94 Bravada transfer case

[fishingirl]

Hi,
My 94 has a loud clang coming from transfer case. It doesn't happen every time I accelerate. It's been in the shop for a couple of days waiting for me to make a decision on buying a new or used case but after reading all 19 pages on this forum I think maybe my mechanic should change the fluid first and see how that works. What do you guys think? I hate to sink $900 (at least)
into it if just a fluid change will work.
Thanks for any advise.

[maxwedge]

Welcome to AF. A fluid change will not correct a "loud bang" as this is usually caused by a worn component.

[fishingirl]

Thanks for the info. My husband found a couple different ones that may fit. One is from a 93 Bravada and one is from an awd van. Not sure which kind.
Would the 93 Bravada transfer case fit the 94?

[maxwedge]

Check with a salvage yard for interchange info.

[fishingirl]

Thanks. It fits!

[herbravada]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

Welcome to AF. A fluid change will not correct a "loud bang" as this is usually caused by a worn component.

Got to disagree with you Max - if the fluid in these AWD cases gets burned up (usually from mismatched tires) it wil make some ungodly noises and then when you replace the fluid (and match all four tires) the noise goes away. Might shorten the life of the unit if you let it go too long. But I had one in a GMC Safari that went another 30k miles after I went thru that same situation and it had 150k when the problem showed up.

[fishingirl]

Well, we found a 94 at a salvage yard and used the case from it. All seems to be working fine except now when I turn into a parking space or make a sharp turn it goes into awd. The guy who changed it out for me thinks the smartrac was never working in the first place and now it's doing what it is supposed to do. As I've only had it a couple of years and havent had the chance to drive in any snow I don't know if it was working before or not. I also hear a small pop when I brake coming from somewhere near the front drivers side tire. I don't think he changed the fluid when he put the case on because he said it was pretty full when he took it off the junked car. He may have added some though. Does anyone have any ideas about this? Thanks for all you help.

[ericn1300]

the smartrac should be in 4 wheel drive all the time, you just may not be used to it. the popping noise you hear when braking is probably from worn bushings in the front end, is it more of a squeak than a pop?

[fishingirl]

No, it is definately a "pop".

[Chris Stewart]

Probably worn front suspension parts, a trip to the alignment shop will find the noise.