replacing the transfer case chain?

Anyone with experience replacing a borg warner transfer case chain? Mine is
a borg Warner 4404 for AWD EB 5.0 '96 Explorer. Any help appreciated

First - a word of caution... Some electrical concerns with the control-trac
system can be mistaken as a "loose chain" concern. The drive chain can be
checked for "slop" without removing or disassembling the transfer case....
Place the system in 4LOW to lock the transfer case.... With the car in park,
raise the front wheels clear of the ground (use jack stands, of course) and
rotate the driveshaft to the front diff back and forth.... This is a bit of
an "acquired taste" and there is no real spec other than sound judgement -
Usually (memory thing here) I see anywhere up to almost 1/8th turn of the
shaft in a good T-case.... I believe that you will see well over 1/4 turn
before things are loose enough for the chain to skip over the sprockets
under heavy torque....

Having said that, once you get the T-case on the bench, you will need a 30mm
socket and a pair of lock ring pliers ( similar to these
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/reta...pliers_06.html ) at the
very least. This will be about a 7 on a scale of one to ten......

Remove the front output flange nut first before splitting the case.... Also,
to remove the shift motor, the electrical connector will need to be
partially disassembled - this is not a difficult step but it is too easy to
break plastic parts.... There is a plastic retainer clip inside the
connector that is removed with needlenose pliers.... look closely inside the
connector and you will see a little plastic tang holding the wire connection
in place... using a seal pick or straightened out paper clip, gently pry
that tang away from the wire and pull the wire fom the connector. I think
you will be removing more that one wire so be sure to note the
colour/location of each wire.

Once you separate the case halves, the rest should be fairly apparent. Work
with purpose - taking digital photos as you progress can help. There are
three balls on a cam ring located between the clutch housing (the one the
electric clutch coil reacts with) and the clutch pack - do not let these
balls "escape". Once you get the clutch pack out, the drive sprocket, chain
and front output shaft lift out as a group. Now is a good time to inspect
the clutch pack friction members.... and replace is necessary - look for any
discolouration that might indicate overheat and look for abnormal wear
patterns.

Carefully inspect the drive and driven sprockets for wear.... The teeth on
the sprockets should be smooth. If these show distinct wear patterns, the
transfer case may be noisy or this wear may affect the service life of the
new chain....

Now you are this far into it, this would be the ideal time to clean or
replace the oil pump pick up screen, inspect and clean the magnet and
inspect (or, if a hi-miler, even consider replacing) the oil pump..... There
is a locating or "anti spin" lug on the oil pump that engages a boss on the
inside of the front case half.... I don't recall seeing concerns with the
4404/4405 cases but I have seen the lug on the oil pump wear right through
the boss inside the case on some transfer cases (usually F150, IIRC).

Considering the scope of the project and the chances for things to go not
quite as smoothly as planned, this may be an good opportunity to try a one
use subscription at
http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi...&menuIndex1=41
or similar.

Of course, you must remember that I'm both a dealer tech and I've been doing
this for many years. People only ever pay me to disassemble things once....
(and here comes the sarcastic dig) - however, there are those here that feel
doing something right and doing it only once are something to be avoided if
we can save a nickel and enjoy the project many times over. Perhaps one of
these kind folks could step up to the plate and let us both know the ideal
spot on your T-case and we can let everyone have a crack at wailing on it
with a hammer....

Jim Warman wrote:

> First - a word of caution... Some electrical concerns with the control-trac
> system can be mistaken as a "loose chain" concern. The drive chain can be
> checked for "slop" without removing or disassembling the transfer case....
> Place the system in 4LOW to lock the transfer case.... With the car in park,
> raise the front wheels clear of the ground (use jack stands, of course) and
> rotate the driveshaft to the front diff back and forth.... This is a bit of
> an "acquired taste" and there is no real spec other than sound judgement -
> Usually (memory thing here) I see anywhere up to almost 1/8th turn of the
> shaft in a good T-case.... I believe that you will see well over 1/4 turn
> before things are loose enough for the chain to skip over the sprockets
> under heavy torque....
>
> Having said that, once you get the T-case on the bench, you will need a 30mm
> socket and a pair of lock ring pliers ( similar to these
> http://www.stridetool.com/tools/reta...pliers_06.html ) at the
> very least. This will be about a 7 on a scale of one to ten......
>
> Remove the front output flange nut first before splitting the case.... Also,
> to remove the shift motor, the electrical connector will need to be
> partially disassembled - this is not a difficult step but it is too easy to
> break plastic parts.... There is a plastic retainer clip inside the
> connector that is removed with needlenose pliers.... look closely inside the
> connector and you will see a little plastic tang holding the wire connection
> in place... using a seal pick or straightened out paper clip, gently pry
> that tang away from the wire and pull the wire fom the connector. I think
> you will be removing more that one wire so be sure to note the
> colour/location of each wire.
>
> Once you separate the case halves, the rest should be fairly apparent. Work
> with purpose - taking digital photos as you progress can help. There are
> three balls on a cam ring located between the clutch housing (the one the
> electric clutch coil reacts with) and the clutch pack - do not let these
> balls "escape". Once you get the clutch pack out, the drive sprocket, chain
> and front output shaft lift out as a group. Now is a good time to inspect
> the clutch pack friction members.... and replace is necessary - look for any
> discolouration that might indicate overheat and look for abnormal wear
> patterns.
>
> Carefully inspect the drive and driven sprockets for wear.... The teeth on
> the sprockets should be smooth. If these show distinct wear patterns, the
> transfer case may be noisy or this wear may affect the service life of the
> new chain....
>
> Now you are this far into it, this would be the ideal time to clean or
> replace the oil pump pick up screen, inspect and clean the magnet and
> inspect (or, if a hi-miler, even consider replacing) the oil pump..... There
> is a locating or "anti spin" lug on the oil pump that engages a boss on the
> inside of the front case half.... I don't recall seeing concerns with the
> 4404/4405 cases but I have seen the lug on the oil pump wear right through
> the boss inside the case on some transfer cases (usually F150, IIRC).
>
> Considering the scope of the project and the chances for things to go not
> quite as smoothly as planned, this may be an good opportunity to try a one
> use subscription at
> http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi...&menuIndex1=41
> or similar.
>
> Of course, you must remember that I'm both a dealer tech and I've been doing
> this for many years. People only ever pay me to disassemble things once....
> (and here comes the sarcastic dig) - however, there are those here that feel
> doing something right and doing it only once are something to be avoided if
> we can save a nickel and enjoy the project many times over. Perhaps one of
> these kind folks could step up to the plate and let us both know the ideal
> spot on your T-case and we can let everyone have a crack at wailing on it
> with a hammer....

Or we might pretend that thought and ingenuity are the same as running
over something.

Jim, thanks for the reply. My case is an AWD case, no 4 low or engage motor
involved. I think the repair would be similar, and if I do it I will get
the manual. I'm not sure its the chain I hear now though as I have posted
in a few other forums and gotten different theories. I'd be interested to
hear your diagnosis of this noise. It's a clicking noise when I go straight
slowly, and more like a grinding or growling noise as I turn a tight radius
slowly, and has gotten worse of the years. At highway speeds I don't hear
anything. I replaced the CV joints / axles, because some people were "sure"
that was the problem but the noise persists. Now, I had someone suggest I
remove the drive shaft, which I did, and the noise goes away. With the
drive shaft on the bench, all the universals "seem" to be free and smooth.
If one was binding, I would think I found the problem. A rebuilt drive
shaft is about $200. I already replaced the front axles, seemingly for
nothing. I don't mind making either repair, the T-case ot the drive shaft.
I just want to make the right repair this time. Any thoughts on this are
appreciated.

Bill



"Jim Warman" > wrote in message
news:ne8Oi.12977$JA3.9342@edtnps89...
> First - a word of caution... Some electrical concerns with the
> control-trac system can be mistaken as a "loose chain" concern. The drive
> chain can be checked for "slop" without removing or disassembling the
> transfer case.... Place the system in 4LOW to lock the transfer case....
> With the car in park, raise the front wheels clear of the ground (use jack
> stands, of course) and rotate the driveshaft to the front diff back and
> forth.... This is a bit of an "acquired taste" and there is no real spec
> other than sound judgement - Usually (memory thing here) I see anywhere up
> to almost 1/8th turn of the shaft in a good T-case.... I believe that you
> will see well over 1/4 turn before things are loose enough for the chain
> to skip over the sprockets under heavy torque....
>
> Having said that, once you get the T-case on the bench, you will need a
> 30mm socket and a pair of lock ring pliers ( similar to these
> http://www.stridetool.com/tools/reta...pliers_06.html ) at
> the very least. This will be about a 7 on a scale of one to ten......
>
> Remove the front output flange nut first before splitting the case....
> Also, to remove the shift motor, the electrical connector will need to be
> partially disassembled - this is not a difficult step but it is too easy
> to break plastic parts.... There is a plastic retainer clip inside the
> connector that is removed with needlenose pliers.... look closely inside
> the connector and you will see a little plastic tang holding the wire
> connection in place... using a seal pick or straightened out paper clip,
> gently pry that tang away from the wire and pull the wire fom the
> connector. I think you will be removing more that one wire so be sure to
> note the colour/location of each wire.
>
> Once you separate the case halves, the rest should be fairly apparent.
> Work with purpose - taking digital photos as you progress can help. There
> are three balls on a cam ring located between the clutch housing (the one
> the electric clutch coil reacts with) and the clutch pack - do not let
> these balls "escape". Once you get the clutch pack out, the drive
> sprocket, chain and front output shaft lift out as a group. Now is a good
> time to inspect the clutch pack friction members.... and replace is
> necessary - look for any discolouration that might indicate overheat and
> look for abnormal wear patterns.
>
> Carefully inspect the drive and driven sprockets for wear.... The teeth on
> the sprockets should be smooth. If these show distinct wear patterns, the
> transfer case may be noisy or this wear may affect the service life of the
> new chain....
>
> Now you are this far into it, this would be the ideal time to clean or
> replace the oil pump pick up screen, inspect and clean the magnet and
> inspect (or, if a hi-miler, even consider replacing) the oil pump.....
> There is a locating or "anti spin" lug on the oil pump that engages a boss
> on the inside of the front case half.... I don't recall seeing concerns
> with the 4404/4405 cases but I have seen the lug on the oil pump wear
> right through the boss inside the case on some transfer cases (usually
> F150, IIRC).
>
> Considering the scope of the project and the chances for things to go not
> quite as smoothly as planned, this may be an good opportunity to try a one
> use subscription at
> http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi...&menuIndex1=41
> or similar.
>
> Of course, you must remember that I'm both a dealer tech and I've been
> doing this for many years. People only ever pay me to disassemble things
> once.... (and here comes the sarcastic dig) - however, there are those
> here that feel doing something right and doing it only once are something
> to be avoided if we can save a nickel and enjoy the project many times
> over. Perhaps one of these kind folks could step up to the plate and let
> us both know the ideal spot on your T-case and we can let everyone have a
> crack at wailing on it with a hammer....
>
>
>

OK... for some reason I had A4WD stuck in my head..... and, for some reason,
I had to go to the 97 WSM (workshop manual) to find your transfer case...
This is good only in the sense that there doesn't appear to be a front
output flange nut.... (You can tell we don't see this system in our area).

Removing the front driveshaft isn't going to reveal much.... with this shaft
out of the picture, a lot of components are no longer transmitting torque
and this "relaxing" effect will likely keep the faulty component(s) from
complaining loudly enough to be heard....

With the parts you have already replaced and the thought that you are
considering a driveshaft, I'm left to wonder if the noise is, indeed, from
the transfer case or from another source.... operating the vehicle on a
hoist *may* reveal the source but it is more likely that you may be left to
find a shop that has a set of "chassis ears".... This is a group of
microphones that are clamped to suspect components or areas - the operator
can toggle between the microphones to localize sounds. In this way, it
should be possibly too positively identify the transfer case as the culprit
or not....

I realize that this isn't much help but this transfer case is quite a
departure from any others that I normally see (including a planetary gearset
even though it isn't used for the usual HI/LO range shift - yes, it does
have a chain).

I did briefly scan through TSBs without noticing anything.... If you'd care
to PM me your VIN, I can run OASIS on this concern for you....

Jim. Thanks again for the reply. With some further research I have
discovered that my drive shaft is one of the early double cardon type, with
u-joints rather than a CV joint, meaning it is realtivly cheap and easy to
eliminate as the source of the noise. I understand that with the shaft out
of the picture other components will act differently. Knowing that the
U-jionts seem smooth and unbound with the shaft out of the car, do you think
that THEY would act that much differntly with torqe applied? I am going to
try the U-joints. Just wanted your opinion.

Thanks


"Jim Warman" > wrote in message
news:vIiOi.14624$JA3.7135@edtnps89...
> OK... for some reason I had A4WD stuck in my head..... and, for some
> reason, I had to go to the 97 WSM (workshop manual) to find your transfer
> case... This is good only in the sense that there doesn't appear to be a
> front output flange nut.... (You can tell we don't see this system in our
> area).
>
> Removing the front driveshaft isn't going to reveal much.... with this
> shaft out of the picture, a lot of components are no longer transmitting
> torque and this "relaxing" effect will likely keep the faulty component(s)
> from complaining loudly enough to be heard....
>
> With the parts you have already replaced and the thought that you are
> considering a driveshaft, I'm left to wonder if the noise is, indeed, from
> the transfer case or from another source.... operating the vehicle on a
> hoist *may* reveal the source but it is more likely that you may be left
> to find a shop that has a set of "chassis ears".... This is a group of
> microphones that are clamped to suspect components or areas - the operator
> can toggle between the microphones to localize sounds. In this way, it
> should be possibly too positively identify the transfer case as the
> culprit or not....
>
> I realize that this isn't much help but this transfer case is quite a
> departure from any others that I normally see (including a planetary
> gearset even though it isn't used for the usual HI/LO range shift - yes,
> it does have a chain).
>
> I did briefly scan through TSBs without noticing anything.... If you'd
> care to PM me your VIN, I can run OASIS on this concern for you....
>
>
>

Might be getting somewhere.... the double cardan type U-joints use a
centering ball between the two cross and cap joints... these can develop
wear that can make all manner of noise with no real obvious vibration.

With the shaft off the car, move the joint through it's full range of
motion.... there should be a slight resistance build as the joint approaches
the straight position and the joint should have smooth action. With the
shaft installed in the vehicle, grasp the shaft next to the U-joint ass'y
and move it up and down (can take quite a bit of force) - there should be no
play at all.

If this joint has play, you will probably need to look to the aftermarket
suppliers for parts since Ford doesn't appear to stock or supply any
centering ball kits. Plan on replacing the associated U-joints at the same
time. When reassembling the joint, be very careful not to "cross up" a
bearing cap needle - I've repaired manyu of these style joints over the
years and there is still the odd one that tries to be as frustrating as it
possibly can. If your local auto parts store has a C clamp type ball joint
press for loan or rent, the C clamp can be used alone to aid in
removing/installing the U-joints.

HTH