Transfer Case

[SNAPPY]

I have sealed what I think was the only oil leak on the engine and now I'm looking at resealing my transfer case due to a small ATF leak at what appears to be coming from where the cases split. It's a very minor leak but it's the only one left and it drives me insane to have any leaks. My question is does anyone have a breakdown of the transfer case? It does not appear to be that big of a job and I've even done it before but it was ages ago. I believe I could just drop the case by itself and if I'm not mistaken I think it's just RTV sealant(no gasket). I would feel alot more confident if I had a breakdown on it before I started.

 

[mygreen98]

i just did mine. had to change the output bearing. does yours have the removeable rear tail shaft housing or is it the on piece tail/body design? mine is the later. i removed tcase from truck. clean case(you dont want crap getting in it once its apart). then remove both speed sensors, although they are the same i put them back where they came from, so mark them. remove all the bolts that keep both halves together( at this point it wont come apart, there's an oval rubber plug, pop it out and you'll find a snap ring this hold the housing to the shaft). now slide back the rear portion of tcase. remove old gasket completely, use rtv. i put rtv on sensors also. good luck

 

[SNAPPY]

Well I cleaned the sh*t out of the case and after diving home checked it out and there was enough fluid there to be sure there was a leak but it was not anywhere near the split in the case or the tailshaft housing. There are two bolts on the passenger side at both these locations that I thought were the location of the leak. I really could not tell for sure because it seemed that the fluid was coming from in between. But it's not like the fluid could just seep out fof the case. Right? WRONG! There appears to me a casting mark on the back housing that appears to be where two molds were put together to make the housing and it was just seeping from there. I had to wipe it off with brake clean and rubbing alcohol and I could actually see it coming through the case. I had to do it like three times to make sure I was not seeing things but that's where it was. Crazy! So I just cleaned it up real good and put some serious industrial sealant type silicone that we use here at work on it. I am sure it will stop the leak but only time will tell.

 

[mygreen98]

if its coming out of the casing itself, i'd clean it free of any fluid, scuff sand area with sand paper, spray it clean w/ brake cleaner and use jb weld on it. theres no real pressure, jb weld will fix it.

 

[SNAPPY]

Yeah that's it. I was "seeping" throught what appears to be a casting flaw in the case. I know it sounds retarded but it is. I did not scuff it because I think the rough surface, as long as it's clean and free of dirt and oil, would "hold" the sealer better. I did not have any J.B Weld so I used the "gasket material" I did have. Believe me when I say this is some tough stuff. I work at an International Truck dealership and if you're familiar with Ford you know that "their" powerstroke is actually "our" engine. That engine does not use an oil pan gasket. It uses this "silicone". This is some serious stuff. It will hold up the temp and pretty much whatever you can throw at it. It does not get rock hard but it does get about as solid as RTV silicone when dry. This should provide some "flex" just in case. I cleaned the spot and a substantial area around it with brake clean and wiped it clean and then scrubbed the crap out of it with rubbing alcohol and wiped ti down and applied the sealant. I know it sounds crazy. Hell I would have a hard time believing this if I had not seen it with my own eyes but it was leaking through the case!

 

[SNAPPY]

Well I just went out to check and the silicone never hardened. I have had that stuff in my tool box for years and I guess after a while it goes bad. So tonight I'm gonna clean it all up again and use J.B. Weld. That should fix it up.

 

[mygreen98]

yes it should. must be a porous spot that got weak over time. i've used jbweld on a few things. i worked on a low side a/c line leak on my tahoe. still blows cold 2 yrs later !!!