Mysterious Transfer Case

Ok im hoping someone can shed some light on this... a few months ago I was pulling up a post in my yard burried in concrete, I was in 4wd and when I tried to pull it I heard a loud boom and my truck wouldnt move. I got out and looked at my t-case and it was making a whineing sound. I put it in 2wd then back in 4wd and it worked. Tried it again and it didnt work and hasnt worked since. Today I got bored and decided to replace my U-joints in my front drive shaft. When I tightened up the bolts that hold my double cardain to my t-case my truck moved foward a little bit. Just for the heck of it I decided to try the 4wd again and it worked!! :eek7: I thought for sure I had broke something in there but now I dont know. Anyone have any ideas?

All I can hazard to guess is that you may not have had the 4wd fully engaged, causing it to "pop out" of 4wd. Had that happen in my dad's K5 Blazer long ago when stuck in a mud bog...or so he says. There is a shifter linkage adjustment you can check out:

http://www.autozone.com/addVehicleId,1121802/initialAction,repairGuide/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c1528004c698

There is the possibility you may have damaged some of the internal gears, depending on how hard you were taxing the engine while pulling. If you haven't changed the transfer case oil yet, I'd do so and check the magnetic plug for metal pieces...maybe you'll be lucky and not see any, but fish a magnetic extraction tool in there just to be sure there aren't any pieces laying on the bottom of the case. If not, refill, reajust the linkage and I'd say you're lucky. Hope this helps!

Well I went to use it today in all this snow were getting and it keeps poping out of gear. :banghead: Someone said it could be a shift selector fork or something like that? Would this part come in a rebuild kit?

Either fork is not included in a rebuild kit. At least I could not find one on the internet that included it.

For example, http://www.drivetrain.com/parts_catalog/transfer_case_replacements_and_parts/np208.html

//2000CAYukon

Do you think it would be better to just buy a remanufactured one or rebuild the one I have?

There are a few routes you can take, but add in any labor costs if you don't plan on removing/installing the TC yourself:

1) Buy used - Reliability is basically a guess, but could be gauged by the donor vehicle's condition, if known. Some used parts yards have mileage and will let you remove it yourself so you can see if the truck was trashed or well kept. The cheapest option if you just want to get the truck working again, and some yards will even offer a guarantee against DOAs or short-length warranty.

2) Rebuild - This would give you some level of reliability (depending on the shop's reputation) plus probably some type of reasonable short-term warranty on the work done, backed by the shop. Probably in the middle of the pack as far as cost. Adding stronger components is an option here too, depending on the shop's skill level and the cost for them. If you use it alot for hard work, then make sure it'll take the stress...once a yr snows typically don't justify it.

3) Buy remanufactured - Reliability would be higher than a repair since a reman is supposed to be completely redone internally and would carry a warranty better than a shop, but likely honored by the mfr, so you'd only be stuck with any ancilliary costs. Cost would be more than a repair job, but go by the mfr reputation here. These are mostly OEM-level units, with a few niche custom mfrs like Monster Transmission that'll up your performance if you're willing to pay for it.

4) Buy new - Save for a high-performance custom unit, this is the costliest option. But you get OEM or better reliability, warranty, and the seller to back it up. This is the no-brainer option.

Guess it boils down to how much you can spend and what you want out of it. Hope this helps!