Rattling 4x shifter noise.....

[jwhitfield]

I was wondering if anyone else has a noisy 4x shifter? There is an annoying rattling noise that is fairly loud. The only reason it doesn't bother my as much now is because my exhaust system has grown loud enough to drown it out. I'm assuming the rattling noise is actually gear noise from the transfer case being transmitted through the shifter. Any comments, or fixes???

[JIMs70GMC]

Hopefully the search function will be up and running because someone else had the same problem a while ago. I believe it was posted in the 4x4 forum, you could scan through them all.

[ljbear]

You didn't mention year or TC model, so it's hard to say what's going on. Does the noise stop if you hold on to the stick? If so it may be a loose linkage. I had a rattle in my TC stick and I bought a piece of heater hose and slid it down the stick. It worked so good I added a piece to my tranny stick as well.

Larry

[K20cheyenne]

It could be gear noise or linkage, or both. My 4x shifter rattled really bad. I took the pivot bolt out that mounts the shifter to the transfer case adapter. I cleaned it up good and found that the bolt has a channel in it for grease. After greasing it up good the noise was significantly reduced. A month ago I noticed what sounded like loud gear whine coming from the t-case and it drove me crazy. I noticed that I had set a cup on the shifter upside down. It turned out to be amplifying the normal gear noise. After removing the cup I can still faintly hear the gaers if listen real hard. If you find your noise to be harmless just appliy the universal noise fix, turn the radio up.

Jim

[1969 GMC]

i have noticed that both of my shifters make noise sometimes...but not all the time. if i hold the shifter, the noise stops. i have the rockwell t-221 and sm465. but i usually don't mind the noise and crank the volume.

[jwhitfield]

I appreciate the input. I have a 72 with a NP205 TC. I also slid a piece of heater hose over the shifter which does reduce the noise, but it's not the most attractive piece in the cab.....

[1976K5CHALET]

Sometimes i wonder why gm does what they do...

The original NP205 had a couple wave washers made of spring steel for this problem....however...you cannot buy them anymore....so..about 3 years back i had to buy another NP205 shifter from GM to finish the NP205 swap on the chalet...2 years prior i bought my first NP205 stick from gm and it came with the bolt...the second time it did not....but...a design change of an added isolated bushing on the end of the stick...interesting that many years after the NP205 is not even an option on anything gm produces currently....anyways it handily cures the rattle problem...next problem....gen1..vs. gen2 np205 sticks are diff in length and the bends....so...you could buy the updated version from gm...and meld the two together and cure the problem...

DW

[BLAZIN'72]

I had the same problem with my 205 in my 72'swb, I took out the bolt and washers, then covered the fronts and backs of the washers with anti-sieze. It seems to be working fine, although I only did it about 4mo. ago and don't drive the truck that often (once or twice a week) so i don't know how long it will last. The funny thing is I never even noticed it until I did the interior ( I put down dynamat, then the factory pad, and then the rubber floormat) what a difference! I can even hear the stereo with with 35 BFG/MT'S, 2 1/2" flo-mo's (with turndowns under the bed). I have all new door rubber and window felt to replace and when I do that I'm going to spray the inside of the doors with some rubberized coating.

[jwhitfield]

Thanks everyone for the ideas...