possible transfer case issue

[bmlawson2003]

I have an 01 xlt 4x4 with the v6. I noticed not pretty severe shacking on the interstate last night from what felt like the left front wheel. So today to troubleshoot i checked my ball joints and tie rods. All appeared tight with zero play. I also checked the right front just to be safe with the same result. All lug nuts are tight. next I moved onto the front drive shaft and u-joint. The u-joint has zero play, but when i rotate the drive shaft i have about an inch of side to side play with an audible noise coming from the case. I'm not to familiar with whats inside a transfer case, whether chains or gears, so i took it for another ride to check for the vibration again. I noticed the shake at much lower speeds this time. which led me to remove the front shaft to see if that made a difference. Next test drive was up to 70mph with almost no vibration. So my question is, is there a bearing inside the case that could have went bad? Or chain slippage maybe? Thanks for the help!!

 

[drdoom]

There are several bearings in the case, two I believe for the front output shaft. So you say the front output flange moves when you grab it? Or do you mean rotational play in the driveline? And the CV joint on the front driveshaft checks out? Just trying to get a full description of the issue.

 

[bmlawson2003]

The flange spins freely but the issue is that it has an play when moved up and down and side to side.

 

[Jasonx521]

The front output shaft bearings (2) one at the front and one at the rear; it is rare that they would be bad, maybe the case around the bearings, but not common for the front shaft.

I would take off the front drive line and then see if there is still play in the output shaft. If so, then I would suspect the you need to replace the case halves.

You can get them from omega machine. You can get a bearing and seal kit and I would suggest the updated fork, hi-low gear (possibly a new input shaft) and a new fork cam.

I rebuilt mine for ~ $550-600 with the updated case halves and fork parts. It goes in and out of 4 low very smooth and work like new.

There is a good amount of threads with alot of information. If you do yourself, just pay close attention to how it goes together, maybe even take pictures as you take it apart.

It took me ~ 2 hours to rebuild taking my time excluding removal and installation.