Need TC Chain????

1998 Cherokee Classic Command Trac. 120,000 miles

I have a noise when accelerating hard off the line. Its more pronounced if turning left under load. Its only when really jumping on it. Went through all of the obvious, shocks, trac bar, ujoints, ball joints, etc and everything is tight. I have a 2 inch lift with 31's. Been set up that way for about two years with the only previous issue being the trans mount rubber going bad.
Searched the issue on the forums and it sounds like it might be the TC chain.

Does anyone know where I can purchase a Transfer Case Chain?
I believe it would be the 231 TC.

Thanks,

Does this happen in 2wd, 4wd, or both? The TC chain is under load only in 4wd, so if it happens in 2wd, I would look elsewhere for the source.

What about your wheel bearings?

Actually if the chain gets loose enough it will rattle against the case in 2wd also. And will skip in 4wd under load.

Anyway why would turning left make the chain noise worse?

You never said what kind of sound, Still sounds like a hub bearing or axle shaft u-joint.

Here's what you do. Jack up the Jeep so there is no weight on the tires. This will also release any bind in the drive line. Now make sure you have NO wiggle in the wheel either side to side or up and down. Now check all u-joint's for looseness. Sometime if the wheels are on the ground there is alittle bind in the driveline, so may seem nice and tight. With no bind they flop around & you can't believe you missed that.

Thanks for all the feedback. It is happening in two wheel drive during regular driving conditions. I haven't had the opportunity to try it out in 4 wheel drive but will get on some dirt to find out.

I did jack up the front end to check things out and did find anything loose.

The noise is sort of a banging/clunking kind of noise, not a whining like a bearing. That why the TC chain seemed logical. The more I think about it though I am not sure it would be a fit as there is an orbital feel in the front end along with the noise?

Again it is only under full acceleration from a dead stop. If I take off easy there is no noticible issue. I am concerned it will just get worse!?

I was thinking about dropping the front drive shaft and taking a test drive to see if I can isolate the problem.

Any more thoughts?

Thanks,

batplus4 said:

Thanks for all the feedback. It is happening in two wheel drive during regular driving conditions. I haven't had the opportunity to try it out in 4 wheel drive but will get on some dirt to find out.

I did jack up the front end to check things out and did find anything loose.

The noise is sort of a banging/clunking kind of noise, not a whining like a bearing. That why the TC chain seemed logical. The more I think about it though I am not sure it would be a fit as there is an orbital feel in the front end along with the noise?

Again it is only under full acceleration from a dead stop. If I take off easy there is no noticible issue. I am concerned it will just get worse!?

I was thinking about dropping the front drive shaft and taking a test drive to see if I can isolate the problem.

Click to expand...

That would basically eliminate a TCase or drive shaft problem, it's probably a good idea.

I'm still suspicious of your wheel bearings and u-joints. How did you check them for loseness? Wheel bearings you can jack it up and wiggle the tires, there should be little or no play. U joints the best thing is to jack it up and stick a small prybar or a big screw driver in the joint and apply leverage in different directions, again there should be no play.

There are also plenty of other things down there that could cause clunking. All of your control arm, trackbar, and steering joints and bushings should be inspected, again use the prybar method. Take the wheels off and put the pry bar on the knuckles to check for play in the ball joints. Could be in the diff too. Although the fact that it only clunks under acceleration does make these things less likely in my mind.

Also check your rear driveshaft ujoints, again with pry bar or big screw driver. Thats a no brainer.

n1ywb said:

That would basically eliminate a TCase or drive shaft problem, it's probably a good idea.

I'm still suspicious of your wheel bearings and u-joints. How did you check them for loseness? Wheel bearings you can jack it up and wiggle the tires, there should be little or no play. U joints the best thing is to jack it up and stick a small prybar or a big screw driver in the joint and apply leverage in different directions, again there should be no play.

There are also plenty of other things down there that could cause clunking. All of your control arm, trackbar, and steering joints and bushings should be inspected, again use the prybar method. Take the wheels off and put the pry bar on the knuckles to check for play in the ball joints. Could be in the diff too. Although the fact that it only clunks under acceleration does make these things less likely in my mind.

Also check your rear driveshaft ujoints, again with pry bar or big screw driver. Thats a no brainer.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the Tip I will jack things up again and try the prybar/big screw driver method check prior to removing the drive shaft.

Probably won't be until the weekend.
I will let you know what I find out!

Re: Need TC Chain???? Maybe Motor/Trans Mount?

batplus4 said:

Thanks for the Tip I will jack things up again and try the prybar/big screw driver method check prior to removing the drive shaft.

Probably won't be until the weekend.
I will let you know what I find out!

Click to expand...

Well first thing I did was got on some dirt. Went out a two track in a field and went through switching from 2whl - 4whl - 4whl low. In 2whl just spun the tires no noise. 4whl seemed good no noticible noise. 4low worked fine, basically everything worked and shifted in and out of gear normally. On the way home dry pavement, hammer it from a dead stop - same clunking/banging noise.
Went home jacked it up check the wheels no slop, ujoints no slop, everything seems tight.
I read some threads about the TC Flex Bolts so I took off the inspection cover. Flex bolts were in and tight.
Finally I took off the front drive shaft tonite and went for a ride. Same issue, hammer it from a dead stop and clunk but not as bad or loud, but still very present.
Now I am thinking maybe motor or trans mount. It seems like the motor is moving forward quite a bit when torquing it with the brakes on? I am thinking the movement may be causing the front drive shaft to bind causing the louder more pronouced sound and feel that I had before I took it out.
I feel pretty confident I have ruled out the TC Chain and flex bolts.

Anybody have any thoughts?

Thanks.