What are the signs that the tc is going to die? If there are sounds ... what kind of sounds? When do the sounds happen?

I just bought an 02' with 95k on it. it's got a howling sound around 20-40 mph however the guy that sold me the car said it was the low profile tires/wheels. .. it's sitting on 18's.

I've had low profile 18's before however they didnt make this kind of noise... i'm wondering if it's the TC.

thanks

 

My transfer case made a howling noise before it failed. It was a whistling like noise that was very distinct. Kinda like whoooooooooooooooooooooooo. About 2 months later, it failed.

The first thing I'd do is to check the oil level on the t-case. There's tons of threads on here about people changing their t-case oil, so start searching

Also, my transfer case made a clicking noise when I was coming to a stop. I could hear it when I went to drive thrus, so I'd check that as well.

I hope it doesn't fail on you, but if I were you, I'd get a head start on finding one just in case it fails. I no longer have my X-Type because I feared that my t-case was going to take a dump on me, and that would have been my 2nd t-case.

 

I just replaced mine for the following reasons:
* Loud howl from 10mph - 50mph with peaks at 20, 30, 45mph
* "Binding" sensation at parking lot speeds and turning
* High engine braking from highway speeds down to ~30mph

The howl noise was enough to require replacement with 75,000miles on odometer. After the transfercase replacement, I was finally able to hear my tire noise in a long time.

I'm not sure if I call my case a failure per se as the car was fully functional so there was no sudden blow up. But I'm leaning towards slow degradation of the transfer case over time where eventually it will have to be rebuilt or replaced.

 

Mine went boom. Took off from a light, violent shaking, then BOOM! Clackety Clackety...Ahh, the good times with that cat

 

Now that I had a chance to think about it, it would seem likely that what failed in my TC was the viscous coupler. For one thing there were no leaks and there were no apparent bearing play - shook all input and output shafts and no play.

The behavior of the car before new TC also tells me that driveline was trying to lock front and rear axles together thus the "binding" sensation at parking lot speeds. While driving on snow and taking turns I remembered the car understeering more than in the past winters. This I think is symptom of VC that is bound up inside.

Is there a simple test from outside to verify whether the VC is bad?

 

Tony, take 10 mins and undo the handful of screws and take a look inside. No sense guessing when you are so close to the truth!

(I helped Tony change his TC on the weekend) - My experience says that the TC wears from lack of lubricant, then makes noise, and then busts.....

 

your funny

 

LOL, Bruce. It would take you 10 minutes; may take me 1 day. LOL.

I may indeed to that and if I do, I will report back what I find. But the VC is sealed unit so I won't know what tell tale sign to look for when I'm in there. If this is designed to react to split second slippage, I envision just hand turning test won't tell me much.