Tranny or Transfer case popping in reverse! Please help!

[Bennyhanna87]

I have a 1987 Nissan Pathfinder I have had it for about a year now. I never had an issue with my Pathy till today. I got home today and as I was reversing into my space either my tranny or transfer case started making a grinding popping noise. but only in reverse. Can anyone tell me if this has happened to you? And what you did to fix it? I have a 5 Speed tranny, 4 Cyl Z24 motor.

[Precise1]

My first thought is the U joints in the drive shaft. I recommend you do this:

Block the front wheels and jack up the rear, putting the frame on jack stands high enough that the rear axle is suspended (level ground, of course)

Put the tranny in neutral and manually twist the drive shaft forward and backward, checking for play, binding and any noise, where it comes from (obviously parking brake off so the wheels turn)

Depending in those results, start the truck and put it in gear (forward and reverse) at idle and listen/observe.

 

You should be able it identify or narrow down the source this way.

I had some U joints start binding and the drive shaft shook the tranny like a tail wagging the dog. Didn't make any noise though.

 

B