jayo96ss Posted February 6, 2011 Report Share Posted February 6, 2011 Whats up Guys? Well, took my truck in for a check due to a really bad vibration in the drivetrain. Almost felt like the sound and vibration was coming directly under the cab. Started out a low buzz, and after a few days it got worse. Dropped it off Friday night and got a call yesterday with the bad news. Mechanic says the transfer case is gone, metal shavings and all found inside once he started checking things out. He also said it caused the driveshaft to get damaged as well... Truck has 112,000 on the clock and I drive it pretty hard. He's a good mechanic so I trust him but now im faced with replacement options. 1. How much is it to rebuild these things? 2. Any fair priced units out there that I can buy new or reman? 3. Any ideas where I may be able to find a good used replacement? This comes at a bad time, I just dropped a pretty penny last week on a new Magnaflow exhaust with new Magnaflow cats to pass Georgias emissons standards.... Moneys tight but I have to get her back on the road, any advise you guys can provide will be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfive0 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Rebuild it or replace it with a new/reman unit. I was in the same situation and I bought a good used unit. I was fortunate to get a good deal, but it's giving me problems now and I'm going to have to rebuild it soon (I've only put about 20,000 miles on it). I should have rebuilt mine and been done with it. Now, I'm spending a ton more money then if I had just fixed it right the first time. One thing to have your guy look for (if he doesn't already know) is the back bearing pocket. Basically, the output shaft has a bearing on it that sits in a pocket in the rear case half. A common wear problem is the bearing wears the rear case bearing pocket hole into an oblong shape. With my driveshaft out I could literally take my output shaft and move it side to side a 1/4" or more! This usually results in a leak at the rear seal and often t-case failure (fluid gets low). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayo96ss Posted February 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 One thing to have your guy look for (if he doesn't already know) is the back bearing pocket. Basically, the output shaft has a bearing on it that sits in a pocket in the rear case half. A common wear problem is the bearing wears the rear case bearing pocket hole into an oblong shape. With my driveshaft out I could literally take my output shaft and move it side to side a 1/4" or more! This usually results in a leak at the rear seal and often t-case failure (fluid gets low). BINGO! That’s exactly what happen! I had a rear leak awhile ago and he went in and changed the seal. Not knowing about the bearing it continued to leak and the bearings failed....FTL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfive0 Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Reading between the lines here, but I would assume that the "bushing" failed as a result of the sloppy rear bearing hole in the housing. The bearing supports the shaft. The driveshaft slipyoke actually rides against that bushing. Mine had so much slop in the housing that the bushing failed and spun in its bore. When I took my driveshaft out, the bushing or what was left of it was on my slip yoke --- lol! The only thing that sucks for you is the parts for the rebuild, plus labor plus a new case half is NOT going to be cheap!!!! Probably around 1200-1500 --- just a guess.... BINGO! That's exactly what happen! I had a rear leak awhile ago and he went in and changed the seal. Not knowing about the bearing it continued to leak and the bearings failed....FTL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayo96ss Posted February 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 Reading between the lines here, but I would assume that the "bushing" failed as a result of the sloppy rear bearing hole in the housing. The bearing supports the shaft. The driveshaft slipyoke actually rides against that bushing. Mine had so much slop in the housing that the bushing failed and spun in its bore. When I took my driveshaft out, the bushing or what was left of it was on my slip yoke --- lol! The only thing that sucks for you is the parts for the rebuild, plus labor plus a new case half is NOT going to be cheap!!!! Probably around 1200-1500 --- just a guess.... Yes, it happened just as you described above. I guess I can't be to upset, it lasted over 100,000 miles and still didnt leave me stuck on the side of the road. Well I did find a reman unit at autozone, http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Midwest-Transfer-Case/_/N-jn1bhZ6o2o9?itemIdentifier=118394_516457_0_43692 Not bad after all I have researched thus far. 1100 and I get 300 back after I return my core. 800 bucks, and I get a year warranty. Im going to give it a shot. Company seems pretty good from what I have read, http://www.midwesttrans.com/index.html hopefully they can get it shipped out ASAP! Driveshaft needs a new yoke as well as u-joint, I'll go ahead and replace them both while im in there. If anyone has feedback on the autozone unit let me know, otherwise thats the route im going... Just FYI, my mechanic said GM has new transfer cases with 100,000 warranties for 1450, atleast thats the price he quoted me. Although I would love to go that route the funds just arent available right now so I have to choose another route. Thanks for your input Slowfive0, hopefully I can report back good news in a couple of days. I'll keep everyone updated. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawks Posted February 8, 2011 Report Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) What are the prices of the transfer cases. I noticed auto zone had a 1 year warranty. Have you tried Jaspers. They have a 3/36000 mile warranty. I bought there front differential. I'm very pleased with there products. They actually go in and update and fix the causes of other manufacturing problems. Give them a try. http://webapp.jasperengines.com/netcust/catalog.asp Price: 1350.00 Core Charge: 500.00 Edited February 8, 2011 by Hawkman (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayo96ss Posted February 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 Thanks for the info Hawkman but I ordered the TC right after posting that last night. Says it will ship in 3 to 5 business days so we'll see what happens. Driveshaft repair is 250 and includes new yoke, both u joints and balancing. With my core returned im out 1200 bucks. Add magnaflow exhaust setup, spectre CAI, install, and stupid GA tag fees im out 2100 total and it's just Feburary. Damn it cost to be a Big Dog....LoL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detjoe Posted February 9, 2011 Report Share Posted February 9, 2011 I thought I read somewhere that there is a fix for the TC. and upon rebuild this kit can be added to prevent the egging of the case??? I would get a good rebuild before I go a remanned, the most of the cost is dropping the danm thing and you dont want to do that twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowfive0 Posted February 10, 2011 Report Share Posted February 10, 2011 See if you can find out anything on this Joe. I for one would be very interested as I'll be doing a rebuild soon. I know the regular 1/2 ton 4/4 t-cases have an available aftermarket cover that is aluminum instead of magnesium and those are cheaper and have some upgrades to correct known service issues. I'm not aware of a service unit for the NV149 though..... Would be sweet if they have one!!! I thought I read somewhere that there is a fix for the TC. and upon rebuild this kit can be added to prevent the egging of the case??? I would get a good rebuild before I go a remanned, the most of the cost is dropping the danm thing and you dont want to do that twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayo96ss Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Okay Guys.. Got the new transfer case in. Looks really good, the packaging they sent it in sucks but hey... Took it out for a test run and drove great, almost makes me wonder how long the old one was having issues... Anywho, as were coming back to the shop we noticed some smoke and thought...Uh Ohhhhhh Well it wasant as bad as we thought... From the looks of it, this case has 2 holes for the speed sensor. Theres one in the stock location, and one on the opposite side. If you look at the stock case the hole is there but it looks to be welded up or capped off. Not something you can take out... So anyone know about this? Mechanic says buy a new sensor and stick it in there too because it's tapered and wont leak, im like why can't I just go buy a plug or something to plug it up... Any ideas? J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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