LT230 front out put shaft play (no load light growl)

terryjm1

Well-known member
I have what I would describe as a light growl when there is no load while coasting at highway speeds. It goes away under the slightest acceleration or deceleration when there is a load applied. Climbed under it and grabbed the driveshaft looking for a cause. I noticed a slight amount of play in the front output shaft of the transfer case. No oil leak, however. Think this is the cause? The t-case only has 68,000 miles on it from new and until a couple thousand miles ago was attached to an automatic that almost never was in 4wd.

Any thoughts?
 

Napalm00

Technical Excellence Contributor
It's not the t case 99% chance. It's the drive shaft itself. Off accelerator coasting will cause vibration in the shaft.
When lifted it gets even worse.
This is why Tom woods makes a mint selling double cardon front shafts
 

Roverman2010

Well-known member
Terry is this Disco? You wanta hear growling come for a ride in my FC101 her indoors was thinking the axle was coming apart first time she rode in it.

Double, double cardon shaft going in.
 

Jgdisco2

Member
I have the same issue except mine(04 disco)does not go away until speed is under 25 mph. Only happens when decelerating. Replaced both diffs and rebuilt driveshafts. Still have the issue, I’ve got a replacement TC coming from Will T this week. Hopefully this solves it for me. I’ll report back once I get it swapped
 

terryjm1

Well-known member
It is the 98 Disco. How much lateral movement is “normal” for the LT230 front output shaft? It is lifted but only 2 inches. Thanks for all the replies.
 

Mack

Well-known member
You could always pull the front driveshaft off and lock the center diff, and see if the noise goes away.
 

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
As others have said, this is a drive shaft issue more likely than not. Bad balance, bad u-joint, or something. The other thing you might look at is bad tire balance, but usually that is heard at specific speeds, with or without being on the pedal.

If you do pull the front drive shaft and drive to test, the only problem is that it often introduces other noises and a looseness that may make it difficult to determine if your noise has gone away, but it is worth a try if you can’t see any issues on inspection.
 
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