01 XJ Transfer case issue??

I have an 01 XJ Limited, 242, 6.5" Rusty's lift, Tom Woods SYE and Driveshaft. I have had this setup for about a year now.

Today I was driving, heard a noise, and then my XJ started shaking almost like the driveshaft was unbalanced. So I pulled over and looked underneath but everything looked fine to me . I couldn't tell where the noise came from because I was immediately distracted from the shaking. I was close to home so I drove it home but it shook like crazy under acceleration and less when letting off the gas but it was still shaking. Well I parked it and ran some errands (1/2 hour later) and when I returned there was transmission fluid dripping from the rear of the transfer case and a spot about the size of a dollar on the ground. I didn't want to attempt to put it in 4WD at all, just in case I would really mess something up in the transfer case. I can put my XJ in Reverse and Drive without any odd noises or anything like that. It just shakes bad when I attempt to drive it at all over 5-10mph.

Anyone have any ideas on what this could be?

Thanks for any help!

I just noticed that I accidentally put this in the OEM Discussion, moderators please put in Modified Discussion.

Sorry and Thanks!

Get under it and look plus see if the driveshaft will move around at all (bad u-joint or loose yokes).

MJR said:

Get under it and look plus see if the driveshaft will move around at all (bad u-joint or loose yokes).

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I did and nothing looks out of the ordinary. The driveshaft doesn't move around at all and nothing seems loose. All I can see is some transmission fluid dripping out of the area where the driveshaft meets the transfer case.

I should also add that this happened while driving down the road not accelerating from a stop, or anything else. I was just driving down a smooth paved road.


Thanks

How fast? Did you hit any bumps? If you think it might be in the driveline you could take one shaft out at a time in 4wd and drive it to isolate if it's front or rear.

MJR said:

How fast? Did you hit any bumps? If you think it might be in the driveline you could take one shaft out at a time in 4wd and drive it to isolate if it's front or rear.

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About 30-40mph, no bumps. That is a good idea about the front or rear, to me it feels like more the rear than the front but?? Plus with the transfer case leaking on the rear, that also makes me think it is coming from the back, not the front but???

I think I am going to take it to a mechanic on monday and have them check it out because I don't have the time, or a garage to try and figure it out plus in WI right now it makes it kind of hard to work on things in the driveway. I just wanted to try and figure it out before they would tell me what is going to have to get fixed or what is happening.

Thanks again!

klennop said:

About 30-40mph, no bumps. That is a good idea about the front or rear, to me it feels like more the rear than the front but??
Thanks again!

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It's still a good idea to pull one at a time, you'd be surprised how much a noise or a vibe can transfer through out. It can feel and sound like it's coming from the rear, but turn out to be in the front....you never know.

Can you describe the noise you heard before it started shaking?