Removing front drive shaft

[jsh]

I have a 2004 KJ. My transfer case is shot to hell, the chain is pretty ripped up. Bought a new one, but my mechanic can't put it on for another week or two. Can I remove the front drive shaft without causing damage? Not really concerned about damage to the t-case, considering its being completely replaced soon. Just don't want the front ds to disengage, or that even a concern I should have?

Thanks!

 

[tommudd]

I have a 2004 KJ. My transfer case is shot to hell, the chain is pretty ripped up. Bought a new one, but my mechanic can't put it on for another week or two. Can I remove the front drive shaft without causing damage? Not really concerned about damage to the t-case, considering its being completely replaced soon. Just don't want the front ds to disengage, or that even a concern I should have?

Thanks!

Sure you can remove the front drive shaft and run forever if you want to, not sure why you want to remove it though? If you're driving it power is still going through the transfer case so not gaining anything really if it is indeed bad

 

[jsh]

Sure you can remove the front drive shaft and run forever if you want to, not sure why you want to remove it though? If you're driving it power is still going through the transfer case so not gaining anything really if it is indeed bad

Thanks for the reply. So the initial issue that made me believe the t-case was bad was a loud clanking noise that sounded like a chain hitting the inside metal of the case. This would occur both when I engaged 4wd and when the car was in 2wd. I originally wanted to remove the front drive shaft to prevent possible damage to it because it was spinning a bit more than what would seem to be a free spin in 2wd (perhaps an unwarranted concern, but hey - I'm an amateur).

When I took off the front drive shaft, the slip joint was shot to hell. Metal shavings in the joint and the ball bearings completely dry. Could this be what was causing that noise I described? Pretty much no tension left in the joint that connected the drive shaft to the t-case. Perhaps the joint was rubbing up against the t-joint connection?
Thanks in advanced!

 

[CzarKJ]

Absolutely! That is one of the big things to go on these. I'd replace that first before even thinking of the t-case. Maybe you can save some dough!

 

[02blue]

Check out these guys for replacement of both ends of the front driveshaft.

Driveshaft Parts

 

[jsh]

Check out these guys for replacement of both ends of the front driveshaft.

Driveshaft Parts

Thanks for that. A lot cheaper than the part I found on Amazon.