Troubleshooting A Transfer Case?

[88whitemanche]

What's up guys

How do you guys troubleshoot one?

 

I'm having problems and think its my transfer case. I'm having a huge impact every time I'm in neutral rolling into a turn...I already locked my cad and think my t-case might be going out....I'm going to check fluids today but is there anything else that I should check out?

 

Also today on the highway from third to fifth gear it was giving me a real bad grinding noise. I pulled over to the side of the road and a huge impact like if its being thrown into gear and I drive after that with no problems. Let alone I'm getting horrible gas mileage lately and I just did an full tune up last week to the truck.

[MJ_Milam]

are you sure you're not having tranny problems? sounds like worn sycronizers. what transfer case is it? 231 or 242?

[88whitemanche]

231....but this the first time it's ever done that goin into gears and in gear....it's mainly have done it coasting in neutral and coasting in neutral while making a turn....

[comanche1989]

Check balljoints, U-Joints and suspension components?

[Blue88Comanche]

"Going down the highway" where you in 2wd or 4wd, are you sure the shifter is shifting the transfer case and not just staying in 4wd high?

[88whitemanche]

All suspension parts have been changed except axle shaft u joints I'm waiting for a weekend to do that project...first time going to do it

 

Blue88....my transfer case lever shows 2wd but everyday I get in the truck I make sure to look down to make sure it's in 2wd because I drive mainly highway.... How can I go to check if its not in 4h?

 

I don't notice any differences in turning but what I do notice that when I'm on a hill when I press the clutch in its sapose to roll down right? Mine doesn't

[Blue88Comanche]

if you can get a helper, apply parking brake, put the tranny in neutral and have someone shift from 2wd to 4wd H then neutral, then 4wd L. there is a lever on the transfer case if the lever is moving it then most likely it is shifting properly.. if it stays in one spot then the linkage is loose.. you can also lift up the jeep so all the tires are off the ground start up the jeep and put into first then it should be easy to tell if 2wd it really in 2wd and so on.

 

but thats all the help i can do,

 

you may have a broken gear somewhere? the diffs are easy enough to check, while the jeep is jacked up pull off the covers and inspect the spider and ring gears,

 

 

edit: after typeing all of the above i re read your last post "I don't notice any differences in turning but what I do notice that when I'm on a hill when I press the clutch in its sapose to roll down right? Mine doesn't"

It may be possible the slave cylinder needs to be replaced, it also would not hurt to replace the clutch lone and the master. when i swapped mine it only took a couple hours with a second person helping.

[88whitemanche]

Ok ill try that hopefully tomorrow....but I just changed my clutch and slave cylinder less than 3 months ago with the mechanic but it wasn't making that sound before he replaced the clutch and salve cylinder... I went back to him and told him about it he told me to leave the truck for a few days to see if he hears or notices anything. Two days later I get a call and he says he didn't hear or feel anything. I picked up the truck and five minutes later it started again. I went back to him and he heard it coming in but you can tell he didn't want to work on the truck anymore. So I said forget it and ill deal with driving it myself. So as time passed it'll pop up every other day or none at all. It wasn't until yesterday where it's grind going into third fourth and fifth gear....but the noises I heard and research on you tube and read other forums on the noises sounds like the transfer case....I checked fluid and its filled to the top I think the chain may have expanded or something. That its hitting the case it self

[87manche1]

Could have a loose chain maybe skipping teeth? Look inside the drain and fill holes any metal shavings in the fluid?

[MJ_Milam]

splitting a transfer case is fairly easy. here's a pic of a stretched chain. you can obviously see the chain sags below the bottom of the case half so best bet is look for wear marks in the case halfs.

[Stacks]

It sounds alot more like a transmission issue than a transfer case issue.  If it was a transfer case issue it would do it when you shift into any gear.  I'd venture a guess that possibly the syncros are going out in 3rd,4th, and 5th OR that the clutch isn't disengaging completely.  Especially as you stated it didn't do it before the clutch work.  Bleeding the lines and slave cylinder completely is a pain in the backside at times!!!  It is conceivable too that there's a broken syncro and there are pieces floating around and making the impact sound and feeling as a piece gets jammed between gear teeth.  Something to ponder on!!

 

  I just changed the t-case chain on my '97 TJ.  http://comancheclub.com/topic/38529-np231-chain/  In that link you can see how badly it was stretched. It had been rubbing on the inside of the case.  There was absolutely no additional noise that could be heard by that rubbing.  The only issue I had is the gears jumped/skipped teeth on the chain and you coud not use 4wd.  No problems shifting the tranny in 2wd at all.  Hope the thoughts here help a bit.

 

Larry

[Bounty Hunter]

splitting a transfer case is fairly easy. here's a pic of a stretched chain. you can obviously see the chain sags below the bottom of the case half so best bet is look for wear marks in the case halfs. 

The pic doesn't show a stretched chain, all t-case chains sag when the rear case is removed as the shafts shift slightly inward with no rear bearing support.

 

You remove a chain and hold it on edge on one end and look for the chain to bend if it is worn.  Or for the tell-tale rub marks inside the case.

 

The symptom of a stretched chain is a loud bang in 4wd, as if hitting the bottom of the Jeep tub with a hammer, when the chain skips on the sprockets.

[88whitemanche]

 

 

The symptom of a stretched chain is a loud bang in 4wd, as if hitting the bottom of the Jeep tub with a hammer, when the chain skips on the sprockets.

 

That loud bang? does it follow up with an impact? Mine does the loud bang and follows up with an impact that makes you feel that someone hit you from behind. I swear I was telling my dad to come with me to see if he felt it because he's deaf so he can't hear. So the next day I took him to the hospital and when leaving it grind and follow up with an impact that my dad looked back so fast and was ready to scream at the person who hit us and realized there wasn't anyone behind us that either the transmission or transfer case was doing it.

[Bounty Hunter]

It's possible, if something is binding and then letting go.  You should be able to narrow it down by changing the fluid in both the transmission and transfer case.  Inspect the fluid and drain plug closely.