Hummer H3 transfer case output shaft question - wobble/play?
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Joined: Feb 2016
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Hummer H3 transfer case output shaft question - wobble/play?
I am seeking knowledge from those who are intimately familiar with the BW-4493/94 Transfer Case
Recently, my 2007 experienced more or less a complete transfer case failure (which I posted on another thread). Upon removing the rear driveshaft, there was a LOT of wobble/play on the transfer case rear output shaft. At least 1/8th of an inch in up/down and side/side movement. I thought this was an “ah ha” moment, and I chalked the failure up to a problem with the rear output shaft bearing.
Fast forward to today, I took a 2 hour drive to buy another transfer case (FB Market) as a donor case, so I can at least keep my vehicle on the road while I rebuild my original case. However upon arrival, I inspected the transfer case, and noticed that it had basically the same amount of up/down side/side play as my failed 07 case.
I told the gentleman I will not be buying the case, which led to a fairly heated argument from the seller about “all Chevy transfer cases have that bit of play”, “that’s ridiculous!” and “I swear to g** that this is a good transfer case”. At the end of the day, I walked away; it just did not seem correct that there would be so much play in the output shaft.
I got home, and immediately pulled the driveshaft on my 2008 Alpha to reality check myself on a known, fully functional transfer case, and while there was still not nearly as much play as the FB Market transfer case, or my 2007 broken case, I was still surprised to see that there was still a small amount of wobble/play in the rear output shaft.
So my question is: is it normal, or not normal, for the transfer cases in our H3 to have ANY wobble from the rear output shaft.
I have replaced several old fashioned NP231 & NP242 transfer cases on older Jeeps, and the output shafts on those were always incredibly solid. No wiggle room whatsoever. I am not intimately familiar with the BW 4493/94 series and wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something that might be incredibly obvious with them.
I attached a video so everyone can see what I’m talking about; is this normal, or not?
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays so far.
TL
R - Is it normal for REAR output shaft on our BW 4493/94 transfer cases to have any play whatsoever? See attached video to see what I am talking about.
Recently, my 2007 experienced more or less a complete transfer case failure (which I posted on another thread). Upon removing the rear driveshaft, there was a LOT of wobble/play on the transfer case rear output shaft. At least 1/8th of an inch in up/down and side/side movement. I thought this was an “ah ha” moment, and I chalked the failure up to a problem with the rear output shaft bearing.
Fast forward to today, I took a 2 hour drive to buy another transfer case (FB Market) as a donor case, so I can at least keep my vehicle on the road while I rebuild my original case. However upon arrival, I inspected the transfer case, and noticed that it had basically the same amount of up/down side/side play as my failed 07 case.
I told the gentleman I will not be buying the case, which led to a fairly heated argument from the seller about “all Chevy transfer cases have that bit of play”, “that’s ridiculous!” and “I swear to g** that this is a good transfer case”. At the end of the day, I walked away; it just did not seem correct that there would be so much play in the output shaft.
I got home, and immediately pulled the driveshaft on my 2008 Alpha to reality check myself on a known, fully functional transfer case, and while there was still not nearly as much play as the FB Market transfer case, or my 2007 broken case, I was still surprised to see that there was still a small amount of wobble/play in the rear output shaft.
So my question is: is it normal, or not normal, for the transfer cases in our H3 to have ANY wobble from the rear output shaft.
I have replaced several old fashioned NP231 & NP242 transfer cases on older Jeeps, and the output shafts on those were always incredibly solid. No wiggle room whatsoever. I am not intimately familiar with the BW 4493/94 series and wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing something that might be incredibly obvious with them.
I attached a video so everyone can see what I’m talking about; is this normal, or not?
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the holidays so far.
TL
R - Is it normal for REAR output shaft on our BW 4493/94 transfer cases to have any play whatsoever? See attached video to see what I am talking about.
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 265
From: New Mexico
Here's a thread I posted last year on the same topic and asking if the amount of play I was seeing was normal: https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...al-play-48988/
FWIW, I never got a solid answer on how much radial play is acceptable and I just ended up putting it back together the way it was and it seems to be running fine ... so far.
FWIW, I never got a solid answer on how much radial play is acceptable and I just ended up putting it back together the way it was and it seems to be running fine ... so far.
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 121
Here's a thread I posted last year on the same topic and asking if the amount of play I was seeing was normal: https://www.hummerforums.com/forum/h...al-play-48988/
FWIW, I never got a solid answer on how much radial play is acceptable and I just ended up putting it back together the way it was and it seems to be running fine ... so far.
FWIW, I never got a solid answer on how much radial play is acceptable and I just ended up putting it back together the way it was and it seems to be running fine ... so far.
I checked the Transfer Case Schwartz manual and there is no specification on the acceptable limits of radial/side to side play/etc. so on one hand you could make the argument that there should be none, but on the other hand you could make the argument that a little bit of play is acceptable.
When I get around to rebuilding my transfer case and I can get a better sense of how the rear output shaft sits in the case and blends together with the differential, I’ll post an update and post my findings.
A lot of the general searches I’ve found online state that as long as there is no play with the rear driveshaft installed, then everything is fine, as the rear driveshaft rides against the rear case bushing which should hold everything together nice and tight. That said, I still don’t like the idea of the rear output shaft just floating around in there and isn’t “solid”.
Either way, I understand the sellers frustration if I did in fact turn away a perfectly good transfer case. Oops…… 😬
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 265
From: New Mexico
Thank you very much for the reply! Apologies to hear that you are suffering from the same problem, but I’m happy for you that it hasn’t been an issue for you haha 😂
I checked the Transfer Case Schwartz manual and there is no specification on the acceptable limits of radial/side to side play/etc. so on one hand you could make the argument that there should be none, but on the other hand you could make the argument that a little bit of play is acceptable.
When I get around to rebuilding my transfer case and I can get a better sense of how the rear output shaft sits in the case and blends together with the differential, I’ll post an update and post my findings.
A lot of the general searches I’ve found online state that as long as there is no play with the rear driveshaft installed, then everything is fine, as the rear driveshaft rides against the rear case bushing which should hold everything together nice and tight. That said, I still don’t like the idea of the rear output shaft just floating around in there and isn’t “solid”.
Either way, I understand the sellers frustration if I did in fact turn away a perfectly good transfer case. Oops…… 😬
I checked the Transfer Case Schwartz manual and there is no specification on the acceptable limits of radial/side to side play/etc. so on one hand you could make the argument that there should be none, but on the other hand you could make the argument that a little bit of play is acceptable.
When I get around to rebuilding my transfer case and I can get a better sense of how the rear output shaft sits in the case and blends together with the differential, I’ll post an update and post my findings.
A lot of the general searches I’ve found online state that as long as there is no play with the rear driveshaft installed, then everything is fine, as the rear driveshaft rides against the rear case bushing which should hold everything together nice and tight. That said, I still don’t like the idea of the rear output shaft just floating around in there and isn’t “solid”.
Either way, I understand the sellers frustration if I did in fact turn away a perfectly good transfer case. Oops…… 😬
FYI, here is another site with FSM info that I find useful since everything is dynamically linked: https://charm.li/Hummer/2007/H3%20L5...pair/Overhaul/
Lot's of useful info there. The best I could find related to the output shaft was the following in the overhaul section, but no tolerances specified for wear:
5.Inspect the rear output shaft bearing for the following conditions:
^Scoring
^Pitting
^Brinelling
^Excessive wear
^Pitting
^Brinelling
^Excessive wear
6.Replace the rear output shaft bearing if it is faulty.
7.Inspect the mainshaft rear support bushing for the following conditions:
7.Inspect the mainshaft rear support bushing for the following conditions:
^Pitted
^Wear
^Corrosion
^Wear
^Corrosion
8.Replace the mainshaft rear support bushing if any of the above conditions are found.
9.Inspect the rear output shaft splines for wear or damage.
10.Inspect the rear output shaft bearing area for a spun bearing.
11.Replace the rear output shaft if any of the above conditions are found.
9.Inspect the rear output shaft splines for wear or damage.
10.Inspect the rear output shaft bearing area for a spun bearing.
11.Replace the rear output shaft if any of the above conditions are found.
Member
Joined: Sep 2025
Posts: 44
I have seen a rebuild video with new chain and he had a reasonable amount of radial play. It seems it makes a small chunk while shifting into reverse, but yeah. My transfer case was replaced with a rebuild and the shop described that it does have some of this play. The bad case I had had a wobble on the whole rear shaft causing the seal to get destroyed.
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