I have some grinding issues in all ranges...magnet was engulfed in metal and i think/hope the pump pick-up was clogged and caused my noise because all the teeth look good. Cant tell if the chain is stretched without checking a new one (which i will do at 4WD 2moro) but my big concern at this point is wtf is the brass remants i see from? There is no sign of brass anymore so i guess the case ate whatever it was and i cant remember any brass when i had the thing apart last . Case has about 5k on it and i changed the fluid probably 3 or 4 times and it was very clean every time ... the last time was less than 500 miles ago
thx for any input
some pics can be seen here
http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/

Here you go:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case002.jpg

nice one:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case003.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case006.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case007.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case009.jpg

You copie and past the code under each pic. Its the last code under the pic.

[IMG]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/case010.jpg

Tear it further down. See if you can get the 4:1 unit out of the case. what about the main shaft as where it drives the pump?

The 4to1 has 5 small planetary gears that run on 5 small shafts. Each of the small shafts are spot welded on each end to hold them in place. Check each of the 10 spot welds to make sure none of them have failed. I would guess that one has failed.

NIB

From the pictures it looks like the outer ring that’s pressed into the housing that the planet gears are indexed to is missing or all the teeth are smooth. It could just be the picture but it looks like the planetary assembly is not sitting correctly! I've broken and rebuilt my tera 4:1 Np231 a bunch of times. I've even broken the planetary cage twice and welded it up on the trail and kept wheeling! Post more pictures in this area so we can get a better look at it.

The more I look at it this is what I think is wrong. I would bet one of the planet gears is next to seized on the shaft causing excessive wear on the outer ring. This would explain all of the metal shavings and the copper chunks. The only copper ring that would match that size in the photo would be the sun gear retaining plate copper washer ware ring. Also there is two copper washers for each planet gear one smaller and bigger. I bet there is probably one that’s missing or damaged.

From what I've learned from breaking mine is that in there is really a reason for Tera to state do not excided 2500 RPM's or anything higher than third gear. The reason is that with in low range a lot of force pushing the sun gear towards the tranny. The gear cut in such a way that under load it applies force to the sun gear and the two want to pull apart.

So why did mine break it's because I like to haul ass and I don't stop until it's broke! So driving in low range racing in 4th and 5th gear = VERRY BAD! Excessive spinning of the sun gear would apply above normal forces and cause the copper washer to break down. Then you would get metal on metal explain the mass amount of metal in your oil. So there is only two ways to have this occur is hauling around in low range in Top Gear all day long or you have a planet gear failure that’s putting drag on the assembly causing the planetary to act like it's in low range even though you are in 4 high. Now keep in mind that it took 3 years of the worst abuse you can image for my Tear to fail in a similar way. So I would go with option 2 since in only 500 miles having this type of failure would easily be caused by driving down the freeway here is So Cal at 80 would easily disintegrate it.

The planetary assembly is 600 from a Tear dealer, but I don't know how to replace the outer ring that pressed into the housing.

so I need to keep my speeds low in 2wl low conditions:eek:

Hell No ABUSE YOUR JUNK!

I'm confused who has the issue? jpfrk2001 or tjaymurph!

I'm confused who has the issue? jpfrk2001 or tjaymurph!

tjaymurph does. Im good to go:flipoff2:

The ring gear (pressed in gear) is fine - must be pic
Bearing is fine also

2 of the planetary gears are sloppy on the pins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v-0jA_YD8c

numerous copper washers are gone or damaged

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/ztcaseplanetary4.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/ztcaseplanetary1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a264/JAYMURPH/tcase/ztcaseplanetary5.jpg

Well not exactly what I thought but close, I wounded why those planetary gears are so mess up! Also can you post up another pic of the ring gear to see the teeth, that is seriously some odd angle on the other pic's. What do you plan to do?

Sadly this is fairly common on the tera low. The brass bushing get wiped out and make lots of noise. Contact Tera's customer service they were pretty good on the last one I sent in. They didn't charge anything but it did take a couple of weeks for them to get it done & shipped back. For any of my customers that daily drive thier rig I now reccomend an atlas 2 speed. Its not that much more of an investment and almost no issues. \Good luck

Update on 4 to 1
I talked with Doug Henderson at Tera and he has been great to deal with. I sent the complete unit back to Utah and they had it a few days and its on its way back to me at NO CHARGE. :D
Thx Tera and especially to Doug

How old is your Tera 4:1 Kit?

I talked with Doug Henderson at Tera and he has been great to deal with.
I second that. Doug took care on me when I had a problem with my Tera 4to1.

NIB

Even tho you had issues with your Tera Low, would you buy another one? I'm upgrading cases and didn't want to waste money on the 231 if it isn't worth it.

The 4:1 is worth it (especially if you have a manual tranny), but a gear driven case is even more worth it. As long as you have a SYE (with a stronger output shaft) and the 4:1, it is a great improvement off road. But with those upgrades, you are in it $1200 or so plus labor. It can hold up under some abuse, but the peace of mind of an Atlas or a Stak is well worth the extra coin IMO. If it is in the cards at all, save up for one of those.
My Atlas took so long to get in, I got a 4:1 for my 231 just because I wanted to wheel and hated using my clutch for the extra gears. It is a little noisy, but a good kit. Just watch your speed!

How old is your Tera 4:1 Kit?

About 2 years and 5-6k on it.

Even tho you had issues with your Tera Low, would you buy another one? I'm upgrading cases and didn't want to waste money on the 231 if it isn't worth it.

If the company stands behind their product then i will stand behind them. The 4 to 1 will increase your crawl ratio 50% and do wonders for the clutch. I do recommend it and think you can find a great deal by web-shopping... I got mine with a 2-low shift fork for about $800 to my door :smokin:

The 4:1 is worth it (especially if you have a manual tranny), but a gear driven case is even more worth it. As long as you have a SYE (with a stronger output shaft) and the 4:1, it is a great improvement off road. But with those upgrades, you are in it $1200 or so plus labor. It can hold up under some abuse, but the peace of mind of an Atlas or a Stak is well worth the extra coin IMO. If it is in the cards at all, save up for one of those.
My Atlas took so long to get in, I got a 4:1 for my 231 just because I wanted to wheel and hated using my clutch for the extra gears. It is a little noisy, but a good kit. Just watch your speed!

X2
Although i think the argument between which way to go is quite a bit clearer if you can get the tera for 8 or $900. Not to mention installation isnt even close.
Money and time = Tera (4 my broke lazy A$$ :laughing:)

I bought a Tera 4to1 about 3 years ago. I did have a few issues with it, but Tera stood behind their product. I am not sorry I bought it when I did. I'm currently instaling an Atlas 4.3 2-spd. The Atlas is a lot more money to start with and then you need drive shaft mods, shifter mods, skid plate mods, tranny mount mods...............

NIB

I have the same setup for over 7 years with no issues up to date. Granted, mines not a DD, It will probably never see more then 500 miles a YEAR, It is a trailer queen. When my time comes, Im going to get the atlas 2 speed and convert my 4:1 case into a Box4rocks case in front of the atlas:smokin:

I only suggest changing the fluids once a year in the t-case and keep it clean. You should be fine with a motor of no more then 300HP and trq.

Thanks for the replies! I'm saving up now for a T-case upgrade of some sort. It will all depend on how the money flow is at the time. I REALLY like the Stak 3 speed so I will see if I can work something out there. If I didn't need a cage, 1 ton steering, hydro assist steering, a new dash and all of those other goodies I would have ordered it by now!