Transfer case studs

fiend

fiend

Caught the Bug
Poking around under my Jeep this morning, I discovered that of the six studs holding my transfer case, one was broken, another two had backed out almost completely, and the nut had fallen off one stud that hadn’t backed out. That left the transfer case held on by only two studs. So much for my Death Valley trip this weekend. [emoji37]IMG_0875.jpg


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fiend said:
Poking around under my Jeep this morning, I discovered that of the six studs holding my transfer case, one was broken, another two had backed out almost completely, and the nut had fallen off one stud that hadn’t backed out. That left the transfer case held on by only two studs. So much for my Death Valley trip this weekend. [emoji37]
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Damn! At least you caught it and didn't end up with one of these and like this! :crazyeyes:

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Ddays said:
Damn! At least you caught it and didn't end up with one of these and like this! :crazyeyes:

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Yep. This is the second time in the past few months that I’ve discovered a potentially catastrophic failure in my driveway. A few months ago I discovered a crack in my steering knuckle. IMG_0325.jpgIMG_0327.jpgIs the takeaway that I should get rid of the Jeep before something bad happens, or that I can keep it and rest easy knowing that I have a guardian angel? Jury’s still out ...


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fiend said:
Poking around under my Jeep this morning, I discovered that of the six studs holding my transfer case, one was broken, another two had backed out almost completely, and the nut had fallen off one stud that hadn’t backed out. That left the transfer case held on by only two studs. So much for my Death Valley trip this weekend. [emoji37]
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Good thing you caught it. What do you think caused it? Any work done recently around there?
 
WJCO said:
Good thing you caught it. What do you think caused it? Any work done recently around there?
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About two years ago I installed a Rubicrawler. That’s the only work done that involved taking out the transfer case.

The studs have some factory thread locker on the end that goes into the t case housing. I didn’t loosen them, so why they backed out is a mystery.

The only thing I can think of is that I maybe didn’t tighten the nuts sufficiently, which allowed some flexing. Over the past couple of years the flexing worked some of the studs and nuts loose and broke one stud completely. Just speculation.

It’s tough to tighten the t case nuts because there’s not a lot of room in there. You need to use a stubby wrench for 2-3 of the six. That said, the nuts only need to be tightened to 25-30 ft-lbs. But you can’t get a torque wrench on most of them.


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You are having all the luck.

Just not sure if the good luck or bad luck is winning.

Glad you found it in the driveway not in Death Valley.

I now have one more thing to worry about, but with my rock hard skids it won't be as easy to check.
 
Ruvicon said:
Are you going to have to pull the transfer case to replace the broken stud?



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Yes. The broken one is on top and the least accessible of the six. I probably will just replace them all, as the others could be fatigued. Removing the transfer case, although a pain, will make replacing the studs 1000% easier. Unfortunately I won’t be able to get them until next week, but I’ll probably get the transfer case out this weekend unless it rains.


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fiend said:
Yes. The broken one is on top and the least accessible of the six. I probably will just replace them all, as the others could be fatigued. Removing the transfer case, although a pain, will make replacing the studs 1000% easier. Unfortunately I won’t be able to get them until next week, but I’ll probably get the transfer case out this weekend unless it rains.


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5 out of 6 ain't bad. 🙄

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
 
BaddestCross said:
5 out of 6 ain't bad. [emoji849]

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Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407
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Ya know, i probably would have taken the risk and done the Death Valley trip this weekend if I could have gotten those five tightened. But there are at least two where the stud backed itself out so far as to contact the opposing flange (shown the photo above). There’s no easy way to screw the studs back into the transfer case, at least with the case in the Jeep. Oh well. Maybe I’ll reschedule for March 16-18, when the wife will be out of town and the kids have a three day weekend.


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fiend said:
Ya know, i probably would have taken the risk and done the Death Valley trip this weekend if I could have gotten those five tightened. But there are at least two where the stud backed itself out so far as to contact the opposing flange (shown the photo above). There’s no easy way to screw the studs back into the transfer case, at least with the case in the Jeep. Oh well. Maybe I’ll reschedule for March 16-18, when the wife will be out of town and the kids have a three day weekend.


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Well, with the potential weather we may be having the next few days, it's probably a good idea to postpone anyway.


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WOW, I'd say crazy good luck... It's a good thing you spend time under your Jeep, It says a lot about going over your Jeep.

So much better than finding out in Moab
 
Clearskies said:
WOW, I'd say crazy good luck... It's a good thing you spend time under your Jeep, It says a lot about going over your Jeep.

So much better than finding out in Moab
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Definitely. I would recommend that anyone who wheels should get under their rig on a regular basis and check stuff like this.


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