What could have caused my NP231 transfer case to explode while driving?

GRIZZLY1

GRIZZLY1

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2018
Messages
35
Location
76082
What could possibly cause the transfer case to explode literally explode into pieces ? I was just driving down the highway. The only thing I had different was I had the tires rotated and balanced there was quite a bit f chop that had been moved to the rear.

67D0833D-7BB7-4CC8-8B4A-757DE56307EB.jpeg


F2CE8194-91B2-476E-A70C-45C42F4BFCBC.jpeg
 
If anybody happens to have one would be great 2000-2006 NV3550 or the NSG370 only ones that will bolt up without having to change input shaft . There are a couple of others that will work but not very common transmissions.
 
That must not have been a fun experience.

Did both driveshafts get damaged as well?

What did your trans mount look like? Any damage or significant wear?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: GRIZZLY1
Mine broke going 20 km/h around a round about. Albeit I was younger and tried to drift the roundabout in the snow but still. I found mine off of Standard Auto Wreckers. Yes you will pay more, but they warranty the used part and test it so you know you are getting something that works.

Screenshot_20190525_125320.jpg
 
Chris said:
Wow, how does something like that happen just driving down the highway?

Check out http://car-part.com, you'll be able to find plenty of them there, I guarantee it.
Click to expand...

The centering ball in the double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft almost certainly seized up. At that millisecond, the driveshaft can no longer "flex" at the DC joint, and it rips about half of the t-case away, along with some internals.

It is nearly always preceded by the"angry sparrows" chirping, which drivers sometimes ignore at their peril. I suppose it's possible that one could seize without making any noise first, but I don't think that's common.
 
  • Wow
  • Like
Reactions: tworley and Chris
No noise to give warning I was going about 65 and then bam sounded like a tire blew out. I had to pick up the front driveshaft up off the highway it has a dent. Is it trash as well?
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
rouxbicon said:
The centering ball in the double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft almost certainly seized up. At that millisecond, the driveshaft can no longer "flex" at the DC joint, and it rips about half of the t-case away, along with some internals.

It is nearly always preceded by the"angry sparrows" chirping, which drivers sometimes ignore at their peril. I suppose it's possible that one could seize without making any noise first, but I don't think that's common.
Click to expand...
superduty said:
That must not have been a fun experience.

Did both driveshafts get damaged as well?

What did your trans mount look like? Any damage or significant wear?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Transmission mount doesn’t look to bad. Does have some cracking in the rubber. What usually causes the driveshaft to do this?
 
rouxbicon said:
The centering ball in the double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft almost certainly seized up. At that millisecond, the driveshaft can no longer "flex" at the DC joint, and it rips about half of the t-case away, along with some internals.

It is nearly always preceded by the"angry sparrows" chirping, which drivers sometimes ignore at their peril. I suppose it's possible that one could seize without making any noise first, but I don't think that's common.
Click to expand...
I have heard of a few that made no noise before they seized up and ripped off the left side of the case. It is easy to tell what the root cause is, did the left side of the transfer case get blown off? If yes, then the DC joint seized up and blew it off. Noise or not, the chances of that not being what happened is about 1 in 1000.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris and GRIZZLY1
GRIZZLY1 said:
No noise to give warning I was going about 65 and then bam sounded like a tire blew out. I had to pick up the front driveshaft up off the highway it has a dent. Is it trash as well?View attachment 95665View attachment 95666
Click to expand...
Yes, front driveshaft is still trash. It was trash before the dent since it is what killed the case, but now it is even more trash in that you need a new one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris, GRIZZLY1 and TJ4Jim
rouxbicon said:
The centering ball in the double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft almost certainly seized up. At that millisecond, the driveshaft can no longer "flex" at the DC joint, and it rips about half of the t-case away, along with some internals.

It is nearly always preceded by the"angry sparrows" chirping, which drivers sometimes ignore at their peril. I suppose it's possible that one could seize without making any noise first, but I don't think that's common.
Click to expand...

How does one check the joint out for possible issues?
 
  • Like
Reactions: GRIZZLY1
Willys LJ said:
How does one check the joint out for possible issues?
Click to expand...
Good question, that I don't have a good answer for.

I was fortunate enough to hear the angry sparrows, and removed the front driveshaft asap. This did two things...it confirmed that the problem was in the front driveshaft, as the noise disappeared immediately, and it bought me time to decide what to do, i.e. have the driveshaft rebuilt or buy a complete new driveshaft
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
I've been chasing some popping noises coming out from around that area. I thought I'd found the problem when I discovered that the sway bar link on that corner was bad. I got it changed out and nope, they're still there. But on my test drive, i was hearing something that could be described as angry sparrows. Another drive this evening though, I discovered that the "angry sparrows" was coming from my mix and match outside mirrors when I got over 45mph. I reached out to adjust one and it quit. Although, I'm currently leaning towards bad control arm bushings (rubber looks very rough), I'm still going to take a better look at that front driveshaft.
 
Top Bottom
Back