Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Transfer Case Came Apart

[walexa07]

I've also got this posted over at DTR, but I'm hoping I can get some valuable information by posting it multiple places. If you see it over there too, I apoligize if it bothers you.



At a red light, 4 wheel drive High range, 3400 rpm, 2nd gear clutch dump, and shortly after take-off there were some horrible noises. Pulled over with fluid draining onto the ground. Towed it home and found transfer case pretty much broke in half, about 3 inches back from where it mounts to the transmission. I can see some planetary gears in there, and there is about 1. 5 inches of separation. Not sure exactly what happened here. Anybody got any ideas? I am sure the input shaft is still together. When I had this remanufactured transmission put in my truck 30 thousand miles ago, I had the 5th gear nut tacked onto the mainshaft to prevent it from coming off. Since I've not heard of many transfer case failures, is it safe to assume something went wrong with my transmission mainshaft? Any help here would be greatly appreciated. What transfer case should I go back with? Does anybody have a spare? Dad is coming over tomorrow to help me pull it all down to see if the transmission itself suffered any damage as well.



Waylan

 

[Extreme1]

At a red light, 4 wheel drive High range, 3400 rpm, 2nd gear clutch dump, and shortly after take-off there were some horrible noises. Pulled over with fluid draining onto the ground.

Waylan

I think you've found the problem.



There is an adapter between the trans case and the transfer case but if you are seeing guts and lost fluid, it's the T-case case that died. The trans shaft will probably be OK but, tack welding the 5th gear nut to it isn't good, it will break eventually.



Is your T-case a 241HD? The HD's have a PTO outlet with a cover over it, regular 241's don't. I'm not sure how much that would help. I'm not sure of the differences besides a wider chain on the HD's but it's worth checking into for the replacement.



If you intend on doing the 3400 RPM 2nd gear drops maybe you need a 2 wheel drive with a 4 link, slicks and wheely bars?

 

[walexa07]

Thanks for the responses. I've read plenty about guys who race/launch in 4 high to maintain traction. Mine has the 241 DLD transfer case... ..... I got under there and looked. Any other info would be greatly appreciated.



Waylan

 

[BigEasy]

I had this really heavy anvil in my hands... it weighed about 200#. I decided I didn't want to hold it anymore and now my feet hurt. Not sure exactly what happened here. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[walexa07]

I had this really heavy anvil in my hands... it weighed about 200#. I decided I didn't want to hold it anymore and now my feet hurt. Not sure exactly what happened here. Anyone have any ideas?

I'm not sure why posts like this bother me, because there is always at least one person in the crowd with absolutely nothing to contribute other than negative comments. It's not like I was robbing a bee hive and now I wonder why they were stinging me... ... ... . I didn't side-step the clutch, and besides, that con ofe slips plenty enough to where I thought it was the weak link. I've read about guys launching like this in 4 high with DD clutches, which don't have springs between the hub and disk, at much higher rpms than I did. Everything I have done to my truck has been in an effort to prevent downtime, and in the best order I thought possible. I had a plate, gsk, and injectors bought and in-hand, as well as guages, but I put the guages in first before I touched anything else. EGT's were running high, so I added the larger turbo... ..... wastegated it low until I could install head studs. My front driveshaft began vibrating... ... . took it out, looked it over, and replaced it with an aftermarket improved unit to prevent problems down the line. And in all of my hundreds of hours reading on diesel forum after diesel forum, never have I read that launching in 4 high would destroy the transfer case. I did read of breaking input shafts... ..... and I've got one sitting on my shelf to put in when I get a chance to put in my DD clutch that is also sitting on the shelf. I've even read of stripping gear teeth, and if this would've happened, I wouldn't have been totally shocked. All I was looking for here was an explanation, like "yes, the spring clip must have come off and it allowed misalignment of the planetary gear set, and that is what most likely trashed your transfer case". And maybe a suggestion or 2 as to how to prevent it in the future. I was not looking for "your wrist hurts because you just fell on it, quit asking stupid questions"



I don't want people to get upset with me, but please, if you don't have something helpful/positive to contribute, please don't waste my time. I do appreciate the posts that are helpful.



Right now I believe I will try to get a 241dhd from transfercaseexpress. Does anybody know if it is a direct swap?



Waylan

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

Well lets see, you've got a truck that was engineered around having 215 horsepower and now you have how much?????? Things will break but what can you do to "help" prevent breakage? If you don't have traction bars I would strongly suggest them. They will prevent some serious axle wrap that is pushing on the drive shafts and into the xfer case.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

At a red light, 4 wheel drive High range, 3400 rpm, 2nd gear clutch dump, and shortly after take-off there were some horrible noises. Pulled over with fluid draining onto the ground. Waylan

oh and by the way I don't think anyone meant to hurt your feelings but read the beginning of your post. With your Kore suspension I imagine you have 35" tires? Sorry but you were kind of begging for the anvil joke.

 

[Matthug]

Well lets see, you've got a truck that was engineered around having 215 horsepower and now you have how much??????

Well lets see if the truck only has 215/440 than why is the transfer case they put in rated for 1028 ftlbs? Thats the DLD, the HD is rated for 1400. Why the dana 80 rear? Surely a D60 rear can handle 440 ft/lbs of torque, why not just put that in the rear? Well it's because dodge build these trucks to handle a heck of a lot more than stock.

I'd say his transfer case was just old and/or cracked already from a PO.

 

[walexa07]

Well lets see, you've got a truck that was engineered around having 215 horsepower and now you have how much??????

Well lets see if the truck only has 215/440 than why is the transfer case they put in rated for 1028 ftlbs? Thats the DLD, the HD is rated for 1400. Why the dana 80 rear? Surely a D60 rear can handle 440 ft/lbs of torque, why not just put that in the rear? Well it's because dodge build these trucks to handle a heck of a lot more than stock.

I'd say his transfer case was just old and/or cracked already from a PO.

I appreciate it Matt. Not to mention that most equipment's rating has a safety factor in there as well, sometimes as high as 2. In other words, the 241DHD is rated for 1400 ft-lbs, but it's true rating at the point where things start breaking might be 2800 ft-lbs or higher. Anyway, It's not like I don't think anything should ever break on my truck, not like that at all. It's just that I do not ever see transfer cases shattering. I have read where transfer cases sometimes grind, sometimes pop, and sometimes shell the inside out, but I've never read where one actually broke like mine. I was just hoping someone could tell me (besides the obvious) what made it break like that. In other words, is there something that just wasn't right in mine, was it that snap ring thing that came off, and had it been in place this wouldn't have happened?



Waylan

 

[Moose]

The torque ratings may lead you to believe that these components will handle anything we can throw at them. . But those ratings are based on constant torque... NOT a shock load!!. . Thats how people break ring and pinion sets in the axles and destroy u-joints... . For a few breif moments right as you let out the clutch the torque load that is transmitted through the stationary driveline components is a lot higher then the torque that your engine is auctually producing... Once the drive train parts start to move that load decreases...



Having said that... This product might be something to look into if you really feel the need to do high rpm 4x4 launches http://www.powertrainsavers.com/catalogue.php?ccuser=#2 ... I know that I am seriously looking at them for my truck





Moose

 

[walexa07]

I will get pics on here later today, just got done removing it.



Right now, I believe I know what caused it. Back about 8 months ago, I the CV joint part of my front driveshaft was causing vibration. After some research, I decided to go with a replacement from driveshaftsuperstore.com. I checked on getting mine rebuilt, but it was going to cost as much as a new one... ... . possibly more. Anyway, it looks as though the center piece of the CV broke, as there are cracks radiating from that front shaft area, and I believe the CV then got in a jam under a hard load and pushed the transfer case to break away from the back of the transmission. All the internals to the transfer case look new... ... . nothing look like it got bound up. Bad thing about this is it would've probably happened eventually even on a stock truck offroading. At least I feel better now with what looks like the culprit. It would bother me more to never know what caused it to break.



Waylan

 

[BigEasy]

Well lets see if the truck only has 215/440 than why is the transfer case they put in rated for 1028 ftlbs? Thats the DLD, the HD is rated for 1400. Why the dana 80 rear?

Remember... the transmission multiplies torque!



Walexa, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, but like Turbo Tim said... you were begging for the joke.

 

[bgilbert]

Were you at the drag strip when doing this foolishness?

 

[Extreme1]

If the parts aren't hurt bad you might be able to find a used case and recover some $$. If you are intending to do launches like that, stuff will get damaged, I'd start with a set of ladder bars. A 4-link might be a good idea if you don't plan on hauling anything.



That powertrain saver devise might save parts but that's going to undo a lot of the power adding part effects when launching (it filters out torque spikes). Although with tuning and practice you could probably get it to slip like a clutch on a top fueler, I'm not sure how that would be on a daily driver.



As for the comments on here, take them with a grain of salt. As long as you realize that you're gona break stuff when you do that enough times, we wanna see it! I've broken a lot of parts over the years too (mostly transmission parts on cars) and I know what causes it, just never when or where it's going to happen.



Looking forward to the pics.

 

[walexa07]

Yep, I guess I had it coming to some degree. It is difficult to interpret how responses are intended... ... . and I should always take it with a grain of salt. I won't change my style... ..... I'll just check the front driveshaft very often now. It looks like the center portion of the CV failed and blew grease all over the transfer case, so I assume that part had been out for some time?? If so, it was going to fail sooner or later..... at least it happened close to home. I'm going to try to find me a cheap commuter vehicle tomorrow so I have something to drive when things like this happen. Here's some pics:

 

[Extreme1]

Wow

:--)



Sweet! That earned a this thread a 5 star rating! Oo.



You might have to shorten the rear driveshaft and/or lenghten the front driveshaft. I'm not sure what NV did to make up for the difference in the width of the chain and sprockets so be sure to check it out.

 

[walexa07]

With your Kore suspension I imagine you have 35" tires? Sorry but you were kind of begging for the anvil joke.

No 35" tires... ..... 265-75-16's.

 

[cahammer]

the 241 hd requires a different slipyoke to the rear drive line no extending or shorting of drivelines required but if you go with a 271 like i did (look in my pics) from the 241hd you have to shorten the rear drive shaft go bigger yokes and bend fuel lines out of the way for clearence i still have my 241hd case is solid but needs new forks pm if intrested and that was an awesome break :-laf

 

[Bart]

Waylan, I don't know if this will help you or not. A friend of mine has a perfect t-case in so california. He took it into the dealer with a vibration. They said it was the t-case and since he had a 6" lift the warranty was void. He paid $2400 for another case and it didn't cure the problem. If you're interested and you can use his case call Brian Robbins at 760 243 5400 this is his business phone. Hope I have helped. I know he'll sell it a lot cheaper than a new one.

 

[walexa07]

Got my transfer case in from transfer case express.



Now I need to know how to adjust it. The tech at transfer case express wouldn't tell me how to... ... . said I need to take it to someone who does it since warranty won't cover if it self destructs due to improper adjustment.



Any pointers? Should I take it somewhere? Thanks.



Waylan