & trans mounts, that's probably ENOUGH clearance.



That's the aux.batt. tray in the foreground.

It's certainly closer than I wanted, but with poly body & trans mounts, that's probably ENOUGH clearance.

I forgot that the poly trans mount had melted slightly, and that I had replaced one engine mount since then. So the powertrain is rotated slightly, raising the t-case on the L side. When I transferred this crossmember to this frame, I added washers under the bar to level it out, so the trans tailhousing isn't flat to it now.

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I loosened both engine mounts & neutralized them (using my JY torsion bar converted to a 6' prybar) to settle the trans mount, then retightened them.


Molding your own poly engine mounts

Now the trans is sitting flat on the mount bar, so the L side of the clocked t-case will be a little lower (farther from the floor). The polyurethane trans mounts (made for early Broncos) should keep it there.

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This should be plenty of clearance, and if it's not quite enough, I'll add a shim washer to each body mount, &/or remove some from between the poly trans mounts & the mount bar.

There's more clearance above the t-case than above these frame bolts, so I doubt the t-case will ever hit the floor.

Looks OK to me. Now, it all has to come back out for gaskets, and to open the t-case to inspect the pump stay arm.

Rather than follow the published procedure, I'm trying this shortcut to inspect/repair the pump stay arm without any extra disassembly. If it doesn't work, I'll just do it right. So far, I've removed the front output yoke (1 1/4") and all the casehalf bolts (T50). I also vacuumed the front output seal to remove all the loose dirt before it fell in on the bearing, and polished the mating surface on the yoke so it can re-seal later.

SEE THE NEXT several pics & their captions...

Before pulling it all the way apart and dumping pieces everywhere, I took a good look. I can see the pump at the far end, and its tube crossing the split to the filter at the top L of the pic.

The filter screen looks good, and I've collected the magnet that was in the same case groove as the filter base. It has no major buildup, either, so I think this t-case is in good shape so far.

The rust on this gear's shaft isn't serious - it probably happened in the past month after I drained the fluid & then left the t-case sitting outdoors.

The planetary shift fork (top) got hung up & dislodged the shift rail, but nothing fell on the ground. It looks like it'll be fairly easy to drop it back together later.

The triangular part at the Right center of the photo overhanging the chain is the pump stay arm.

No chunks on the magnet or in the case, so that's good.

The spring for the 2-4 shift fork (background) isn't damaged.

This half also looks fine, other than the worn rib for the pump stay arm at the Right near the top of the photo.

This is the important part. The pump stay arm has barely worn into the case rib. If it was much worse, I'd clean the case & JBWeld it. But since it's so minor, I'm just going to pad it.

SEE THE OTHER PHOTOS & captions in this album...

The shift fork pads look like-new.

The 2-4 fork & shift rail are back in place, ready for reassembly.

The planetary fork is where it belongs, but it may take some effort to align the shift rail through it into the pocket in the case when this is inverted.

This is the pad I'm adding. It's just some thick plastic (left over from another project) which will keep the steel stay arm from touching the Magnesium case, and abrading it. I don't expect it to last forever, but then, I don't expect the t-case or truck to last forever, either. This should outlast both of them. At worst, it'll slow down the wear so it takes several years just for the steel to start touching the case again. It's about 3x as thick as a scrap from an antifreeze jug, but anything is better than nothing.

The stay arm is too long to place this here now - I'll have to insert it as I assemble the casehalves, at the same time I'm aligning the shift rail, inserting the filter, and the magnet... Since it's so difficult to install, I won't use any adhesive; the pump arm will dig into the plastic slightly, so it'll be captive in this groove.

Cutting the pad this way allows it to hang on the tip of the arm, making re-assembly easier.

After a LOT of fiddling, juggling, tapping, bumping, twisting, cursing, shifting, and smearing the sealant, I managed to get the shift shaft stabbed, the filter in its groove, the magnet in behind it, and the case together. It might even hold fluid!