Clicking noise coming from transfer case

Beached on a boulder yesterday in a sticky situation. When I finally got out, I heard a clicking noise coming from the rear. 4 wheel still engages and all four tires spin, but there a clicking noise almost as if the case got cracked and all the fluid leaked.

edit: only does this in 4

anybody have a ballpark on how far I’m going to be set back? (2022)



edit edit: it was just the heat shield on the front drive shaft. Thanks to @hvac guy for pointing this possibility out.

 

I don't believe anyone could venture a guess based on what you're describing. I'm thinking a trip to the dealership is necessary for this...

 

Have you looked underneath at the transfer case to see if it was leaking? Or looked and seen anything on front driveshaft if it only makes noise in 4WD?

 

Yeah only makes noise in 4WD. Just took this video
https://imgur.com/a/pk2PdU9

 

That’s the plan but wanted to get an idea before I go in what I may be looking at.

I’m really curious as to whether this will be covered under factory warranty or not

 

Just don't tell the dealer you were 4wheeling and got stuck

 

Couldn't hear anything on the video

 

Same, as in the video itself did not have sound.

Could you describe/characterize what you are hearing/feeling. Just saying you heard a clicking noise doesnt describe it.

-does it still click? How does it click? (Is it cyclical? Does it click faster with speed? Is it a single click when engaging drive?

-The click is in the rear? Like all the way in the back by the rear diff?

-you said it’s as if the transfer case got cracked and fluid leaked out…have you seen any oil all over the transfer case or the ground? Can you still shift in and out of 4wd normally?

-Any evidence of a boulder rubbing up all over the transfer case?

-Speaking of boulders, have you looked to see where the boulder hit? That’s probably the most important place to start looking. If you dragged your 4runner over it, trace all the way down the undercarriage to see everything it hit or damaged. This doesnt require mechanical knowledge, so just look and show us pics of where it hit.

Warranty only covers manufacturer defects. It will not cover things like boulder damage or car accidents. But it might be worth checking if your car insurance will.

Once you’ve spent some time investigating what the problem is, then it maybe some folks here might be able to give you some ideas.

I dont recommend taking it to a dealer to have them tell you what is wrong. Unless your mother is the service writer and she’s the tech working on the vehicle (assuming you trust your mother that is). If you just show up and ask them to tell what’s wrong, you’re gonna get hosed. Even if it turns out it was only a little twig stuck somewhere clicking on the driveshaft.

 

The click isn’t coming from the rear like I thought on the trail. It’s coming from the transfer case/diff where I have circled in the photo.

the clicking is only in 4WD while moving. It is faster and louder the faster I drive. 4HI and LO both engage and seem to be working just fine. I was high centered on a rock and it scraped all over the exhaust and the transfer case/diff. You can’t quite see in the photo, but it was sitting on the boulder there.

If you’d like, I can email the video. (For some reason it errors when trying to upload directly to my post and Imgur is lacking sound.)




Edit: here’s sound https://youtube.com/shorts/hnfo5GVMn3g?feature=share

 

Here we go: https://youtube.com/shorts/hnfo5GVMn3g?feature=share

 

See if your heat shield got bent (touching the driveshaft), kinda hard to see in the video but the sound did work

 

Looks like you scratched the shit out of the gas tank skid pretty good too

 

That was it!! Bent it back and now she’s silent. Thank you for using my brain for me

 

Glad it was a easy fix!

 

Whoah! Very glad it was a heat shield and not something more serious! But, your video does show some damage to your exhaust pipe. Kinda looks crushed out of shape pretty bad. But I cant tell for sure (see pic below). Also, the rear driveshaft…cant tell if it got hit or not…is there rock damage to it?

 

Rear driveshaft seems alright. The exhaust on the other hand…. It’s pancaked. Going to have to address that here soon.

 

Anybody know the part # for this part of the exhaust?