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Going 50mph....then nothing.

D

Duallydude

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Hello, First post here.
I did some search's prior to posting and found nothing pertaining to my specific issue.

My girl owns a 1994 GMC k3500 Dually, its 4x4.
Recently I did a bunch of front end work to get it back on the road. It has been road legal and on the road for over a month now.

Today, on her way home from work doing 50mph she encountered failure.
While doing 50 mph, she heard nothing, felt nothing, truck was running great. All of a sudden, she cant accelerate....motor just revs. She pulls over and tries to put the truck into park and got a grinding. She shut the truck off....put it into park. She RE-started the truck just fine, and put it into gear...nothing....and once again could not put the truck in park while running due to grinding.

So, She called AAA....

Needless to say, Im not exactly skilled in transfer case / transmission issues.
This seems like something stupid....How could she go from truck running great doing 50 mph, to NO transmission?
All fluids were checked when I got it back on the road. Rear end fluid...tranny fluid...oil....breaks ect... I know there is fluid...

So before I go home and start fudging with this p.o.s.... I wanted some other peoples opinions on where to start looking and what to do to troubleshoot this issue.

Thanks in advance to those of you willing to take the time to help.

-Dually :mad2:
 
Welcome! Sorry about the news, but you hit the nail on the head with the transfer case. Crawl under and on the back of the case is a tag with numbers on it, round and red if not covered in dirt. Write down all you see on that tag. Search for a good take out is probably the lowest cost.

My guess would be stretched chain, wiped out the drive gears for it or the planetary (cant remember proper name at the moment).

Keep in mind to use the parking brake- Do not trust transmission "park" to work right now.
 
Will L, Thanks for the reply...Does this typically happen while going 50 mph? She is a very careful driver and doesn beat on anything even her ATV's. I just find it wierd that everything was running great, then dead at 50mph!!!! Wtf....
-dually
 
Is it an electric shift (push button) or manual shift (floor-mounted lever)?

Could be a TLA problem.
 
this is a manual shift.......

Added note, she was in 2wd, and hasnt attempted to switch to 4x4 at all. .. just cruising along at 50mph in 2wd, then it wouldent accelerate
 
Yeah, I jumped the gun on that. Go under the truck, disconnect the linkage at the transfer case and manually make sure it is engaged. Try all positions.

The fact that the parking pawl made noise when she put it in park while sitting still means the transmission output shaft was turning. Idk, maybe something in the trans could have the same effect (FERMINATOR??). I have seen it occur I new process transfer cases mutiple times, and the description is just like you said. Or sometimes a grinding slip & catch effect.

I broke my own rule of verify the exact problem before condemning.
 
I'm thinking neutral, being not abused. But it is a strange problem... Have you tried to put it into 4 high or low?
 
Good afternoon Gentlemen,
I certainly appreciate all of the brain power you guys are putting into this. I have yet to get under the truck. She had AAA drop it off at her grandfathers house, and as usual im working again today. I have yet to get my hands on the truck. Have either of you accomplished a Transfer case re-build? I know Im weighing my options before I even figure out what is wrong with this thing, but I like to get an idea on expenses if I have suffered catastropic failure of the transfer case. It seems as though there are a few on EBAY, (drop - outs) of either wrecked, or no longer running vehicles for around 550 - 600$. THAT does not seem too bad....and the video's ive watched on replacing the transfer cases on anything seem pretty straight forward, drop the drive shafts, remove the sensors / breather tubes, undo the bolts and lower it down. My biggest concern is usually......I do everything by myself.....Im a fairly athletic person with good size, so the weight doesnt really scare me. I do not have a transmission jack, but I do have a couple 2 ton jacks, and a motorcycle / atv jack (that would probably be most useful). It may take a couple days but I plan on taking a look at it SOON. Its just a spare vehicle for us, and we can run our two subaru's in the meantime, however, a truck is pretty important to own for many reasons, not to mention its her baby, and she's a registered maine guide and uses it to help her family with its bear guide service / moose hunts ect..... Thanks again for your time, I'll get back to you guys with any new findings.....Sounds like something stupid,....i hope its that instead of transfer case failure... She swears she heard NOTHING, and just pressed on the gas going up a hill only to hear the engine rev....She's not mechanically retarded either so wish us the best!
thanks for your time and energy.
-Duallydubbah
 
I have went through two transfer cases. 1 chain driven, 1 gear driven. Not way hard, definitely if you have to replace it, rip it apart on a bench first and see what you find. Posting pictures here wouldn't be a bad idea if you get to that point.
 
You need to check the tcase model since it is a 94. If it is a Borg Warner you basically just need to find a new case. They no longer sell chains and gears.

source unknown
 
I've replaced em but never had one apart. Should be able to find a dead rust bucket you can cannibalize...

and yeah, my bad. Welcome to TTS, dude! The guys around here can fix anything!
 
Pretty sure all the duallys got the BORG WARNER cases. I think you can swap a NP241 back in it's place with some driveshaft modifications.
 
I know this is bringing an old thread back to life.......but since it did not have an ending...... I thought I would add mine.
I had this exact problem....cruising at seventy-then just a bit of grinding and then it acted like it was in neutral. (I did finally find out that 4 Low still worked so I got it off the interstate) Every time I tried to put it in park (before I put it in 4 Low) it would start grinding like crazy. It ended up being the shift fork in the transfer case had worn out and it just slipped into neutral. I had no prior experience but I tore it apart and replaced the shift fork, one gear (a local trans shop sold me a good used one for cheap), and all the seals; and I was back on the road for just over $100.
 
Our 1988 1/2t Surburban did the same thing - ate the shift fork. And it always leaked out of the rear seal no matter what.
 
1994ch said:
I know this is bringing an old thread back to life.......but since it did not have an ending...... I thought I would add mine.
I had this exact problem....cruising at seventy-then just a bit of grinding and then it acted like it was in neutral. (I did finally find out that 4 Low still worked so I got it off the interstate) Every time I tried to put it in park (before I put it in 4 Low) it would start grinding like crazy. It ended up being the shift fork in the transfer case had worn out and it just slipped into neutral. I had no prior experience but I tore it apart and replaced the shift fork, one gear (a local trans shop sold me a good used one for cheap), and all the seals; and I was back on the road for just over $100.
Click to expand...
Yup, my 95 did the same thing on the interstate going 70-75mph. Cruising along all is fine no funny noises, then bam i lost all power, only my case was a little different, my transfer case, the NP241, was stuck in 4 low and moving the shifter would not change it out of 4 low. 4.10 gears with the diesel torque and 5 trans in low range made it a dragster off the line but I couldn't drive much over 35 in 5th gear lol. Rebuilt case and everything was fine afterwards.

I read that it's a common issue if the case is run low on fluid.
 
Just a common issue, regardless of fluid level. Obviously low fluid will speed it up. Weak point on np Xfer. Mine is a different, full time 4wd, and guess who had to do his....unfortunately, mine took out a little more in parts. All happy now.
 
Will L. said:
Just a common issue, regardless of fluid level. Obviously low fluid will speed it up. Weak point on np Xfer. Mine is a different, full time 4wd, and guess who had to do his....unfortunately, mine took out a little more in parts. All happy now.
Click to expand...
Come to think of it, after I got the truck home I removed the case fill plug and fluid came out so it definetly wasn't run low. My 79 has a full time case, it's a heavy SOB!
 
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