Transfer case clunk?

01yukon03 · July 25, 2003

Hey gentlemen,

I'm new to this board, and have a question about Transfer case clunking on my 01 Yukon.

I hear the clunk when shifting the shift lever between P,D, R.

I have checked the U-Joints and they all seem fine. I have heard something about a nickel plated T case, that corrects the problem?

If there is a solution, and, will GM repair this under warranty, I have about 41K on the Yukon.?

Thanks for the help.

awdvkd · July 25, 2003

If you do a search I think you will find that it was a nickel plated yoke that was being replaced, I think-my memory isn't working very well today. There have been several treads here and I believe they even listed the service bulletin number.

01yukon03 · July 25, 2003

Thanks awdvkd!

Did a search and found a ton. Duh...

99silveradoz71 · July 26, 2003

Thanks awdvkd!
Did a search and found a ton. Duh...

a ton? ha, just a bit. Anyway, there have been several methods used to silence the clunk. One is greasing/lubing the splines of the yoke, another is switching to the blue transfer case fluid in the autotrac case, finally there is that new nickel plated yoke. I've had all 3, and my truck was quiet after the lube. It came back, but was quiet for good when lubed again. I had the other 2 services done later.

Race18 · July 31, 2003

Did you have to remove the drive shaft to lube the yoke?

HillHound · August 1, 2003

You have to remove the propeller shaft. That's the one that runs from the transfer case to the rear axle differential. Remove the 4 bolts from the 2 U brackets that hold the rear universal joint to the differential. Slide the shaft forward into the transfer case. Drop the rear and pull the front end (the slip yoke) back out of the transfer case.

The teeth (splines) inside the yoke are what you need to grease very sparingly. Use a wood dowel to get the grease all the way to the back of the yoke. Clean it out first with some brake cleaner and let it dry before you put the grease in there.

Do it on level ground (PLEASE) with the emergency brake set hard and all four wheels chocked because the truck will roll.

While you have the shaft off, drain the transfer case. After you reinstall the shaft refill it with the synthetic fluid GM recommends in the owner's manual. You need a siphon pump to refill the case due to the tight location of the fill hole.

It helps alot, is cheap and easy and will last for a few thousand miles at least, maybe more.