Transfer Case is starting to fail.

[bstefanic]

Here's the site where I bought my master bearing rebuild kit and seems to be one of the best places for all parts NV271 http://quad4x4.com/DodgeNV271Dparts.html

The site is a little hard to navigate but very fair prices. I would pull the transfer case yourself which is a bit of a pain in the ass but not overly complicated that would save some serious money. Then find a reputable local drivetrain or 4x4 shop to do the rebuild if you're not going to do it yourself. My initial plan was to rebuild mine myself but it does require some specialized tools and the quote I got didn't really make it worth it to do myself.

[OldSchool2]

In the process of trying to get to the bottom of our original post we got off track.
Looking back at some of the post the topic of the "Service 4WD" light kept coming up. Then it hit me, those of us with the older PW know that this is a common annoyance with the AAM lockers. The "Serv 4WD" light would come on and the front or rear locker light would blink. This has nothing to do with this situation. Recently the Serv 4WD light has come on and goes out but without the locker light blinking. Hmmm. Then, while in 2WD, off road and the suspension flexing I started hearing the popping sound as if I was in 4WD. On pavement everything seem fine. Used 4LO and everything was fine but I did notice the 4WD light was a little erratic. The driveline popping sound is something new. I dropped the rear driveshaft to check the u-joints, and the joints operate smooth. So this is where my son comes into the picture. If where going to pull the transfer case we will first start out by doing some research and determine if it's better to buy new, rebuilt or rebuild ourselves.

So how do I know the transfer case is going away? I don't, not yet. I still have to pull the front driveshaft and check the joints. I already know how to rebuild the transfer case but that doesn't mean I have all the answers. I'll check me ego at the door and take the advise.

Last week I picked up a 02 Rav4 4WD with a bad tranny for $2000 for my son to fix and eventually drive. The Toyota Rav4 is a pain in the *ss to pull the tranny out of but what the last owner didn't realize, and most mechanics don't, is replacing of the 5th gear doesn't require the removal of the the tranny. It's a $350 fix. Unfortunately my son is a little intimidated by the job so were starting with my truck so he can learn the process.

[TwinStick]

Keep us posted please on the t-case issue. Thanks.

[whitey]

Transfer case rebuild is probably more common than we know. I too have had mine rebuilt. East Coast gear supply rebuilt and installed mine. Part of my problem was due to wear around the front and rear driveshaft. There was leaking and significant play around 60,000. I also had a clicking of the stretched chain in 4lo under load at 1st then grew worse. I myself have done some hard pulls so I feel it has done a good job holding together.

[OldSchool2]

Update: Sorry about the delayed response. First I'll tell you about my truck issue and then I'll make the next post about my son.

So we start out by dropping the rear driveshaft, check both u-joints and reinstall the shaft. Both u-joints check out good.
Next we drop the front driveshaft, check all three u-joints, grease the mutli joint and the expansion shaft. While we were there replaced the front pinion seal. Left the front driveshaft off and took the truck out for a test drive. Truck still makes the binding snap sound when off road but since the front driveshaft is not installed I'm thinking now its not the transfer case. Thinking it must be in the rear end we pull the diff. cover, clean the locker magnet, check the operation of the electric looker, inspect the ring and pinion and rotate the tires to spin through the gears. Everything looks good, no metal, no broken teeth, everything seems to operate smoothly. Next we pulled both rear axles to check for a broken axle and once again everything looks. Put everything back together and take it out for a test drive. On the road everything operates normal, off road still hear a popping sound coming from the back end. I checked the rear leaf springs, nothing broken and no cracks in the frame. If you have any suggestion I'd like to hear them. Thanks

[OldSchool2]

Now for a follow up to the part that I believe some of you might be interested in.

As I posted above my son is getting close to the driving age so I bought him a 2002 Rav4 4wd with a bad transmission for $2000. First he will learn how to fix, then he will learn how to drive. He wasn't, key word "wasn't", so keen on the idea of fixing. So he start out by cleaning out the Rav4 and in the process I noticed the battery light began to blink. What a great place to start. Testing and charging the battery, on to testing and verifying the alternator output. Sure enough a bad alternator. He removed the alternator and we brought it in to the parts store to verify that it was indeed a bad alternator before buying a new one. I end up having to go out of town for a few days and while I was out of town my son took the lead and installed the alternator and began touching up some rock chips. I came home and verified his work and then it was on to the almighty repair, replacing the 5th gear and synchro in the transmission. So off with the wheel, wheel liner, drain the transmission and remove the transmission side cover. Remove the shaft retainer C clip, shift fork and synchro collar. Next he pull the pressed on synchro pack, slid off the 5th gear and split bearing pack. To lighten the load I rebuilt the synchro pack and helped him with aligning and pressing the synchro pack back on. He finished up with putting everything back together and filling the transmission with gear lube. Of course no job would be complete without a face full of gear lube. We went on and flushed the power steering fluid as well as replacing the differential and transfer case gear lube. Ironically he's looking for other things he thinks might need to be done like painting the brake calipers and rear drums. It's funny how far a little bit of exposure and some free reign will go.

[FirerescuePW]

That's a great life lesson. You don't know until you try!

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[nts007]

Just to add I busted the t case chain in my 06 powerwagon at 102k km. I thought that my front hubs were jumping splines at first. It was jumping hard in 4wd. Managed to get it replace under warranty.