first gen transfercase issues?

[thewishkah]

Ok I have been noticing when im sitting at a light that my truck jumps foward a tiny bit (feels like im being tapped on the rear bumper). I just had my tranny rebulit in Feb and so I brought it in and they dropped the pan and checked it all out while i waited and they couldnt find anything wrong(and of course it didnt happen when they road tested it).

So as Im backing out of the shop it shutters a tiny bit and the mechanic said that it is the t-case so I put it in 4 hi and the shutter stops then I turn it off and its fine for awhile. Its becoming more frequent and as soon as I put it in and take it out of 4x4 it stops and is fine till the next time. Can anyone give me any advice or ideas on whats wrong, I really hope its not the t-case cause I asked the guy and he quoted 1,200 for a new one so what can I do to avoid that and keep my 4x4.
thanks in advance, Jon

 

[RangerX]

I can't help with the diagnosis, but I can tell you 1200 is crazy. You can find a used one online for under a $100, and you could easily swap it in yourself.
If the T-case really is the problem.

 

[thewishkah]

Problem is with a used one I dont know if its any better then mine until I put it in. Yeah I could do the swap myself (I think) lol. I think that the t-case is the culperate since it goes away when I turn it on and off every time. Its almost like its kicking in on its own or something?

 

[RangerX]

Problem is with a used one I dont know if its any better then mine until I put it in. QUOTE]
Maybe, but I've never heard of the 1354 screwing up other than the shift motor, so odds are, a used one would be just fine.

 

[MrShorty]

Other than shift motor issues, I hear of very few problems from the BW13-54 t-case. Often times, vibrations noises and such that go away when put into 4H and back to 2H end up being problems with the auto hubs. They seem to get "stuck" between engaged and disengaged, then, when the t-case is put into 4H, they can decide to be engaged and the problems go away temporarily. I don't know how much diagnosis they've done to say that the t-case is bad, but if they haven't done much, I would investigate further before dumping too much money into a new t-case.

 

[thewishkah]

I dont have auto hubs they went bad 2 years ago and I went with warn manuals. Could the shift motor be going crazy and just half engageing for no reason?

 

[MrShorty]

I won't say it's impossible, but it doesn't seem to be a common failure mode on these. If it truly is in the t-case, it's probably bearings.

 

[EMG7895]

It is possible, after rebuilding my shift motor 4x4 seemed to engage and work better and it seemed to run smoother in 4x2 and 4x4.

 

[thewishkah]

Ok thanks for the advice, just one thing I dont understand is how could bearings cause it to 1/2 engage by it's self. Ill be sitting there and you feel/hear it trying to engage or something,Im not pressing the button for the 4x4.