Need help diagnosing noise from transmission / transfer case

FoxxyTJ

FoxxyTJ

Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2018
Messages
26
Location
Lexington, KY, United States
Hey Guys,

I bought a 2003 Jeep TJ recently with 90k miles and it has a noise coming from the Transmission/Transfercase area and I am trying to figure out what is causing it. It is a knocking/ticking noise that increases as I accelerate and doesn't happen when I rev the engine in neutral. Its loudest in first and second gear and gets quieter as I get into 3-4 gear and is pretty much non-existent in 5th gear(or i cant hear it over road noise)w. I took a recording of it today while driving. Pardon the vertical video, it was easier to hold and drive that way, but its about the audio not the visual anyway. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Thanks.

 
Not sure what you are hearing from the video, but would sure rule out u joints first before you have a possible catastrophic failure.
 
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TJ2 said:
Will you try to put it in 4Hi if the sound is the same?
Click to expand...

I am pretty positive the sound is the same in 4Hi.

DC0046 said:
Not sure what you are hearing from the video, but would sure rule out u joints first before you have a possible catastrophic failure.
Click to expand...

you can hear the noise the loudest when i engage 2nd gear, its the rapid fire "tatatatatata". Which U joints? the ones in the drive train i assume?
 
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How does the sound persisting into 4hi rule out the transfer case? Wouldn't the chain be spinning for both 4hi and 2hi? As I have had someone say it could possibly be chain slapping inside the case, but I don't know enough yet on how the TC works to say that's what it is or what that would sound like.
 
FoxxyTJ said:
I am pretty positive the sound is the same in 4Hi.



you can hear the noise the loudest when i engage 2nd gear, its the rapid fire "tatatatatata". Which U joints? the ones in the drive train i assume?
Click to expand...
The drive shaft would be the ones I would check first. My jeep only had 80,000 miles on it and the three on the front were toast.
 
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FoxxyTJ said:
How does the sound persisting into 4hi rule out the transfer case?
Click to expand...
If there is a change of sound, then it is part of the problem but you said you are pretty positive sound is the same.
In normal run no 4X4, the TJ engages the rear and so, if you engage the front, the TC will link the chain/gear,front shaft. Sound should change due to added torque load.
 
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TJ2 said:
If there is a change of sound, then it is part of the problem but you said you are pretty positive sound is the same.
In normal run no 4X4, the TJ engages the rear and so, if you engage the front, the TC will link the chain/gear,front shaft. Sound should change due to added torque load.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, thanks for explaining. I will get under the car tomorrow and check out the U Joints.
 
Ok so I got under the Jeep this weekend and shook everything. all the U Joints were solid. I found that the rear track bar moves a bit and will be looking into that, but I don't believe it is the issue I am having that is causing this noise. I did some more trial and error to figure out what I had to do to cause the noise, and came to the conclusion the noise is only made when applying gas while driving. If I am sitting and rev the engine, there is no noise. If I am in gear(or out of gear) and driving and have my foot off the gas, there is no noise. But as soon as I apply gas again the noise starts up. The noise accelerates with my acceleration and the higher my RPMs the louder it gets.

I took another video that better allowed for the sound to be picked up. My friend that I had drive is saying where the RPMs are at as he drives as well if that helps give an idea of whats causing it. I pulled the shifter boot up to let the noise into the cab more and that really let the camera pick it up.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 
Did you ever get this figured out? Mine is making similar noise. The rear driveshaft was just rebuilt and the front driveshaft is currently out. That should eliminate the driveshafts. Mine is the loudest when you take your foot off the gas though you can hear it when accelerating or decelerating. Doesn't matter if it's in 2WD or 4WD. The linkage is snug and not clanking around. Same sound as in your videos.

FoxxyTJ said:
Ok so I got under the Jeep this weekend and shook everything. all the U Joints were solid. I found that the rear track bar moves a bit and will be looking into that, but I don't believe it is the issue I am having that is causing this noise. I did some more trial and error to figure out what I had to do to cause the noise, and came to the conclusion the noise is only made when applying gas while driving. If I am sitting and rev the engine, there is no noise. If I am in gear(or out of gear) and driving and have my foot off the gas, there is no noise. But as soon as I apply gas again the noise starts up. The noise accelerates with my acceleration and the higher my RPMs the louder it gets.

I took another video that better allowed for the sound to be picked up. My friend that I had drive is saying where the RPMs are at as he drives as well if that helps give an idea of whats causing it. I pulled the shifter boot up to let the noise into the cab more and that really let the camera pick it up.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Click to expand...
 
Toonces said:
Did you ever get this figured out? Mine is making similar noise. The rear driveshaft was just rebuilt and the front driveshaft is currently out. That should eliminate the driveshafts. Mine is the loudest when you take your foot off the gas though you can hear it when accelerating or decelerating. Doesn't matter if it's in 2WD or 4WD. The linkage is snug and not clanking around. Same sound as in your videos.
Click to expand...

I actually have not resolved this issue yet. I've just been driving it and waiting to see what fails. If you find a solution please post your solution back here as I'd love to fix it, but got plenty of other things going on right now and don't wanna troubleshoot it anymore.
 
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Same issue here. 1997 4.0 Manual - changed all u joints. Sound goes away if I shift the T-case to Neutral... but its the same sound... any help is appreciated.
 
So I finally got mine resolved. It was a chip in my rear pinion. Any kind of acceleration or deceleration would put stress on it and make the sound louder. Thought for sure it was coming from area of the bell housing but what had happened was the chip finally broke free then ground up and broke more teeth. It was really loud. Replaced the rear ring, pinion and all seals and bearings in the rear axle while it was all apart. In any case, open up the differentials and check is the only way to be sure. As soon as the diff cover was off I could see the metal chunks.
 
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Thank you. I am wondering if mine is in the front. Replaced t-case fluid and no change. I removed the rear axle and the sound was still there...
 
Hi there...I am getting this noise from the transfer case...it started happening when one day I got in my TJ and 4H was engaged (wife swears she didn't pull the lever) I could not get it back into 2H without opening up the bolt on the linkage arm. am I not full engaged in 2H or do I have a TC chain problem...appreciate the help!
 

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JPJEEPER said:
Hi there...I am getting this noise from the transfer case...it started happening when one day I got in my TJ and 4H was engaged (wife swears she didn't pull the lever) I could not get it back into 2H without opening up the bolt on the linkage arm. am I not full engaged in 2H or do I have a TC chain problem...appreciate the help!
Click to expand...

Sounds like the chain but could be a gear in the t-case. The 231 t-case is pretty straight forward. I would spend the time and crack it open to inspect. Can you feel it when you put the palm of your hand on the t-case?
 
Tigerman said:
Sounds like the chain but could be a gear in the t-case. The 231 t-case is pretty straight forward. I would spend the time and crack it open to inspect. Can you feel it when you put the palm of your hand on the t-case?
Click to expand...
thanks....I can feel the vibration with hand on T-case when on the lift...it goes away after about 5 minutes of driving around...only happens when the jeep has been sitting for a while and then started, like overnight.
 
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