Hey Jeepers, hope you’re all doing well!

I recently lifted my JK with a Teraflex 2.5” kit and added 35” tires. After the upgrade, I started getting a lot of noise and vibration from the drive shaft, so I swapped it out for a Tom Wood’s shaft — problem solved on that front.

Around the same time, I discovered that the spider gear in the front axle had a small chip, which was also causing noise. I replaced it along with the axle bearings.

When I first gave the Jeep to the mechanic, the only issue we noticed was with the spider gear. After fixing that, another noise started coming up — and this time, the mechanic wasn’t sure where it was coming from.

Now, just to give more context:

• The driveshaft is brand new.
  
• The rear axle was fully rebuilt a year ago — no leaks or vibrations.
  

So they suspected the transfer case might be the source. They opened it up and found that the bearings were all tight and in place — nothing seemed off — but there was a very slight play in the gears. I’ve attached a video to show that tiny movement.

My question is: is this small gear play normal? Or should I be concerned?

Appreciate any advice or insight you guys might have — thanks for the help!

 

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