dugdamoose

hey. i have a 02 f150 4x4 5.4 i have noticed it starting to make a knobby tire sound and i have radials. it seems louder when i am coasting to a stop around 20-30mph. also i have noticed that after i remove it from 4x4 high to 2x i drive for about 20miles and i feel a bang like i hit a pot hole. it scares the hell out of me. but it seems to drive smoother, could the four wheel drive still be engaged (i can drive in circles just fine)and when i switch out of 4x4 i can feel something disengaging. lately it hasnt made that bang (pothole)feeling after driving over the usual 20miles and now im hearing that knobby tire sound comming from the front end. i checked out the wheel bearings and they are good. thanks!

3wV

I've pulled apart a lot of Chevy 4x4 transfer cases and that Ring-Clip call it, will shatter against that bang you hear. Then the ring falls to the bottom in pieces. The transfer internals now float in and out of each other being that one locking cage is floating out past the clip groove.
They make this huge bang if you do the in and out box is I could do it on the drive and then say, "Write 'em Up" it's your shattered clip in the transfer case and it eats just about every hard part inside. There is not much to salvage but the case and a few more parts that did not damage the bearings that hold the shafts in the case is it is a mess. And let me tell one bang and it is an expensive mess. That is a lot of rolling mass.
Perfectly running engines run down the drag strip and leave parts behind is there you go is a transfer case inside in just a few feet.