Hey Guys,

In the process of rebuilding the front shaft's U-joints/center ball stuff...and while I was under the truck I noticed there was quite a bit of play in the prop shaft. Check out the video, it should easily explain how it's loose.

Is this normal?

I had quite a bit of clunking when shifting out of park..and when pressing on the gas all of a sudden when driving. Also quite a bit of vibration when going 70mph+. I am hoping some of the clunk/vib will go away when i get the rebuilt shaft installed...but this seems fishy. Anyone ideas??

 

Hello,
I would say that is normal play in your transfer case gears. I have a TC in my garage from a 2004 with only 18k on it. It has the same amount of play in it. There are a lot of gears that have to mesh up. Also locking the TC out by hand there is that much play turning the output shafts in opposite directions.
As for the vibration. After you rebuilt your drive shaft. I would take it to a drive line shop and have it re-balanced. They spot weld little weights on it and that should take care of your vibrations. Hopefully...if some weights did not fall off your rear shaft but I have never heard of that happening.
I just had my front prop shaft rebuilt by the best place in Indianapolis and they still had to do it twice. I guess getting the centering ball correctly installed is a super bear!

 

Thanks for your reply Boss. That's good news about the play. I'll be installing the rebuilt shaft here in the next few hours, and we'll see how the truck feels. I had the front shaft rebuilt by a good machine shop here in Boston, and they said they balanced it. There's def a balancing weight on the front shaft, but I haven't checked the rear one, thanks for the tip.

I'll post a follow up on here once I get her put back together.

Thanks again!!

 

Wow, mine has absolutely ZERO play when I try to move it.

 

I think play or no play can depend on how your truck is parked. Somtimes it will have tension on the gears in TC case and sometimes not. Move your truck 2 feet down your driveway. Make sure your parking brake is off and test for play again in the front shaft. This is just a guess, but maybe it also depends on the parking gear pawl in the Transmission. That could put pressure on the drive line in park. I guess you could put it in neutral, chalk the rear wheels with the engine off and see if there is play in the drive line.