Broken...

[4Factor]

So it looks like something in the transfer case or front end of the driveline broke.

Selec-Trac Transfer case, it was raining off and on so I was leaving it in Full-Time and it started making a funny noise last night. I just chalked it up to driveline noise since it's been a while since I was in any of the 4 wheel modes. Left my parking lot at work, there was a horrible clunk and a bit of grinding and the vehicle seemed to have no power. I slammed my hand down and into 2WD and I was able to u-turn and drive it back into the lot. So now I don't know what's wrong. It starts fine, shifts gears fine (******) and will go through all modes of the transfer case.. all while sitting still. In 2WD it will reverse fine and go forward with the grinding. I'm not going to try any of the 4wd modes under power.

Any ideas? Cost?

Edit: I've looked underneath and there's no visible problems... ie, nothing dragging or hanging down, no fluids leaking.

 

[tjkj2002]

Common for the 242 t-case,it's most likely you either took out the cenetr diff or the shift mechanism is all messed.

Your probally looking at $1000-$1500 easy for the repair.

 

[4Factor]

So it's not as bad as one mechanic said
"Oh those Liberty's are notorious for busting the transfer case, the only option is to replace the whole thing".
The other mechanic said he thinks it's a viscous clutch, and should cost me around a grand (I think he's referring to the differential, not a clutch, but I know little about t-cases).
My usual (trusted) mechanic is away until next Tues. and I needed this vehicle for a canoeing trip this weekend (leave Fri at 5am) so I needed it fixed in a day and was phoning around to basically any mechanic other than a dealership. No-one wanted to touch it until Fri. said they needed it for a few days so I gave up on that. I begged and pleaded and found an Explorer to borrow so the trip's still on and I had the Liberty towed to my regular mechanic where it'll sit until next week. Funny how I was just going to pay a sizable chunk against my line of credit and this ought to take all that money. Oh well.

 

[kjpilot]

Try this web site, You should be able to get a used t-case for around $300. The Liberty has a 32 spline output shaft on both the selec-trac & command-trac t-cases, & I don't know what other jeeps have that... I can tell you that the WJ & XJ have only 27 splines, so you are safest getting a t-case from a KJ.

I had a somewhat similar problem with my 231 (Command-trac) with around 50,000 miles. I replaced it with a 242 (selec-trac). Is it common for the KJ to break the t-case, as in "happens all the time, you shouldn't be surprised"? I don't think so. Mechanical things break, some sooner than others. I had a 2001 WJ with selec-trac for 100,000 miles with never a problem... sold it to my brother-in-law, he still has it, and still never a problem.

There are many people on this board still using the original t-case, and a few who are on #2.

 

[JeepJeepster]

The 242 doesnt have a viscous clutch. He must be thinking of the grands 249.

And the libertys are not bad for busting tcases, they have the same ones as the xj, tj, and some zj's. Ignorant people amaze me.

Ohh, we have two Jeeps with the 242, both have been doing great. One of them is in a 99xj with around 80k.

Buy a used tcase and slap it in there.

 

[myjeepwalks]

110k on my 242 and it's operating fine. hope i didn't just jinx myself.

 

[4Factor]

WHEW!!!! Looks like all's that went wrong is I grenaded the front axle. Apparently it's as bad as my mechanic's ever seen an axle self destruct (he said, kinda like a bomb went off), but it's WAY cheaper than any part of the transfer case. He sourced axles from a few places, USED (wrecker) it's $350, REBUILT (business that rebuilds them) it's also $350 and NEW (Chrysler) it's $700. I'm going to go with the $350 REBUILT and at least get a 90 day warranty. Should be back to me in a day or so.

It's funny how spending a grand is actually a relief. I originally thought it was going to be WAY more expensive, so it's kinda silly to say, but it's nice that it's "cheap"???

 

[JeepJeepster]

How the heck did you pop the front diff driving on road?

Did the gears inside break or did the diff split down the middle? If it split I wonder why no fluid came out?

 

[myjeepwalks]

How the heck did you pop the front diff driving on road?

Did the gears inside break or did the diff split down the middle? If it split I wonder why no fluid came out?

I think he's talking about the front drive shaft. Not getting any front diff rebuilt for $350 or a new one from chrysler for $700.


Either way his mechanic is a little high in pricing


new front drive shaft
http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...7&make=17&model=Liberty&year=2002&catalogid=1

 

[kjpilot]

Yeah, for $350 per side you should be able to get JE Reel HD axles!

 

[JeepJeepster]

ohh, that makes more sense.

Must be one of the CV joints.. And yea, $350 for parts is kinda high.

 

[tjkj2002]

Either way his mechanic is a little high in pricing


new front drive shaft
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...02&catalogid=1

kjpilotYeah, for $350 per side you should be able to get JE Reel HD axles!

JeepJeepsterohh, that makes more sense.

Must be one of the CV joints.. And yea, $350 for parts is kinda high.

I beleive he is talking about the front CV axles,and $350 is not a bad price if you get some that are worth a damn,not those $100 china knockoffs that will fail early and often.

You got to remember that the shop will make some money on the parts,hence the higher cost.Would you run a company and give everything away for cost? Thus not making any money,I bet not.






Oh and the JE Reel CV's are just remaned OEM CV's with a better CV boot and that is it,the internals are identical to the OEM ones.

 

[4Factor]

TJKJ has it correct, no-one worth their "entrepreneurship" is going to run a business at cost, doesn't make any "cents"! Also remember that I'm in Canada (Ontario) and parts up here tend to be a bit higher priced than you guys south of the border (even though exchange is near par). So $350 for the part is what it's going to be. This probably also includes any small parts that are likely needed as well. I'm used to his billing structures, he usually seems high, but that's because it also includes ALL the minor parts that are needed as well. I also expect that any fluids will be grouped in another lump sum. This simplistic method takes some getting used to but over the years I've saved quite a bit of money over anywhere else I might have gone. He's never tried to sell me muffler bearings or blinker fluid and treats me with a LOT of respect, and I return the favor when he shops at my store.

FWIW TJKJ is right on the money with it being a CV axle, that was exactly what my mechanic called it when I talked to him on the phone. If I had to guess by the noise direction I'd guess the right front but no guarantees, pinpointing the direction of sound isn't my strong suit.

Here's a little story about the cost of things in Canada vs. the U.S.
About a year ago as the dollars approached parity we got to hear quite possibly the BEST comment I've ever heard about our sad state of unequal pricing here in Canada. It came straight from the mouth of a big-wig BMW rep for BMW Canada. The question asked was "when factoring in the exchange why are your vehicles in Canada so much higher priced then the identical models south of the border."

His answer... no word of a lie...

"Maybe it's because Canadians, on a whole, enjoy paying more for their goods".

I still haven't stopped laughing!

 

[4Factor]

Ok, I got the whole story now, and the vehicle is back in my hands. The shaft from the transfer case to the front axle is what got killed. The end of it furthest from the transfer case self destructed. The whole bill with parts and labour.. 350 parts, 54 labour + 13% taxes makes for $456. I got billed for a bit over half an hour labour... absolutely amazing.

So I'm happy, and it was fixed just in time so I was actually able to drive the Liberty to the meeting where I signed the paper for buying out the lease. Nothing like something major going wrong 6 hours before the lease runs out. I'm quite a ways out of warranty and over mileage for the lease, but I knew about a year ago I was buying it out, this thing is too much damn fun!

 

[JeepJeepster]

Glad it was nothing major. Seems like that has been giving a few other people problems too from what Ive been reading over the past month.

 

[kjpilot]

Oh and the JE Reel CV's are just remaned OEM CV's with a better CV boot and that is it,the internals are identical to the OEM ones.

Negative, ghost rider... I've had to take mine apart to replace the boot. the CV cup walls are thicker, & the internals are a bit beefier, & of course sized to fit the thicker cup. freshly machined stuff too... way more than a cool boot

They are based on a reman platform, but that is not all there is to them.

FWIW, of course I wouldn't run a business like that, but I'm also going to buy stuff at as low a cost as I can.