My transfer case has been making some grinding noise while driving down the road. The grinding noise starts around 40 mph and the noise level increases as speed increases. I've heard it for a while, but haven't been able to pin point the noise to one area or part.

I finally locked down the transfer case as the problem this weekend. While driving down the freeway, I had this odd inclination to grab the transfer case shift lever and pull it to the left slightly. As soon as I moved the shift lever to the left, the noise decreased substantially. It did not diminish completely, but almost.

Once I got home I put the transfer case into Neutral and then put the transmission into overdrive to simulate driving down the highway. I got under the truck and pin pointed the noise to the transfer case. I believe the noise is traveling through the shift lever into the cab.

I've spoken with a Jeep guy at work, and he explained that it might be the chain in my transfer case slapping on the case. Does this sound right? It makes since to me. The noise does not occur while the vehicle is in 4x4.

What should I do now?
Should I have the transfer case rebuilt? (It has 170,000 miles on it)Or should I replace it with a transfer case from a junkyard?How hard is it to remove and replace the transfer case?How much does the transfer case weight?
Will I be able to muscle it down and back up into place?
I read in another thread that the transfer case needs to be aligned. Is this true?

A re-manufactured transmission is out of the question. I've got one quote for $1200 and I don't have the funds to buy a re-manufactured transfer case.

 

Is there a certain year transfer case that has known problems or certain year transfer case that is better than another?

 

do you use 4wd alot? is your truck in good condition?

 

I do not use 4x4 that often, maybe 5 times a year max. I consider my truck in good condition for 170,000 miles. I plan to have it for about 3 more years hopefully. I graduated from college in December and just started a job. I don't want to buy a vehicle and have a payment right now.

 

if you really push it, it can be done in a day, but you willl get frustrated at that pace... two days minumum and you should be golden. 250 is a steal, if it is in good shape with no play. it can be mussled in and out, but it is a VERY good idea to have a good floor jack under it. it is amazing the difference it makes. no alignment required. there is a pin that makes sure it is square with the world and then just torque down the bolts and loc tight them. you do need to jack up the front, unload the torsion bars, and remove the torsion bar cross member, BFH and hit towards the back of the truck.

 

I'm leaning toward taking it to the shop if it will take 2 days. The shop told me they can do it in 3 hours.

Are all transfer cases the same or is there a certain year that has known flaws?

 

I would pay to have it rebuilt.
If you just put a salvage yard T case in there,,,you might have the same problem 5000 miles down the road. You really don't know what your getting!

 

that is a very good point. to me it was worth it to save around 500 bucks and buy used.not to mention what i saved by doing it myself. i have almost 7000 miles on my 'new' case and it is perfect so i got lucky. i would be very surprised if they (the shop) could actually get this done in three hours. that is really cooking. now if i had a fancy lift and had done several before i probably could have done the whole project in one day. even without those advantages i probably could have... but i wast worn out, and not really in any hurry. personnally i would do it myself if i were you and just take a weekend and a buddy and do it. but i like to know how my truck is put together and what makes it tick. plus it should be cheaper to buy your friend a case of beer than pay a shopbut thats just me. good luck with whatever you decide.


oh and as far as i know all the cases are the same except some have floor shifters and some shift electronically.

 

Yeah,if he can do it and has the time.
He could save some money by taking it out, take it to them to rebuild and then put it back in himself too.

 

Check to see if your local yard offers a warranty with the used case. For the cost and time savings, I'd go with used if it's got a good warranty. Alldata shows 4 hours to remove and replace the case. And as far as which is better, if you only use yours a few times a year, the best case is the factory case. What you've got is good, but there are better ones out there; however, the time, money, and trouble to upgrade would moot the whole point. My truck has the BW 4406 and I've beaten the snot out of it and it has served me well. It has 250k miles on it with no troubles.

 

add some snake oil.. it'll be fine...

 

 

All of this feedback is great.

I agree completely, I enjoy working on my truck and seeing the innards (that's a technical term). It took me 4 days, but I installed the lift kit by myself on my truck. It makes fixing the next problem easier because I can already visualize the components and how they work together. However, that was much easier when I was back at home with access to tools and extra vehicles. I just moved to Vegas a month ago and I'm living with a coworker. So I only have the tools in my tool box and having my truck out of commition for a few days while a shop fixes it is a major inconvenience.

I believe that I'm going to buy a used transfer case for $250 with 75,000 miles and pay the shop $175 to pull the old and place the new. I understand the concern that "you don't know what you get" when buying used. It's a gamble I think I have to take. I'll say a prayer over the transfer case before putting it in.

 

I think most salvage yards give you a 30 day guarantee anyway. I know they do on motors and trannys around here anyway.
So you should no by then if it's a good one or not.
Make sure to ask about the 30 days though.

 

i can understand the position you are in. that bites that you cant do it yourself though. but, on the other hand it is kinda nice to just have someone else take care of it. .. . then if its messed up you can blame them!