Terrible noises in 4WD...what are the signs of a bad Transfer case?

[dgrigorenko]

i had a similar issue to yours... i think... whenever i would put the tcase in 4wd i would get a growl or grinding noise which i thought was coming from the tcase. i ended up rebuilding my tcase but that didnt help at all. it ended up being the pinion bearings on the front axle being bad. more specifically, the outer pinion bearing, the sound was just transfering up the driveshaft to the tcase where i heard it.

in short, check for any play at the front pinion while it is out of 4wd.

 

[95' heep]

My BlaZeR-2's original t-case made bad noises when I put any kind of load in the front end.

I had my school's auto tech class to inspect. they took the truck up on the hoist and the instructor applied the brakes and put her in 4wd then hit the gas then the shop was full of echoes of machine gun-alike sound. when using 4wd on snowy road it does make grinding/banging sounds.

id say check the front diff in case and jack up the jeep to put her in 4x4 or just remove the rear d-shaft to put all of the load in the front to inspect by applying the brake and see where the noises are coming from as another person go under to hear.

 

[XJJeepNewb]

Damn, I'm a procrastinator but it's been over a year since the original post and you still haven't fixed it? lol

Sounds to me like you've got some bearings completely shot in the front differential or in the transfer case.

Or it could be the chain stretched and contacting your transfercase if it sounds exactly like a chain clicking into metal and increases with increasing speed.

Regardless though there's only one way to find out.

 

[ItZaJeePThiNG]

I know there is only one way to find out. I maybe procrastinated a little but i lost a job, daughter started school, got a new job(AutoZone PSM) gave a spare XJ to the clunker program, no longer have garage space anymore since the 88mx6GT stole it last October.

Can anyone give me the actual spline count for my t-case? I here different things from different sources...

Does anyone have a correct t-case for sale?

 

[Turfzilla]

Mine was doing a similiar thing. Sounded like all hell was breaking loose when the front end was loaded up or put into a bind ( up on jack stands)

Have you ever tapped your brakes when the noise is occuring?

My noise was coming from the transmission. I have been running it that way since this summer. Just waiting on it to pop for good.