Atlas Shift Fork Assembly: The Atlas transfer case has under gone some shifter fork changes since its inception. The first shift forks used in the Atlas were equipped with non heat treated material. These shift forks had a tendency to bend after a period of time. Since the bent shift fork would not allow the shifter slider to fully engage the drive cogs of the gear, this would allow the transfer case to pop out of gear We changed the shift fork material on cases numbered 81 & up to a special heat treated alloy. This shift fork proved to be the fix for the early style Atlas shift fork.
We have recently experienced a few of these newer style shift forks breaking. The shift fork was designed as a two piece component. The physical fork is spot welded to a steel bushing. This steel bushing is then fastened to the shift rail. The breakage that occurred on the few shift forks we've seen occurred at the weld. Since these forks are made from a heat treated material, a beefier welds would not be the answer because it just softens the metal like the early shift forks. We opted to add a gusset to the shift fork which moves the torsional shifting load away from the weld. This latest version shift fork in now a cast iron fork and this fork is the ultimate for strength; however, this fork upgrade should not be done unless a shift fork problem exists. 301550