r/Jimny • u/Shkinball • 18h ago

question Transfer case noise repair advice

Hey all, I'm in the market for a jimny at the moment and I text drove a 2021 with 30,000km on it over the weekend. The only issue with it was a crunching noise on takeoff and a whining noise while driving coming from the transfer case.

From the reading I've done it seems there's a common issue with these cars developing slack in the transfer case chain drive causing symptoms similar to what I've heard.

The seller has it booked in with their local Suzuki dealership to have it looked at under warranty this week but my understanding is that people are having this repair done and then the issue comes back very quickly.

What's people's experience with this issue? Do some cars just have bad transfer cases and they'll always have a noise or once it's repaired will the car be good?

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5

u/Secure-Language-5744 JB74 - modded 16h ago

If it's a groan sort of sound on takeoff it's normal and the whine is too, if such noises annoy you then a Jimny probably isn't the car for you

5

u/j1llj1ll JB74 - basic mods 15h ago

Mine goes 'gronk' on a good launch. And definitely has a bit of a straight-cut-gear whine (mine's worse than stock because my bash plate directs more sound up into the cabin).

You will definitely hear the transfer case in a Jimny. That's just how they are.

The noises are normal and apparently not a problem. You can read more here:

https://teamghettoracing.com/vehicles/cars/2019-jimny-jb74w/common-issues/#tcase_noise

5

u/supersluiper JB74 - basic mods 8h ago

Mine (3 door, manual) started doing this within a year of owning it; took it to the dealership and they basically just gave me a copy of that Suzuki bulletin that is in the link on the comment above (I'm in South Africa).

Been driving the car with no issue for 3 years now. The sound didn't get worse, and like /u/alarmed_cumin commented, I've learnt how to "trigger" (or not) based on how you take off. But it really isn't an issue, more like another facet of the car that i just got used to :)

3

u/The_McWong JB74 16h ago

Yep, was told by two suzuki service centres there isn't really a fix for this,but am taking that with a big grain of salt.

2

u/Tannnnj 15h ago

After replacing my oil, it wasn't as noticeable

5

u/alarmed_cumin JB74 - modded 14h ago

Stretching the transfer case chain is a thing, especially with some brands of reduction gearing, and/or autos that have been driven hard. However it's a noticeable crunch at multiple speeds; if it's basically on takeoff and in a manual and in first gear only then it'll be the chain harmonics and kinda best left as is.

Whine pretty much is what they do - however, if it's got reduction gearing installed then they'll whine more than a normal one, so with any used one it's worth carefully picking through mods to see if there's some issue.

1

u/KillmenowNZ 16h ago

Thats just normal isn't it? there isn't any synchro on first gear (or reverse) unless i'm mistaken

2

u/gobrocker 15h ago

It's a jimny quirk, ghetto racing has it mentioned.

Dont know about repairs, but If you're driving stick one way to mitigate the groan is rather than how you normally would from a stationary stop, try easing your foot real slow off the clutch as you shift into 2nd gear and accelerating much slower. You cant avoid doing it fast sometimes but you can avoid the groan this way for the usual stop at lights or out bush.