Just had pathfinder repaired 6 wks ago after accident including replacing the propeller shaft. Car just died and 2nd repair place said both the shaft and the transfer case need to be replaced. Could the original repair shop have caused the damage to the transfer case when they did the original repair?
It is unlikely that just changing the shaft actually caused the transfer case damage… but stranger things have happened.
It is very possible that the transfer case damage occurred during the first accident 6 weeks ago but didn’t get bad enough to show up until now.
Why did the truck die?
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There was a loose rattle sound/almost like a piece of metal was banging around or dragging (but wasn’t anything hanging down) about a week prior but then went away for most part. Then a few days ago, it started to jerk and seize/shaky steering a bit on highway so we limped into the Nissan shop. After the original repairs, the 4WD light was on on the dash and wouldn’t go off (wasn’t on before) but when we asked about it, they said it was nothing. Other major thing on original repair was the rear axle housing.
What kind of accident did you have that took out the rear axle and driveshaft? Was it covered by insurance? If it was covered by insurance, you might be able to get the insurance to pick up the transfer case repair.
The original repair sheet didn’t note any work on the transfer case but I wondered if when they changed the shaft, if fluid leaked out then and they didn’t replace or if they damaged a seal and caused a leak. (but I’m not a car person/don’t know repair work so not sure if that is likely or not).
Skidded off road and low guard rail ripped axle and back wheel off. Insurance declared it total loss as car is 2003 (and lots of exterior damage eg fender and door) but as we couldnt afford new car tried to get it fixed. Think we are at mercy of original repair shop being willing to fix. But as new transfer case is pricey, think its longshot. Thanks for the intel.
I’m guessing that the accident damaged the transfer case innards. The prop shaft is directly connected to the transfer case output, and if the prop shaft gets violently yanked like that, so does the transfer case output shaft. I’d have advised that the rear differential was probably damaged at the same time, b/c the other end of the prop shaft is attached to that. But it appears you’ve already replaced the rear differential. This is all consistent with the accident damaging the transfer case. It might not be all that bad of damage, but it will probably have to be removed and taken apart somewhat for a look-see what’s going on.
Thanks George!