Rockwell T221 Transfer Case

[Ed Snyder]

During a recent drive I experienced a transfer case issue with my '62 Suburban. The truck coasted to a stop, and would not go no matter what position the transfer case shifter was in. I had to have it towed home. So I suspect I'm faced with a rebuild. I see a handful of businesses on the internet offering their rebuild services for the T221. I'm not looking forward to the expense of shipping it off to be rebuilt. I haven't checked with any local transmission shops yet.

Advice or recommendations, anyone?

[FetchMeAPepsi]

I looked at rebuilding mine at one point. Back then, it was cheaper to buy the parts off Ebay and replace them. If you drop it and find out what's wrong with it, it looks like all the parts are still available.

[beerman]

I hope to refresh mine soon. Divorced input shafts can be a little pricey but not as bad as the married ones. I have some parts and a few extra rear input bearing caps. LOL Please let me know if I can help.

[BobBray]

If it was a 'married' case I would say the input shaft coupler stripped out, but that's not what you have. Maybe you could take the cover off and see if the shift forks are O.K., maybe it's stuck in neutral. Good news is parts are available on Ebay and places like Torque-King 4X4.

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Hey Ed did you ever figure out what was wrong with your transfer case?

[Ed Snyder]

Hey Ed did you ever figure out what was wrong with your transfer case?

After I crawled under the truck to do some investigating, I discovered that there was nothing wrong with the transfer case, Fetch. The rear driveshaft would turn, but the rear wheels wouldn't move. What happened was the left rear axle had pulled out of the differential a couple of inches. Good thing I had it towed home rather than driving it using the front differential. The wheel with axle attached could have pulled out much farther, causing body damage and who knows what else.

[FetchMeAPepsi]

That's scary. Is there a keeper or clamp inside that's supposed to keep it in place? On the outside there's a snap ring, but that's as far as I've dug into mine.

[James]

I don't know what type of axle you have. But:

If you have a semi-floating rear axle, then you have a clip inside the differential that had somehow came loose. Opening up the rear cover and looking inside the carrier where the spider gears is at, you may find the reason for the failure.

If you have a full floating axle, then the nut came loose inside the hub allowing the axle to decouple.

[lizziemeister'sV6]

Could be a broken axle on the extended side. Does the drive shaft turn by hand?

[Ed Snyder]

I don't know what type of axle you have. But:

If you have a semi-floating rear axle, then you have a clip inside the differential that had somehow came loose. Opening up the rear cover and looking inside the carrier where the spider gears is at, you may find the reason for the failure.

If you have a full floating axle, then the nut came loose inside the hub allowing the axle to decouple.

It's a half ton truck, James, with a semi-floating rear axle. The clip did indeed come loose somehow. I ended up having the truck towed to a local shop. After some research, I found that the best one was only 4 miles from my house. The owner, Jim, has been there for over 40 years. He's 70 years old and semi-retired. He said he's had as many as 14 other mechanics working for him at his big shop, but is down to just one helper now. His specialties are transmissions, transfer cases, and rear ends. So I knew it was in good hands.

The Suburban had been ordered by the original owner with 3.92 gears. Some previous owner had replaced the rear gears with 3.54s, probably for better gas mileage, but didn't bother replacing the 3.92s in front. When I discovered that shortly after I bought it in 1997, I had a local 4x4 shop replace them with 3.54s to match the rear. Jim discovered that the amateur mechanic who had replaced the rear gears never set the lash properly, possibly contributing to the failure. The gears were excessively worn and had to be replaced.

So I decided to have Jim give the whole drivetrain, front and rear, a thorough rebuild. The truck is 64 years old with about 170,000 miles on it. I figured that it was time for a major makeover. Jim ended up replacing lots of old, worn parts, including the rear ring and pinion, axles, bearings, seals, brake shoes and cylinders, etc., etc. Cost me a bundle, but I believe it was money well spent. My 44 year old son is already looking forward to inheriting it when I'm gone. Hopefully that's still many years away!

[lizziemeister'sV6]

Good you had it repaired properly. Way too many owners go the "cheap" route and cobble to just get by. "Do it once - do it right!":thumbsup:

[FetchMeAPepsi]

That's going to run like new! I'd be VERY interested in the part numbers he put on.

[Ed Snyder]

That's going to run like new! I'd be VERY interested in the part numbers he put on.

Sorry, Fetch, but I didn't get any part numbers. I do know that Jim had a very hard time getting everything he needed. He did have to return a few parts, reorder, and wait again. He even had to fabricate a couple of things himself. The Suburban ended up on his lift for almost two months. Jim said it got lots of attention from other customers and even passers-by wanting to get a look at it.