Hey guys,
I ended up giving the previous owner of my zook a call regarding the mysterious transfer case... he basically said it was installed by the original owner. Not sure why this was done and it will have to remain a mystery...
You guys are probably wondering why the transfer case was removed in the first place... On they way back from wheeling last week it starting making some grating noises and crazy vibrations through the cabin when i took off from a standstill. It only happens when i dump the clutch and give it a bit of right pedal action. It feels completely normal if i take off from a standstill and let the the clutch out smoothly... Once moving the zook feels normal and will cruise at speed no worries...
So my mate (he's a mechanic) and i took the transfer case out and cracked it open on the weekend to have a look see... when i drained the oil out before removal, a ball bearing come out with the oil, so i thought it wouldn't be good. My mate has striped the case down and nothing is wrong with it. We think the chain may have stretched and this is what is possibly causing the noise. We're checking this out tonight... So what do you guys think is the matter with the transfer case? I don't really want to replace the case with a gear driven case, cos if it's just the chain, then it's an easy fix.
I need to reinforce the transfer case somehow, by either using a roctoy ring or by buying or fabbing up a trasfercase cradle? what can you recommend? Do the roctoy rings fit the coily cases? I've tried to get in contact with Chris who makes them. I will try again today... I'm not 100% sure if there are any off the shelf options available to strengthen up the case... Now my zook has air-lockers front and rear with 5.1:1.0 R+P gearing in the diff. So there is a lot of force being placed on the transfer case and mounting points. Putting reduction gearing in the transfer case is NOT an option as it will completely stuff up how the car has been set up in terms of gearing and driveability. The way it is at the moment is awesome... i love it
Joe has recommended twin transfers and auto box, but i sadly have other priorities and can't justify spending the funds on the zook.
Thanks for you help dudes...