Transfer case dilemma - Temporary fix

**Arkadios** · 06-10-2012, 03:20 PM

I recently put a 5 speed standard in my truck. The donor truck was undrivable so I was never fully aware of the functionality of the setup I was getting, but I took a chance. Anyways, the oil was nice and clean in both tranny and transfer case and the Tcase appeared to have been freshly rebuilt, so I bolted the setup in and threw new oil in both.

Now, the setup works fine but with one fairly large dilemma. When I run in 2H, the transfer case will occasionally grind like when you force something into gear, and sometimes it will drop out into neutral. The Tcase will run perfectly fine in both 4L and 4H, however. As a temporary remedy, I have been running in 4H with no front drive shaft.

Here's the situation:
I need the truck to have working 4x4 so I can get out in the field, but I cannot afford to send it to a shop right now and I won't have the time to drop the Tcase myself for another two weeks. This is my ONLY truck at the moment.

So I was wondering, what sort of trouble would I be getting in to if I manually engaged and disengaged the front axle solenoid via switch, and just ran the TCase in 4H all the time? The front drive-shaft would always be spinning, but with the open differential it shouldn't be under much load, and I can then engage 4x4 via the solenoid that locks the axleshaft. ( My mind tells me it should work and it shouldn't put too much stress on things )

This would only be temporary.
Thoughts?

( TCase is NP241, tranny is NV4500, truck is a half ton with 3/4 ton axles. )

**Chris Miller** · 06-10-2012, 04:38 PM

Well, you'll get rotten gas mileage, and it's not a good idea to drive too fast. Stick to residential streets.

**Arkadios** · 06-10-2012, 04:43 PM

I get rotten mileage anyways. ;)

**ChevyHD** · 06-10-2012, 08:08 PM

lol definitely keep out of the skinny pedal

**RallySTX** · 06-10-2012, 11:49 PM

Add some Duralube Trans treatment into the diff and case to reduce heat. It should wear much smoother.
Brian L.

**Pikey** · 06-15-2012, 11:26 AM

I had the same issue multiple times with my 95. It would grind on acceleration in 2wd, was fine in 4x4. It turned out that there is a c clip in the transfercase that was popping off of a shaft. The dealer repaired it under warranty 4 times. The same thing happened to my sisters 98 Tahoe. Same clip issue. I think that it took them about an hour to fix it. I wish that I could give you more details, but I have never actually been inside one of the t cases.

**Arkadios** · 06-18-2012, 10:01 PM

Actually, I've heard of this issue before, but it never occurred to me that it may be the cause of my troubles

Found this: http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_cata...ase_saver.html
And a few sites saying that it is a common problem.

When I change my U-Joint I'll slide the housing off and look.

Thanks,