2003 Ram T Case Upgrade

Spence

Spence

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Salisbury
Is there anything out there that is a viable upgrade for my beater 2003 ram 2500? I have put two NP273Ds in it in the last 60k miles. One was a cracked case, and now something let go inside and i cant shift.

I have an NV4500, and a somewhat turned up cummins, 4.10s and 37s. The official torque ratings for NP205s are lower than the stock case, but i feel like gear drive and iron case have to be stronger. I'm not even convinced and atlas would be the right thing for a truck this heavy and powerful with shock loading from the manual.

I have about decided I'll just have to rebuild the one that's in it, but wanted to make sure I'm not missing some obvious option that I haven thought of yet.
 
I always thought 271 and 273 were the same, other than shift linkage, but turns out the 273 muse have some extra synchros. honestly it feels like i may have some issue with the synchros, i wont know until i tear it down but it could be worth changing to a manual shift np271D if thats the case with them too
 
You could use a 273 F. Swap in the Dodge input and possibly the shift cam. Or use the Dodge front case half with the Ford rear half. I'm almost certain that's a thing.

Plus, you get a fixed rear output. What I usually see in the Dodge variant is the outputs taking a dump.

Rebuilding them is pretty simple. There are a few small upgrades to do internally as well. There are better shift fork pads and make sure to use a new enough case so it has the main shaft that's drilled for extra lubrication.

nc4x4.com

NP273 Rebuild and Duramax Swap

My intent with this thread is to gather, document, and photograph information about rebuilding a Ford NP273 transfer case and adapting it to an Allison transmission. It will be replacing an NP263XHD. This is a list of what you'll need: - A Ford NP273 - 29 spline Dodge input shaft - clocking...
nc4x4.com nc4x4.com

There's a bunch of pictures and info in that thread I did a while back.
 
Not exactly sure of the model but my 98 12v nv4500 truck had a 271 ford case. It was fixed front and rear outputs and flange on both sides with a manual grab handle through the floor. The Low Range in L on the 4500 was CREEPING slow with 4.10’s and 37’s
 
Can you use the newer Borg Warner cases out of the 4th gen? They are dealing with higher output engines in general. In mid-year 2012 Ram switched from the 271 to the 44-47 for manual-shift duties. My 2012 is an early one with the 44-46 behind the "new for 2012" 66RFE. The 44-47 lives behind the newest Cummins engines just fine and was behind the G56 until 2018 in manual-transmission applications.
 
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