Transfer Case Rebuild??

[GroupW]

OK - heres my problem. Sharp vibration coming from transfer case when torque is released. Most notably going downhill at highway speeds. Vibration goes away when torque is re-aplied. I've isolated to transfer case by individually removing drive shafts. Sounds like the T-Case Idler shaft to me, but would love opinions. Has anyone had the same experience? Has anyone rebuilt their T-Case?
BTW, its a '96 5 speed D1

 

[Steve Rupp]

You don't necessarily need to rebuild the entire transfer case. It could be a number of things. A very common culprit to this problem is simply bad u-joints on the driveshafts. I would grab hold of the driveshafts near the u-joints and with all your might shake them back and forth. Another cause of this is bad pinion bearings. Usually if it is the pinion bearings you will get a houling sound at high speeds that goes away when you are off the gas. If the bearing preload is loose then you will get the vibration. Finally check the transfer case output bearings. Grab hold of the flange and shake away.

 

[GroupW]

I've ruled out the shafts - joints are sound, and the noise doesn't go away when the shafts are removed.

 

[Steve Rupp]

Then it sounds to me like t-case output bearings. Kind of a pain in the ass but not a super big deal. You can pick up the bearings at NAPA. I think there is an article in the tech section on how to do this and parts involved.

 

[Steve Rupp]

Here you go. http://www.discoweb.org/tcasebearing/index.htm

 

[GroupW]

Thanks - I'll give it a whirl