NP231 wierd bangs in 3rd & 5th

[Tribal Jeep]

Sound started today. At first I thought it was rocks getting tossed into the wheel wells. Thats exactly what it sounded like. I noticed after about 15 of start & stop driving that the sound was coming from the TC when I put it into 3rd and 5th gear.
I could imagine a broken chain link smacking the TC housing... So I took it to the car wash to get the muck off for when I crawl under the belly. After the wash there was no bangs... took it home and checked the TC over, no exterior visible damage and the fluid is fresh and abundant.

So I thought maybe this was caused by a piece of ice, or a rock or some debri that had got caught and froze by the shifter and maybe I sprayed it loose in the car wash..(?)

Just dont want a surprise down the road from a piece of metal getting caught in the TC gears or something.

Any suggestions/ideas?

[Elsifer]

Well, moving the stick around on your tranny making noises from underneath kinda leads me to think its not the tcase. More likely rocks/sticks/ice got plugged up there.

Short of taking the tcase out, tearing it apart and giving it a good look over. (A lot of work, especially for a daily driver).
If its gone now, then keep the area clean, keep an eye on your fluids in the tranny and tcase. And be done with it. But do check your driveshafts and see if the ujoints and cv need grease or replacement.

I know I can carry about 40 lbs of material packed around my tranny/tcase, between the rubigrader skidplate and body and framerails. So I know what can accumulate up there.

Short of some weird backlash from the rear driveshaft when you shift gears. Prolly just junk stuck up there.

[BlackYJ]

It helps to let us know what kind of Jeep, from you sig I see TJ, but also any mods done to the vehicle like suspension or body lift.  This info can help diagnosis the problem.

Thanks

[Tribal Jeep]

no lift yet or any serious mods that would effect anything really. 01 tj sahara. noise hasnt come back today. Also their was no noise when moving the stick. It was exclusive to when 3rd & 5th gear where engaged (releasing of the clutch).

[cLAY]

I once had something similar to that, turned out ice/slush/snow had built up between the t-case and the body of the jeep. When accelerating the drivetrain  torqued and would bang the ice against the floor. When it warmed up it went away. To kkep it from happening again install a body lift.