I recently acquired a 1997 Tj from a cousin who passed. I took it wheeling on a fairly difficult trail for the first time today. It’s a 2.5l 4 cylinder. I put it in 4 hi and all seemed well for awhile. Eventually when I would start on a hill in 4hi it would make a terrible grinding noise as if I was trying to put it in reverse while going forward. It would go into gear when on a flat surface but when my foot would be off the gas it would make clunking and grinding noises. I put it in 4 low and it performed impeccably through the whole trail. When I hit the road I shifted into 4 hi to see if it would work on a relatively flat dirt road. It worked going into first gear and then into second but when I shifted into third it made the terrible whining noise as if I was trying to put it in reverse. Does this sound like a transfer case issue? I feel like if it was the differential 4 lo would not have worked as well as it did. I am new to the Jeep community and wondering if anyone has had similar problems?
TJ makes grinding noise in 4H
- Thread starter Rkutish
- Start date
It’s very possible it slipped out of gear and was stuck halfway in between one gear and the other.
This is fairly common with these things due to the notoriously crappy factory transfer case shift linkage and it’s poor adjustability.
I would highly recommend switching the stock linkage out for a Savvy cable shifter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073L4L4R5/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The difference that will make is night and day.
I would also suggest checking your transfer case fluid and fluid level, just to be safe.
This is fairly common with these things due to the notoriously crappy factory transfer case shift linkage and it’s poor adjustability.
I would highly recommend switching the stock linkage out for a Savvy cable shifter:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073L4L4R5/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The difference that will make is night and day.
I would also suggest checking your transfer case fluid and fluid level, just to be safe.
That would be my best guess. Sometimes there can be an issue with the transfer case itself, but more often than not they pop out of gear and thus the grinding noise you’re experiencing.
The factory transfer case linkage is truly a terrible design.
The factory transfer case linkage is truly a terrible design.
Terrible is polite. It's as bad as the CJs clutch linkage falling off when the frame would (barely) flex.