Transfer case

[MikePW]

Has anyone had issues with the transfer case in a 2021 power wagon after fitting 37' tires?

 

[4xdad]

On my 15Pw the transfer case fell out all the studs broke off

 

[amurp15]

My 16 PW is getting a new transfer case soon...previous owner had 35's fitted and never greased the driveshaft. It makes a pretty nasty grinding noise driving down the road. Chain also slips in reverse.

 

[62Blazer]

Has anyone had issues with the transfer case in a 2021 power wagon after fitting 37' tires?

It's definitely not a common problem. Followed multiple PW related groups for 6 years since buying mine and rarely see anybody mention transfer case problems. Those I do see are usually an issue caused by something else, like not greasing the front driveshaft which then locks up and breaks the transfer case. In regards to more stress on it with 37" tires, it would be one of the last things I would be worrying about.

 

[4xdad]

37s definitely put more stress on the drive line i run 35s but Im not sure that anything to do with my trans and transfer case woes. My tranny blew up at 140k kms so maybe when I got it fixed they didn’t tighten the nuts enough. But I have no proof. But it sure is apita

 

[crazy jerry]

On my 15Pw the transfer case fell out all the studs broke off

stop lying. it didnt just fall out on its own. the shop who was messing with your transmission didnt tighten the tcase nuts , thats why it fell out.

 

[crazy jerry]

My 16 PW is getting a new transfer case soon...previous owner had 35's fitted and never greased the driveshaft. It makes a pretty nasty grinding noise driving down the road. Chain also slips in reverse.

the only grease point is the ball socket in the cardan joint. it doesnt need regular greasing if 4x4 isnt used. even with 4x4 use ,alittle grease goes a long way. to already need a new tcase , it sounds like you bought somebodys flogged out mess

 

[Sherman Bird]

It's definitely not a common problem. Followed multiple PW related groups for 6 years since buying mine and rarely see anybody mention transfer case problems. Those I do see are usually an issue caused by something else, like not greasing the front driveshaft which then locks up and breaks the transfer case. In regards to more stress on it with 37" tires, it would be one of the last things I would be worrying about.

I wonder if the unspoken issue is someone doing a lift and putting the rear driveshaft in a severe bind, causing the problem. I fixed that very problem on a 1993 YJ Wrangler by retrofitting the transfer case to a new design output shaft and rear driveshaft kit for that very problem. It ain't cheap, but necessary!

 

[4xdad]

Ok 1 I bought my truck brand new off of the lot. 2 at 140000 kms the transmission blew up. 3 I had a reputable shop repair the transmission. There was no problem for 100000 kms. Then one day on my way home from work the transmission and transfer case came apart. 3studs were broken at the top of the transfer case and the bottom 3 were broken inside the case

 

[4xdad]

It’s a pw no lift needed but I do run35s

 

[62Blazer]

My 16 PW is getting a new transfer case soon...previous owner had 35's fitted and never greased the driveshaft. It makes a pretty nasty grinding noise driving down the road. Chain also slips in reverse.

Not greasing the front drive shaft is not going to make the transfer case have a grinding sound, or cause any additional wear on the transfer case. The only issue is if the joints in the driveshaft lock up it will probably cause the transfer case housing to break, which is a catastrophic failure with pieces laying on the ground and no movement.

 

[62Blazer]

Ok 1 I bought my truck brand new off of the lot. 2 at 140000 kms the transmission blew up. 3 I had a reputable shop repair the transmission. There was no problem for 100000 kms. Then one day on my way home from work the transmission and transfer case came apart. 3studs were broken at the top of the transfer case and the bottom 3 were broken inside the case

There is about a 99% chance the reason the transfer case fell off is because the nuts on the studs were not properly tightened during the transmission work and loosened up. They did not break because of any added stress from bigger tires or anything.

 

[olyelr]

There is about a 99% chance the reason the transfer case fell off is because the nuts on the studs were not properly tightened during the transmission work and loosened up. They did not break because of any added stress from bigger tires or anything.

Exactly. He keeps posting like its a common problem “guys check your nuts!” but hes probably the first person that its ever happened to. Yea, it happened many many miles after the trans was replaced, but none the less, pretty much a guarantee the issue was that they were not installed/torqued properly.

 

[4xdad]

I agree but I think the ship has sailed on getting the transmission shop to admit that it was their fault. As far as checking the studs for how long it takes it could save a whole lot of damage, grief money. But it is probably just my bad luck fair warned be yee sez i

 

[4xdad]

And how many other people have had to replace their transmission on a power wagon. I don’t think that running 35s really had anything to do with the transfer case. It really mostly would affect the transmission. I installed a phazer program to change the tire size as soon as I went to 35s just to keep the computer happy.

 

[4xdad]

So was it just my bad luck probably/ maybe

 

[olyelr]

Yea pretty much a case of bad luck no doubt.

Nah 35’s aint gonna hurt the tcase much at all, especially with just normal daily driving. Now the trans, yea definitely gets a bit more strain with bigger/heavier tires, especially without regearing.

 

[62Blazer]

I agree but I think the ship has sailed on getting the transmission shop to admit that it was their fault. As far as checking the studs for how long it takes it could save a whole lot of damage, grief money. But it is probably just my bad luck fair warned be yee sez i

I agree that it's not a bad idea to check for any loose bolts, especially on an older vehicle that has had worked done to it. As in anything that is not factory original. Not saying that factory installed and tightened nut or bolts can't come loose, but it's rare. I've been building and working on vehicles for a long time, mainly off-road related rigs (have an older Chevy square body on 1-ton axles with lockers, 40" tires, etc...). Before almost every trail ride I would "bolt and nut" the vehicle, which is basically putting a wrench on almost every bolt I had ever removed on the vehicle. There were quite a few times I found something loose. But again, these were all bolts that I had previously removed and the vehicle got used hard off-road...and was far from stock.