I posted this on the rubicon owners forums but thought I would put it here too.
This might get a little long so I will apologize for it now.
If you have had the TSB done on your Rubicon for a leaking transfer case you really need to read this.
If you have vibes that you just can’t seem to get rid of you need to read this.
I had both of the above problems and have tried everything to get rid of the vibes. I had tracked it down to my transfer case and had talked to my local dealer about getting it worked on under warranty and it was agreed upon by the dealer that they would take a look at it. I was told by the service manager that he would order the parts to rebuild my t-case and he would call me to let me know when the parts came in. After 4 months of waiting for that call I decided that I would order a new output shaft and tear into it myself.
What I found when I did was a bit disturbing.
I followed the procedure in the FSM to disassemble the transfer until I hit the part where it said to remove the speedometer tone ring. It is supposed to come off by hand. There is even a picture in the FSM of it being removed by hand. Mine was stuck on the rear output shaft. I tried to pry it off with a pry bar and that did not work. So I ran up to the local checker parts store and got a small 3 armed gear puller. With the puller and a lot of force on the puller I managed to pull the tone ring off of the output shaft. This is where I saw the source of all of the problems.
The speedometer tone ring had been pressed on with a press of some kind at the factory and it was not lined up properly when it was done. It was pressed on so hard that the tone ring has a new divot/dent in it for the retaining pin. The output shaft was bent and the hole for the retaining pin has been turned into an oval. The metal around the hole has been discolored and disfigured; the same is true for the tone ring. The retaining pin had been cracked in half and half of it fell out when I was pulling the tone ring off only to be lost on the floor of my garage.
Here are some pictures of it http://www.thedragonsden.net/jeep/241
The good news is that when I took the parts into my local dealer they told me that they would cover the cost of the replacement parts. They can not cover the labor but I really don’t mind that. I honestly don’t trust anyone to work on my rig other than me.
I am sure that the output shaft is what caused the seal to leak at the back of the transfer case and was causing all of the vibes I was getting after I put the lift on.
It should be very easy to check to see if you have this same problem by pulling the rear drive shaft off and then pulling the cone that houses the speedometer tone ring and see if the tone ring will slide off. If it does you don’t have anything to worry about. If it is stuck you may want to dig a little deeper to see if yours is like mine was. Just remember to be very careful that the retaining pin does not fall out and get lost and that you line it all up properly when you put it back together.
Also the rear output shaft in the Rubicon 241 is a “floating†shaft. The retaining pin and the rear bearing are what holds it at the proper depth in the case and in the gears.
Good luck and if any of you see this please reply to this thread. I am curious if it was just a bad day on the assembly line or if my suspicion is correct that NP is not doing a good job of QC.
~Curt
This might get a little long so I will apologize for it now.
If you have had the TSB done on your Rubicon for a leaking transfer case you really need to read this.
If you have vibes that you just can’t seem to get rid of you need to read this.
I had both of the above problems and have tried everything to get rid of the vibes. I had tracked it down to my transfer case and had talked to my local dealer about getting it worked on under warranty and it was agreed upon by the dealer that they would take a look at it. I was told by the service manager that he would order the parts to rebuild my t-case and he would call me to let me know when the parts came in. After 4 months of waiting for that call I decided that I would order a new output shaft and tear into it myself.
What I found when I did was a bit disturbing.
I followed the procedure in the FSM to disassemble the transfer until I hit the part where it said to remove the speedometer tone ring. It is supposed to come off by hand. There is even a picture in the FSM of it being removed by hand. Mine was stuck on the rear output shaft. I tried to pry it off with a pry bar and that did not work. So I ran up to the local checker parts store and got a small 3 armed gear puller. With the puller and a lot of force on the puller I managed to pull the tone ring off of the output shaft. This is where I saw the source of all of the problems.
The speedometer tone ring had been pressed on with a press of some kind at the factory and it was not lined up properly when it was done. It was pressed on so hard that the tone ring has a new divot/dent in it for the retaining pin. The output shaft was bent and the hole for the retaining pin has been turned into an oval. The metal around the hole has been discolored and disfigured; the same is true for the tone ring. The retaining pin had been cracked in half and half of it fell out when I was pulling the tone ring off only to be lost on the floor of my garage.
Here are some pictures of it http://www.thedragonsden.net/jeep/241
The good news is that when I took the parts into my local dealer they told me that they would cover the cost of the replacement parts. They can not cover the labor but I really don’t mind that. I honestly don’t trust anyone to work on my rig other than me.
I am sure that the output shaft is what caused the seal to leak at the back of the transfer case and was causing all of the vibes I was getting after I put the lift on.
It should be very easy to check to see if you have this same problem by pulling the rear drive shaft off and then pulling the cone that houses the speedometer tone ring and see if the tone ring will slide off. If it does you don’t have anything to worry about. If it is stuck you may want to dig a little deeper to see if yours is like mine was. Just remember to be very careful that the retaining pin does not fall out and get lost and that you line it all up properly when you put it back together.
Also the rear output shaft in the Rubicon 241 is a “floating†shaft. The retaining pin and the rear bearing are what holds it at the proper depth in the case and in the gears.
Good luck and if any of you see this please reply to this thread. I am curious if it was just a bad day on the assembly line or if my suspicion is correct that NP is not doing a good job of QC.
~Curt
