Phone Man
Full Access Member
Just wanted to give my 2c on a transfer case from Transfer Case Express. I have a 246 autotrac. I ordered it on Saturday and got it on Wednesday. We all know the 246 has problems with wear through on the back half of the case. Their back half is aluminum and eliminated the problem of the original soft magnesium case. $895 with round trip shipping and upgraded case half.
I installed it in my driveway and it was a *****. I'm not sure about the 4dr Tahoe's but mine is a 2dr and the xfer case sits over the torsion bar mount. I just couldn't get the case on enough of an angle to get over it and push it up even with a jack. I'm not even sure if a tranny jack can get this angle, which i didn't have anyway. Maybe with 2 people it can be done?
So I had to take out the torsion bars AND the rear mount. You will need the tool to compress the torsion bar key. Also, the rubber mounts on the torsion bar mount have to come off just to have enough room to swing it out and back in after the case is installed. After that, you can put the transfer case on any jack and go straight up and bolt it in. Get a hold of a 15mm ratchet wrench to make life a lot easier tightening the nuts up.
I had the bright idea of filling the case with fluid first, install it, then open the fill plug and let the excess spill out. Well that didn't work after the case tipped over and spilled some on the driveway. However, had I figured out to removed the torsion bar mount first, It probably would have worked just fine.
Instead I bought a 3 foot, 5/8 diameter clear hose with a funnel and filled it from the outside. The hose will fit in the fill hole perfectly. Pour what you can and look to see the fluid back up. Blow through the hose and force the rest of the fluid into the case. Then put something down to catch the overflow when you pull the hose out. Then screw the cap back on. The case takes 2.5 qts of Autotrac fluid from GM at 8.95 per. Of course you'll need 3.
So far it is smooth and quiet. I had the annoying clicking sound which was probably a missing ball bearing from what I can tell from some schematics I saw.
Overall with my mistakes and going to the store it took about 4 hours to take out and 6 to put in. Oh, don't be surprised if you need to replace a U-joint or two. I had to replace one in each drive shaft.
Hope this helps other driveway installers out there.
I installed it in my driveway and it was a *****. I'm not sure about the 4dr Tahoe's but mine is a 2dr and the xfer case sits over the torsion bar mount. I just couldn't get the case on enough of an angle to get over it and push it up even with a jack. I'm not even sure if a tranny jack can get this angle, which i didn't have anyway. Maybe with 2 people it can be done?
So I had to take out the torsion bars AND the rear mount. You will need the tool to compress the torsion bar key. Also, the rubber mounts on the torsion bar mount have to come off just to have enough room to swing it out and back in after the case is installed. After that, you can put the transfer case on any jack and go straight up and bolt it in. Get a hold of a 15mm ratchet wrench to make life a lot easier tightening the nuts up.
I had the bright idea of filling the case with fluid first, install it, then open the fill plug and let the excess spill out. Well that didn't work after the case tipped over and spilled some on the driveway. However, had I figured out to removed the torsion bar mount first, It probably would have worked just fine.
Instead I bought a 3 foot, 5/8 diameter clear hose with a funnel and filled it from the outside. The hose will fit in the fill hole perfectly. Pour what you can and look to see the fluid back up. Blow through the hose and force the rest of the fluid into the case. Then put something down to catch the overflow when you pull the hose out. Then screw the cap back on. The case takes 2.5 qts of Autotrac fluid from GM at 8.95 per. Of course you'll need 3.
So far it is smooth and quiet. I had the annoying clicking sound which was probably a missing ball bearing from what I can tell from some schematics I saw.
Overall with my mistakes and going to the store it took about 4 hours to take out and 6 to put in. Oh, don't be surprised if you need to replace a U-joint or two. I had to replace one in each drive shaft.
Hope this helps other driveway installers out there.
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