Alright guys, this might be a long one but here we go... I had recently bought 95' Jeep Cherokee sport 4wd, 4.0 HO , lifted on 31's , they were brand new bfgoodrich mud terrains, it had some cosmetic damages, a few dents on the side and looked like somebody tried to beat them out with no luck. It had 224,000 miles, and we bought it for $1500 as a daily driver, well when we went to look at it, we forgot to test the 4wd to make sure it worked, well when we got home and tested it in a wet ditch filled with water, the loudest scariest thing happened, it was popping and grinding. So my brother got in it and put it in 4lo while I was off to the side looking under it, and the whole engine, transmission, and transfer case was twisting everytime it popped. So we figured maybe there was a bushing or bolt missing out of a mount makeing the whole transfer case and everything else bang around. So we took it back home and investigated, looked and nothing was missing and bushings wernt dry rotted or anything so we were stumped. Well I did some heavy research and had no luck of finding anything. Also the guy had did the rear main seal, valve cover gasket, and the oil pan gasket, and had put a new transfer case in. He didn't have the receipts, but you could see the gaskets edges and could tell they were new. And the transfer case had the date of manufacture stamp on it, and it said 2014 I believe, so we figured nothing was wrong. So heres what I think had happened, I think he took the old chain out of the previous transfer case and put it in the new one. And the problems specifically are, it's fine in 2wd and everything is normal, but when we put it in 4 lo and 4 hi , it makes a bad grinding popping sound like metal on metal, the whole vehicle shakes violently, in 4 lo it does it bad, but in 4 hi it doesn't do it as bad hence higher gear and less torque for it to force it to grind. I can't think of anything else it does but that's the broad symptoms, I need to figure this out and so I would really appreciate if you good people can pitch in and help me! Thanks in advance!

Sincerely, Darin .

 

When you were shifting the transfer case, were all four wheels moving or just the back two? In order to shift into 4 lo you must have the transmission in neutral and not be moving more than a couple miles per hour, or stopped completely. As far as 4 hi you can be moving but your front and back tires must be moving at the same rate. It almost sounds like the gears are miss matched from the front axle and the rear axle. I would try to put the transfer case in 4 hi or 4 lo wile it is parked on a gravel road and see what the front and rear axles are doing when you start moving. I would also check the linkage on the transfer case to see if it is messed up.

 

10-4 I will still check that when it's morning time here in florida. I shift into 4wd how the Jeep manual says to, so I know I'm properly engaging in 4wd. I will check both front and rear ratios also but I'm sure they are OEM originals but it never hurt to know for sure. And I'm not sure about the linkage being the problem, as it engages fine in and out of 4wd also but still will look everything over, and check back in the morning when I gather more infomation.

 

Here's how the factory suggests you shift the transfer case and I've been doing this since these things were new and I worked at the dealership. Quoted from the owner's manual. The suggestions in CAPS are mine.

"To engage, shift the transfer case lever from 2H to 4H while the vehicle is moving at any legal speed". I LET OFF THE GAS, THROW THE LEVER, TAP THE GAS AND LET OFF.

4L position: " To engage, slow the vehicle to 2-3 MPH , shift the transmission to Neutral, then shift the transfer lever to the right and pull firmly rearward to 4L".

TO SHIFT OUT OF 4L, SHIFT THE TRANSMISSION INTO NEUTRAL WITH THE VEHICLE STOPPED, SHIFT THE TRANSFER CASE LEVER TO 2H, THEN THE TRANS TO D IF YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC, OR INTO FIRST GEAR WITH A MANUAL, AND CONTINUE ON.

Revised 11/20/2014

 

If the PO didn't readjust the TC linkage properly after it was lifted that could be the problem (not fully engaging). But sounds like you do need to have a look inside to be sure.

 

Yes, that could also be a possibility, I will check that as I'm in the middle of actually welding the fender Wells, they have came loose, I will try to post a video of what it's doing when in done looking underneath and finishing the welding up.

 

Ok, update guys, just looked underneath every thing is in working order, everything is engaging properly, pulled drain plug, and NOTHING CAME OUT bone dry , and which this is my brothers jeep, but we are both mechanicly inclined, and I seen and smelt gear oil underneath button didn't think nothing of it, so I'm assuming the chain is smoked in it

 

Another update update guys, inspected the transfer case, holy mother of God, I found a hole shattered in the top were the chain had must of slapped the top and blew a hole in it.

 

That'll do it. Time for new TC. I would rebuild any TC you get from a JY.

 

Yep , I guess time to put her up for awhile, thanks for all the help and advice guys!! This is really a great forum and I will be hopefully a long time user!

 

It's an easy swap really. I did my.first one in about 3 hours on the ground. TC will run you about $80-100 at the JY.

 

Alright thanks for the info, I'm defiantly going to my local JY, I usually see lots of Cherokees and other jeeps there. and in my area we have a parts JY , u-pull u-save. I will still defiantly do a update thread on this along the way of installing it and what not.