Transfer case noise (1 Viewer)

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Crashdix

Crashdix

Joined
Apr 15, 2011
Threads
17
Messages
154
Location
Longmont, CO
After 3" lift noticed grinding noise on highway when floating pedal or on deceleration. Ruled out heat shields, brakes, and u joints ( removed front and rear driveshafts) - looking at threads, a common cause was either input or output shaft bearings. Found some relatively cheap but how hard are they to replace? I would get help from friends that have good knowledge of general mechanics and a full shop of tools. Don't want to attempt if the job is too difficult. This is a subjective statement..... I know there are some very knowledgable guys on here and I am not close to that - really want the grinding noise to go away - cant get anywhere to wheel unless I get on the highway to get there but white knuckling it the whole way! Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers
 
I am having the exact same problem. I have about 240,000 miles on mine but have put 220,000 of those miles on it myself. I have really taken care of it so I don't think it is something internal within the Xfer case. I also believe it is the nose bearing, front and back. I ruled out other problems by putting chasis ears on the front and rear axles, then removing front and then rear drive shafts and then putting the chassis ears soley on the xfer case. The noise is definitely coming from the xfer case.

My next steps are to put the chassis ears back on the xfer case, one on each output nose and one in the middle. I'll listen with the RPMs up until it makes the noise and see where it is primarily coming from. I then plan to change the gear oil from 75/90 to 90/140 and see if it quiets down. If it does then I plan to have someone change the bearings. Hopefully that will fix the problem at a reasonable cost.

I have already researched the cost of a replacement xfer case and it is over $2800 even with Mud discounts. Rebuilding it will likely cost about $1000. The approach I outlined above seems to be the best alternative.
 
Thanks for the info - let me know what you find and if the bearing(s) solve the issue
 
I would pay someone to do it if I were you. It may be simple but screwing up your transfer case could get pretty expensive. Beno recommended a guy in Colorado that knows more than anyone else I have talked to. PM me if you want to talk with him.
 
Hey, born and raised in Ridgefield, CT and lived in Danbury for a while

I have something similar with my rig as well.

Mine is a GRRR type sound when first let of the gas and when I press the gas again

it only happens for a little bit when I let off or get on the the gas, otherwise it is not there

Mine has been like that for quite sometime now, like a few years or so.

The tcase seems fine and I had the front diff apart not to long ago during my front end rebuild and new ujoints front and rear

The only thing I have found so far is that I have some small amount of play in the slip joint of my front drive shaft that is all for now

I got tired of chasing the sound and have chalked it up to slip joint play

I have done many a long road/wheeln trips with the GRRR without any issues over the last few years

My truck only sees about 5k a year and is primarily a trail truck so I gave up on it

Good luck
 
Thanks for the input guys. Seems like me and kidglive13 are in the same boat. It definitely does not sound like Twellad - not as abrupt or violent sounding - a grrrrrr as opposed to a crunch. It hasn't seemed to get any worse over the past months while I have been chasing it down and 95% of driving is in town. I'll see if there is play in slip joint - could be there to I suppose- if bearings need to be swapped will follow Texasjack advice and get a pro

Cheers
 
We used the chasis ears on my vehicle and it is definitely the transfer case. It is the rear output bearings. I plan to remove the nose cone and replace the bearing. I'll let you know how that goes. I'll post up pictures if I get a chance.

It appears the rear output bearing goes bad on lifted trucks more often than the front one because the angle of the rear drive shaft is affected more....it is much steeper.
 
Thanks for the post - please post photos of the bearing swap and if the results are good - want to get rid of this damn noise!
 
Did you ever end up replacing the bearings? Did it remedy your noise?
 
I have this too, though in my case its much more present when I have the center diff locked (part time kit) to engage the front DS. Thou sound and rumble appears to come from under my Right front seat (RHD). My mechanic thinks it could be the exhaust or heatshield. Still haven't solved it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using IH8MUD
 
Haven't replaced bearings - best guess now is something in the actual front dif - just moved to Boulder so gonna have Robbie take a look at it - will let you know if he figured it out.....
 
It might sound like it's in the transfer case, but I bet it isn't. It's a very common problem with lifted 4WDs. It is uni -joint drive line chatter caused by the lift which places the uni joints, mostly the front one as it's shortest, at a sharp angle (altered/steep pinion angle). It is identified by a grinding or whirring noise when lifting off the gas pedal at speed.

Most people fix it by fitting a part time kit so it's rear wheel drive only. Or make sure your castor is properly corrected to minimise the pinion angle. I did both and have now have no such noises. Adjustable lower and/or upper control arms will sort out the rear pinion angle.
 
Crashdix said:
After 3" lift noticed grinding noise on highway when floating pedal or on deceleration. Ruled out heat shields, brakes, and u joints ( removed front and rear driveshafts) - looking at threads, a common cause was either input or output shaft bearings. Found some relatively cheap but how hard are they to replace? I would get help from friends that have good knowledge of general mechanics and a full shop of tools. Don't want to attempt if the job is too difficult. This is a subjective statement..... I know there are some very knowledgable guys on here and I am not close to that - really want the grinding noise to go away - cant get anywhere to wheel unless I get on the highway to get there but white knuckling it the whole way! Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers
Click to expand...
I have the same issue. I have about 3" lift and the grinding started a few weeks after the lift and only occurs when letting off the gas. Based on the threads here i assumed it was pinion angle or front drive shaft issue. I removed front drive shaft and drove it and had same issue. I have since put it on a lift and removed one shaft at atime and i still have the noise.

Did you ever solve your problem?

I am not a great mechanic so most of my work is done by a shop $$. Base on your last comment you are thinking it is a drive shaft angle as well but wondering how you are coming to that conclusion when you have removed both of them and the noise still exist?

Really appreciate your commmets and feed back....
 
did you adjust your input angles on your pumpkins after the lift?? The issue in this thread is most definitely a transfer case bearing, there is a video on youtube detailing the rebuild.
 
Hey
I had the same exact problem. My 80 is stock. I changed the Transfer case and the noise was still there. I couldn't figure it out but I kept driving it. Eventually the noise went away but so did my alignment. Also there is play in the steering. It's been like this for a while now.
 
Just got my 80 series with a 2inch lift already on it with standard 31inch tyres. As soon as i put 33s on though i started to notice a squealing sound like i had bearing movement or rotors weren't straight. But the past couple of days driving it i have a noise like there is a stuck or something caught in my wheel. Sound is coming from my transfer. Also noticed that my rear tailshaft has more backlash than my front.
 
*BUMP*

Did anyone determine Tcase, castor or other solution for growl?

I've been down a long road on this and recently had a pro shop in Sacramento build me a DC shaft out of a brand new factory drive shaft up front.

It's way better unbelievably better but there's still a slight growl between acceleration and deceleration. I'm working to resolve this because I don't want the problem to persist and create larger problems.

I'll be bringing it back in the driveline shop took the angles themselves and they're also going to check my caster angle.

I've considered a part-wheel drive kit. However, I really like the all-wheel drive. I'm also considering the transfer case I noticed when the front drive shaft is out and the growl is completely gone on deceleration there still seems to be a little bit of noise I'm guessing the output bearings are pretty worn.

Thanks and I'm curious to know what y'all found out if you found a solution.
 
I had the same thing. Got adjustable rear upper control arms to adjust the pinnion angle and viola...no more noise. Note that I run 2wheel drive on the highway so you might be fighting the front driveshaft as well.
 
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