Archived Transfer Case -- grinding

[LSonnenberg]

Think my transfer case is bad, thought I'd post and check my diagnosis. Any help greatly appreciated.



1994 CTD 2500 4x4, 250,000 miles



Symptom:



Truck in Park in 2wd high - grinding sound. Truck in gear - grinding sound even louder. Truck in 4wd high - grinding sound in all positions.



Transfer case in neutral, no sound. Transfer case in 4wd low, no sound.



Went from slightly noticable to huge grinding sound in less than 1 mile. It sure seems like something came loose in there and now the gears aren't lined up. Checked fluids, it took about 1/2 quart. Still huge grinding sound.



Gonna order a rebuilt from Transfer Case Express, but I wanted to make sure it's not something else obvious, like the torque converter. It wouldn't be the first time I replaced the wrong major part.



Thanks for any thoughts,



Lee

 

[Matthug]

Well your transfer case doesn't spin when your transmission is in park, so the grinding is not coming from your transfer case.

Sounds like it's coming from somewhere in the transmission. The more load on it the more it grinds, this is why is doesn't grind in low range.

 

[LSonnenberg]

Transfer case - grinding

You're probably totally correct, but I can't get it out of my head that its the transfer case. If I monkey around with the transfer case shifter, the noise goes away and all the grinding is coming directly up the transfer case shifter (certainly not a reliable indicator).



Also, with transfer case in neutral, the noise is not present even with transmission in drive. Also, with transfer case in 4lo, no noise. I'm thinking it's the relationship between the gears and the input shaft in the case.



I'm gonna pull the transfer case this weekend and see if its the snap ring or something obvious, otherwise, it's a call to Dave Goerend. Possible good news, I can get a rebuilt, upgraded transfer case from transfer case express for $650.



Thanks

 

[Matthug]

Also, with transfer case in neutral, the noise is not present even with transmission in drive. Also, with transfer case in 4lo, no noise. I'm thinking it's the relationship between the gears and the input shaft in the case.

Thats because with the TC in nuetral there's no load on the transmission. Also in 4lo there's signicantly less load on the transmission. This is why it grinds the worst in 4hi, because there's more load on it than in 2hi.

Has your automatic transmission ever been serviced? Were the bands always adjusted? Was the torque converter ever replaced? At 260K it's pretty much well past it's life expectancy anyway if it's never been rebuilt.

 

[J.hogue]

i had a 96 with the same problem i thougt it was my transmission but it was my tranfer case the cause was a snap whaser that holds the output shaft the washer is a piece of crap and it will break witch causes the gears to move around and grind ther is a after market washer for it but i dont know who makes it hope this helps. jon

 

[CSnyder]

http://www.drivetrain.com/gillies/Tcasesaver.html



hope that helps, Chris

 

[LSonnenberg]

Transfer case - grinding

thanks everybody,



I'm gonna pull the transfer case this weekend and figure out what the problem is. I'll post what I find out.



Lee

 

[JAderhold]

you can also check with 4xheaven in new york really great people and they specialize in transfer case's and drivetrain parts www.4xheaven.com



Eddie

 

[LSonnenberg]

Transfer case - grinding

Thought I'd post a follow-up.



Yes it was the transfer case. After further diagnosis, it actually did not grind in park, so sorry I gave bad info. Crawled under the truck and was clearly able to tell the grinding came from the transfer case. With that much noise I decided to simply replace rather than trying to take it apart.



The good news "transfercaseexpress.com" was able to UPS me a rebuilt, "updated" case that arrived in 3 days. The price was surpisingly less than I had imagined, $695 for a rebuilt, $45 for shipping, $150 core charge. Once I ship it back to them, they have said they'll take apart the old one and they'll tell me what went wrong. The install was simple and once again I love the truck.



Thanks again for the help.



Lee