Hello all im new to the site and the truck, i just bought a 2001 chevy silverado 4x4 and it is making a weird noise when iyou put it in 4 wheel drive so i took it too a local shop and they told me the chain in the transfer case was bad, and they cant be changed i have to buy a new transfer case, is this true? I have seen the chains for sale so i am guessing they can be changed? Any help here would be appreciated. Has anybody done it?

 

I've changed them on other t-case designs so I don't know why you can't for this one. They may have a valid reason that I'm not aware of however. The chains can strech when worked hard.

 

Wow, I never knew this. Is there a way to prevent this?

 

The truck has 200k plus miles on it i got in trade with some other stuff but anyway i guess ill pull the thing out and go from there if nobody has any more info? Thanks

 

Of course! It is better to replace the transfer case.

 

Pulling the transfer case and rebuilding it should be easy for even a beginner mechanic type. As long as you have a clean area to do the work, some basic hand tools and set of snap ring pliers you can do it. Before you invest money into a chain I would make sure the oil level is full, drop the front and rear drive shafts at the TC yokes, put it in 4x4 and turn the front and rear output by hand to see how much wear you have.. there should be a few degrees of slop but nothing horrible. If its full on oil and there is not alot of slop you may have a bearing or gear issue. I hate to recommend some one to take a simple project into a shop but also hate when they throw parts at some thing and waste the money for no reason. let us know how it works out.

 

you won't do this with normal driving. I've seen it on work trucks that come from a mine; rock crawling type stuff.