rear output bearing on my np242 is loose

so yeah, my rear output is loose on my np242. the u-joint is tight and so is the yoke of the diff. I can get about 1mm (rough guess..) of lateral play when grabbing the output shaft right after the rubber part, before the u-joint.

here's a little video I took

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1lYuc7xqIg

am I looking at a bad bearing? loose chain? I know rebuilding would be the ideal thing, but if it's a bearing I can replace without dropping the TC, that'd be ideal for now.

I tried using this pic as reference, but can't figure out what it could be : http://midwestjeepwillys.com/np242-transfer-case.html

the seal is not leaking

the front output is tight and when I put it in 4x4 I get 0 vibes and 0 noises even at 70mph. if I'm in 2wd my steering will wobble slightly (suspension is tight) on acceleration and I start to get vibes above 60-65mph under load.

From what I can see, it looks like you need a longer drive shaft. The wobble is from insufficient engagement of the splines. ANY out of balance in the shaft will show up horribly in this case.

I would expect loose slip yoke splines are what you are feeling. As mentioned, lack of adequate spline engagement may be causing or contributing to that issue. Remove the drive shaft and check the output shaft for lateral movement. Some slight in-out movement is possible and likely acceptable.

Tim_MN said:

I would expect loose slip yoke splines are what you are feeling. As mentioned, lack of adequate spline engagement may be causing or contributing to that issue. Remove the drive shaft and check the output shaft for lateral movement. Some slight in-out movement is possible and likely acceptable.

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This is what I'd do as well. Its either the splines or the rear output bearing. Once you remove the driveshaft, grease up the splines on both sides and slide it back together before jumping to any conclusions. If it is the rear output bearing, you can change that by removing the tail housing only. The chain cannot cause this slop.

alright thanks for the replies. I'll remove the driveshaft tonight and go from there.

glad to hear the output bearing can be changed without dropping the t-case.

i'm not able to picture in my head what you mean when saying to grease the splines "on both sides" because I have never seen what it looks like without the rubber boot, but I guess I'll figure it out.

about the longer driveshaft suggestion, if that's the worst case scenario would a SYE do the trick? I'm planning on eventually ditching the TC drop but I could save the money right now.

thanks

alright so I just got done greasing everything, I put a liberate amount of multi-purpose grease, it's all I had on hand. some guy on youtube put some anti-seize so I wasn't sure if what I had was best.

thanks for the suggestion it fixed the loose feeling and the yoke was actually plenty tight, so I'm somewhat relieved.

I haven't mentioned that in the first post, but I was suspecting this to be the noise I get on deceleration, but it is still there. feels like a rumble strip at around 40 when coasting. neutral/4x4 make the noise go away. i'm pretty sure it's the output bearing of the diff, but it doesn't have any play...

If you have more than 2-3 inches of lift, you likely need an SYE. Of course you should be checking the u-joints and centering ball in the front driveshaft, and the rear shaft u-joints for excessive wear.

i ran 3" for two years without issues and now at 4.5" and have a 1" t-case drop. I know it's not ideal for trans and motor mounts, but as for u-joints, I only had to replace one on the front and one in the back in ~3 years of being lifted.

removed the front DS to see if that caused an issue, and that wasn't it.

I will eventually get a SYE, I plan on going long arms so that will all come together at some point.