I need to do some exhaust work on my 93 wrangler. I went to remove the big skid plate-looking thing called the rear cross member until I realized that it supports the transfer case and rear end of the trans. The thing is so big I can't see any good way to get a jack onto the trans to support it while I take this thing off. I'm sure there's a reasonably simple way to do this, but I'm not seeing it. Any Help?

Thanks!

take off the rubber boot for the shifters. lay a couple of two by fours or a pipe from door opening to door opening and wrap a chain around the trans and case and two bys. be sure to lay a blanket on your door openings to protect them.

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or get a jack stand/block of wood.. something to support the transfer case/tranny.. make sure its stable..

you just need to hold it up..
if you still cant find anything.. just lower it down.. the engine will keep it up.. but it wont be kind to your motor mounts.. i have done this when needed.. then i stuck the plate back under it all.. and well.. lets just say i almost got a hernia that day..

http://www.jeepgod.net


<font color=orange>survival is instinct, but living takes guts</font color=orange>

Thanks for the ideas. I have jacks and jackstands, the problem is that plate covers everything from the rear driveshaft to the bellhousing. You think supporting it under the bellhousing would be ok? Seems the weight of the t-case would just make it pull harder on the motor mounts. Or you think it would be ok to just support it by the drive shaft? The 2x4/chain idea is good, but it would be a lot easier to jack it from below if that's possible.

the bell housing will support it.. can you get on the output of the transfer case at all? not the driveshaft.. but the actual case..

http://www.jeepgod.net


<font color=orange>survival is instinct, but living takes guts</font color=orange>

Yeah, it looks like I could (kinda). Not on the transfer case case itself, but it has a small housing bolted to the back and then a cone-shaped housing bolted to that where the shaft goes into. It would probably be ok to support it by those, huh? Better than letting it hang by the motor mounts anyway.

I'd just hate to do any damage just to fix a harmless but annoying exhaust rattle. The jeep has just over 100k miles, looks and runs great, doesn't leak, and I'm pretty sure it's never been apart. I just don't want to put any unnecessary stress on the drive-line parts.

Thanks for helping an amateur wrencher and new jeeper! This forum rocks!

i have held my tranny/transcase up with a bottle jack right at the rear of the transcase at the tailhouse and a 2x4 pad between another bottle jack under the engine oil pan. then removed the skid but only to change the tranny fluid. it's pretty shaky even to do that. if you are going to be doing exhaust work i would secure it better than this. the jacks will always be in your way also. when i dropped the tranny/transcase to do a clutch job i first wrapped a chain around a timber that was lying across the floor and wrapped around the tranny so i could drop the skid and get my tranny jack under with no other bottle jacks in the way. also you can use a come-along and attach it to the frame rails to support the rear of the transcase. so you have options- just have to work a little harder to make it SAFER.

Thanks man. I think I could jack it from the tailhouse like you said (with a hunk of 2x4) to get the skid off, then get a jackstand or something stable under the trans while I do the work.

greatly appreciate all the advice!

Try:

1. Go to hardware store.
2. Buy:
a. 6' of 1/4" steel cable.
b. 2 cable clamps
3. Crawl under the Jeep with the stuff you just boutht.
4. Loop one end of the cable around top of the passenger side frame rail at the transfer case yoke area.
5. Use a cable clamp to tie the loop together... and tighten the clamp down.
6. Loop free end of the cable under the yoke and arund top of the drivers side frame rail.
7. Use the second cable clamp to secure the loop to itself.
8. Tighten the cable clamp.
9. Recheck your work.

Remember to keep the cable taught. If you've done it right the cable will now support the drivetrain.

I always use this method to support engines, transmissions, transfer cases, or whatever needs supporting. This frees the area up under the supported device so I can crawl around unencumbered. There's no jack or no jackstands to have to work around.

It works quite well. I uaually have about 4 or 5 of these 6' cable pieces laying around. They're really quite handy, as I use them all the time.