231 T-case rear output yoke play (with SYE)

[xj^REMY]

Unknown SYE (not hack & tap) with double cardan CV driveshaft. I have been noticing more vibes & overall noise over the past year or so, & in the 9 years I've owned it, have never been able to go above 75 on the highway (no desire to be up in those speeds anyways, so I didnt care).

Crawled under the jeep, I pushed the rear driveshaft up close to the CV joint & felt it shift up. Inspected more, couldn't see any movement from the u-joints, but I could see the rear output yoke moving. I unbolted the driveshaft from it & I could easily move the yoke in & out. I tried tightening down the nut as much as possible, but could still move the yoke got in & out about 1/16". I then took off the nut & could see that the nut was bottoming out on the splined shaft.

Any ideas what could be causing this?

 

[zachandandy]

Worn shift pads in the tcase can allow excess slop at the rear output.

 

[Tim_MN]

1/32" or so of in/out play is normal, if you truly have more than 1/16" of play, that may be excessive. I would suspect a worn out drive shaft first, and then possibly worn bearings, if a fully rebuilt drive shaft does not cure the symptoms.

Worn shift pads in the tcase can allow excess slop at the rear output.

Ridiculous, but if you like, explain how that happens.

 

[zachandandy]

He has in/out play at the output yoke, so worn out driveshaft is ridiculous. The shift fork pads hold the output shaft in place when the transfer case is in gear, if they are worn or in my case disentigrated, the output shaft has excessive play and will also disengage on its own.

 

[98stocker]

If it is bottoming out and the yoke still moves, maybe a washer under the nut would help.

 

[cjspecial]

Not sure if this will help, but my IRO hack n tap came with an adapter flange for the output shaft seal, and the inside bore is about 1/16 deeper than the output bearing itself. It's had play since day one with minor vibration. I played with the rear pinion angle and it helped eliminate most of it. Also double check the centering ball of the DC joint. just my .02

 

[clean4drxj]

A washer will help with the slop..
There's no way a shift fork helps with slop, it would be a warn clip(or the area around it).before a shift fork.
There's a certain amount of play that's fine with the shaft tho..

 

[xj^REMY]

Thanks for the suggestions/ideas guys. I did a bit more research & there's supposed to be a rubber star washer on the end of the output shaft, like this...

Well, with the yoke unbolted, & marked, I pulled it off & there was nothing there. Don't know if it was never installed, disintegrated, or abra-ka-dabra'd into a mermaid shoes.

I fab'd one up from an old bushing, to match the 32 spline yoke, squeezed some red loc-tite on the threads, & torqued the nut down to 140 ft/lbs. No more slop.

 

[lazyxj]

Thanks for the suggestions/ideas guys. I did a bit more research & there's supposed to be a rubber star washer
Well, with the yoke unbolted, & marked, I pulled it off & there was nothing there. I fab'd one up from an old bushing, to match the 32 spline yoke, squeezed some red loc-tite on the threads, & torqued the nut down to 140 ft/lbs. No more slop.

Good to know, thanks for posting the solution.

 

[Tim_MN]

The shift fork pads hold the output shaft in place when the transfer case is in gear, if they are worn or in my case disentigrated, the output shaft has excessive play and will also disengage on its own.

Vibes caused by a worn out drive shaft is a logical conclusion, but after further review, obviously not the true cause in this case. Missing a star washer is really bizarre.

As already explained, shift forks only shift, they do not hold things together, or act as bearings.

 

[planewrench]

The rubber washer is actually an oil seal, it doesn't do anything "structural".

 

[zachandandy]

Worn shift forks allowed minimal spline engagement in my tcase, which did induce vibes and occasional popping out of gear. Replaced the pads, no more vibes. Obviously they aren't bearings, but they do hold the case in gear.