QuadraDrive----Transfer Case is DONE

[AlphaInfinity]

A week ago I noticed that there was a serious rattling noise coming from the front of the vehicle when I let off the gas. Normally the sound would be really bad when I was slowing down.

Anyways, it turns out that the front differential is GONE. Metal shavings were found. Even worse......is that the repair cost is going to be about 2700 bucks total.


That is the bad news. The good news? I bought an aftermarket warranty at the dealership, and I am out of pocket for 100 dollars. I will be sending the finance guy who sold me the warranty a christmas card this year.

Oh yes, I should mention that I don't have my jeep back yet, so this isn't a done deal. According to the service rep though, they have verified with the warranty company that these charges WILL be covered. They were going to send somebody out to the dealer to confirm, but it looks like they won't even be doing that.

[Virgil]

Which year/model/axle do you have? Not many WJ's lose their front axles unless they run low (or dry) on lubricant .

[AlphaInfinity]

-=- originally posted by Virgil -=-
Which year/model/axle do you have? Not many WJ's lose their front axles unless they run low (or dry) on lubricant .

Yes, the dealership basically said it was one of those "freakish" type things. They found metal shavings in the fluid. Fluids were topped out fine. I had luckily had differential fluids changed out at the dealership about 9 months ago, so levels were good. I am really relieved on that one because, if the fluid levels had been low, the warranty company DEFINATLY wouldn't be covering it.


I for the life of me can't figure out how this happened. The jeep hasn't seen any offroad activity for 6 months now, and that was light offroad activity.

[tsc]

Eastside generally is pretty high on the repair bills if you into fixing things yourself (if you didn't have the warranty) you can buy an appropriate axle from any number of wrecking yards around (woodenville comes to mind) for about 500 and it only takes a few hours to change out a front axle.

Travis

Eastside rebuilt the front and rear on my v8 97 zj twice under warranty if I recall.

[deadman]

2700 bucks!? What are they doing, changing the whole axle? A new ring&pinion and a ARB locker with compressor would still be way cheaper!

[AlphaInfinity]

I am not sure why the repair bill is so high. I am expecting a call from Eastside Jeep today. When I get the paperwork, I'll fill everybody in on the itemized charges.

[AlphaInfinity]

Called the dealer today. Apparently, they are still waiting for an "inspector" from the warranty company to arrive before they can proceed with the work. It looks like I won't be getting my jeep back for a few more days.

This is starting to take a bad turn. Supposably, the inspector has to approve the work before they can proceed.

[mbp9997]

$2700 is a lot of labor!!! OEM R&P and bearings at retail shouldnt be over $1000. You must need a new carrier or something else too. Im betting you have a 99 right? Front diffs did give trouble in 99 I rebuilt mine myself about 3 months ago... I never had rattling but I had annoying roars, and the like... Turned out the carrier bearing was spinning in the housing and the pinions had a horrible wear pattern....cost to fix $80. Thats how much a rebuild kit is w/o R&P. Labor all 8 hours free...it was a Biatch I dont want to have to do it again....

[AlphaInfinity]

Mine is an 02. I think 2700 bucks is pretty pricey as well, but if the warranty company is covering it, and I am out for 100 bucks, I don't care what the stealership charges. I'll keep you guys updated on how things go.

[mbp9997]

Well I was WRONG!...
That is weird I havent heard of any non 99 or 00 models having front diff problems.
-Matthew

[AlphaInfinity]

Well folks, got a call from the dealer. Apparently the differential "bearings" are being replaced. Total cost to the warranty company is about 2300 bucks.

So, I don't claim to be an expert, but I think this is one of those cases where the parts are about 5 bucks, and the labor is 2295$. Either way, the warranty company is covering the costs, and I am out 100 dollars for the deductable. They will have my jeep back to me by tommorow evening.

[Damn Dirty Ape]

I had all the bearings replaced in a D30 on an XJ for $350.00 parts included earlier this year. Those bearings he got and installed were $98.00.

[AlphaInfinity]

SO.......

I got my jeep back, the folks at Eastside were great.

Bad news is, I am still hearing a ticking noise coming from the front end of the jeep, and it is always making that sound now. Even worse, the QD system is NOT working at all. I have 0 4wheel drive capability unless I drop the transfer case into 4-low.

They billed the warranty company for 1400 dollars. They tech did a front end differential "overhaul", that included changing out all the bearings. The bearings that they pulled out where "pitted", and there were metal shavings in the differential fluid.

I am going to call them tommorow and let them know that the problem has not been resolved, and I will also let them know the QD is not working at all.

My question is this:

On Quadradrive jeeps, what decides that power should go to the front wheels. Is it the front differential? Why would I get power to the front wheels when the transfer case is in 4-LOW, but when it is in 4-ALL TIME I have no power going to the front wheels, despite the fact that traction has been lost on the back wheels.


Called the dealer, and *sigh*, I have another appointment for weds.

[AlphaInfinity]

BUMP


Anybody have any answers to the question I posted above?

Thanks!

[TXTumbleweed]

4L locks the transfer case - front and rear drive shafts spin same speed.

4 Alltime is looking for speed differential between the rear and front drive shaft and when rear is spinning (no traction) it will energize the gerotor pump in TC to apply power to the front. Variaxles (front/rear diffs) will do the side to side power adjustments for you.

If front isn't getting any power,you may have a TC issue. How do you know the front isn't getting power?

[AlphaInfinity]

Ok that makes sense, thanks for the response!

Before taking the vehicle in, I didn't have any problems with the QD, and I KNOW it was working.

After they rebuilt the front differential, I am having the problem I described. Is there anything that they might have forgotten to hook up that might cause the QD system not to work?

[Jeff01Lmtd]

Is the drive shaft from the TC to the front diff in place?

[AlphaInfinity]

Well folks, dropped the jeep off today at the dealership. I should have some kind of answer shortly on what exactly is happening here.

Just to update everyone, the front diff was rebuilt because of pitting on the bearings, and metal shavings in the fluid. The warranty company covered the bulk of the costs.

After getting the jeep back, I noticed a clicking noise coming from the front end, and it was especially noticeable under 30 mph. The QD system was also not working. No power to the front wheels.

When putting it in 4LO things worked as expected. I made another appointment and dropped it off this morning.


EDIT: They just called, it looks like this is going to be a seperate issue from the front dif issue. They are narrowing it down to a transfer case issue. They mentioned the fluid is pretty dark. They are going to dig into it tommorow to try and figure out WTF is going on.

[AlphaInfinity]

So,

All of you may have seen my posts about the transfer case being gone. That was rebuilt by the dealer and the warranty covered it. You may have also seen my follow up that I was still hearing noises coming from the Jeep that were not suppose to be there after picking it up, and that the QD system was no longer working. 4LO worked like a champ, but no power to the front wheels in 4ALLTIME.

Well.....after taking it back, they did more investigation, and it turns out that the transfer case is done as well. The warranty company will not pay for a rebuild, that would take longer than just tearing out the existing transfer case and putting in a new one.

SO....Here is where we are at. They were not able to find a new transfer case in the continental U.S., so they are searching internationally for one.

I am just wondering what the hell could have happened to cause all this damage. I live in Seattle, and my jeep doesn't see a whole lot of off road activity.

[Avid]

Have them put a 242 in instead

or I'll trade ya my 247 for a 242

That would give you 2wd, the 4wd (ft/pt) and 4lo. Someday when I have nothing better to do...