Transfer Case Grinding (I think)

[beardedone]

So I replace my CV Axle Shafts on Sunday and ever since my car will start to grind after about 100ft and won't stop until I come to a stop where it bangs and then it works just fine until te next time I park it. Then it just restarts all over again. Could I have misaligned the transfer case or transmission when I spun the CV Axles to get to the bolts? Please help, I do all the work myself and this is my daily driver and weekend adventurer and I don't want to drive it much until I know what's going on.

[Slartibartfast]

Definitely sounds like something didn't go back together right. Not much to go wrong where you bolted the CVs to the diff, so I'm inclined to suspect that a ) you've got automatic hubs and b ) they didn't go back together right. They'll chatter and grind and generally let you know when they're not happy. When one of mine came half-unstuck it sounded like the wheel was going to fall off.

Pull the hubs, see if the noise goes away. If the washer/clutch/snap ring stacking checks out, consider switching them side to side in case you mixed them up on reassembly. I assume they're different left/right given how they operate.

 

Don't worry about your transmission, though, I don't think even the most ambitious of us can stuff the trans or transfer case while doing CV axles.

[beardedone]

Ok makes sense. They can't be on the wrong side cuz I only did them one at a time so they must be back together wrong. I'll pull them today and see if that's it.

[adamzan]

They are the same for both sides. He is suggesting to switch them to see if the problem follows that hub.

[Slartibartfast]

I was actually thinking they might be directional. I had one to bits before I switched to manuals but only sort of understood how it was supposed to work. The FSM helpfully shows nothing except the bits that stay on the CV shaft, with the rest being part of a (presumably non-serviceable) "assembly."

Hopefully the problem will be obvious on disassembly. If not, drive it with the hubs off, see if it still makes the noise... if it does then something else is wrong.