In last week's episode:
Chris had taken his Dakota back to the dealer for some service. The dealer,
after some discussion with management, fixed the starting problem, and
insisted the grinding was solved as well.
We catch up with our hero driving to New Hampshire to go skiing.
Passenger: I still hear that grinding noise, I thought they fixed that.
Chris: Yea, me too.
Passenger: So, gonna bring it back?
Chris: No, the noise isn't as easy to reproduce anymore. I'll wait
'till something breaks.
Our fearless lead enjoys a tremendous day of snowboarding up at Loon
Mountain. 4:00 rolls around and it is time to head home. It had snowed
all day and is still comming down heavy. No problem, our hero has Four
Wheel Drive.
Chris: Lets just lock this in and we're off.
Truck: BANG BANG BANG BANG
Chris: Woah! something isn't right.
Comedy side: Oh, we're dealing with a real mind here.
Chris: Lets try 2WD
Truck: Vrmmmmm
Chris: Thats OK, lets try 4WD now that we're moving.
Truck: BANG BANG BANG BANG
Passenger: Looks like something broke.
The noise sounds like the front axle is about to explode.
And with that, our hero proceeds to drive home in 2WD. No weight in the
rear, nice wide tires, yes sir, this truck wanted to go anywhere but
straight. And the snow fell.
<long trip and cool recoveries from slides deleted. Fast forward to Monday
morning>
Mr. Dealer: Hi Chris what's wrong?
Chris: 4WD isn't working, going BANG BANG.
Mr. Dealer: Lets have someone look at it.
So, our hero and the dealer's head mechanic climb into the truck and as
luck would have it, there is an ice covered hill right there. So, with the
truck in gear and 4WD activated, our hero adds the torque to the wheels.
Truck: BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
Mechanic: That doesn't sound right
Comedy Side: <biting tongue>
Mechanic: What about 2WD?
Chris: <shifting transfer case> Nope, that's fine.
Truck: BANG
Mechanic: I does do it.
Chris: That was the first time. <no other noise heard while in 2WD>
Mr. Dealer has the Mechanic and a few of his buddies look over the truck.
Picture if you will, five men under the lift looking up at the undersides
of the truck shaking their heads. Verdict? Transfer case is shot.
Now its your turn. Here's the facts:
Grinding noise still exists in front end
4WD produces BANG noise which sounds like it is comming from front end.
Produced BANG even after transfer case was shifted to 2WD
Question:
Is dealer's diagnosis correct?
Discussion:
It is my understanding that the NP231 transfer case is shifted directly, so
if you have the shifter in 2WD, the transfer case is in 2WD, without delay.
I also believe that if the transfer case were making the noise, you
wouln't hear it comming from in front of you since the transfer case is
actually under the seat.
What about CV joints? Is it possible for a CV joint to slip and create
this kind of noise?
Well, I have a new transfer case comming. I will be pleasantly surprised
if it fixes the problem. At least I keep getting all these cool new parts
for free.
Sorry for the rather bizzare format of this post, but I think my humor is
all that's keeping me from killing someone at this point. I really hope it
doesn't turn out to be the front axle, because that is what I've been
insisting all along.
Christopher Siano | Work Sucks... I'm going
CSiano@Banyan.com | Camping, Mountain Biking
| Sailing, Snowboarding, Wheeling.
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