Transfer case grind in 4HI

[dcorn]

I'm in the outer banks and have been driving on the beach the past few days. I tried pulling out a Yukon XL the other day (unsuccessfully) and did a lot of spinning while in 4LO, then today pulled out a Honda Pilot without much of a problem, also in 4LO. A little after the Pilot, I kept driving down the beach in 4HI and started hearing a grinding noise. I thought it was coming from the front axle, but it seemed later to be coming from the transfer case. It was kind of intermittent, but would get quite loud sometimes. The Jeep also felt like it was slowing down on the sand when it would grind. Later I tried it at slow speeds and I don't think the front wheels were spinning with the rears, just like I wasn't in 4WD. My friends think its the shifter out of adjustment and 4HI isn't fully engaging, causing the gear teeth to slightly touch and just grind together instead of meshing.

Can someone either tell me what they think the problem is, or how to adjust the transfer case shifter so that it will engage correctly. I'm here til sunday and definitely want to go back on the beach again, but I don't wanna drive for too long in 4LO.

[balloo93]

CRawl under there with the Ebrake on, engine off, and TC shifter in 4hi postion.

You will see a rod by the transfer case that has a link on it with a bolt on there to lock the postion. Loosen that locking bolt and make sure the shifter selector is tightly in 4hi. Then tighten down the locking bolt again and see if the noise is still there.

[dcorn]

I looked under at all of the linkages and saw what you mean. How exactly do I know when the TC is exactly in 4HI if the shifter isn't adjusted right? Is there a certain angle that the selector handle on the TC case should be at for each gear?

[balloo93]

You can grab the TC arm and move it slightly back and forth and feel it engage. Once it engages, tighten the bolt.

[GreenJeepSteve]

You dont see any oil coming out of the case, do you? (I've seen the housing actually break from the torque of pulling) You could also start the transfer case off in 2 Hi, the shifter should be approximately horizontal to the ground. I wouldn't drive it if it grinds, that's never good for a TC.

[dcorn]

Old thread, eh? LOL I fixed this right after Balloo posted, so thanks man. Adjusting the shifter worked fine. Can't wait to get back to the Outer Banks with my whole new setup and pull out some more people.