[thBriGuy]

Well, it's more like blowing oil everywhere. I noticed the mud on the bottom was mostly oil, so I checked the fluid level. Very low. I put a quart and a half of tranny fluid in before it started coming out the filler hole. I sure hope there's no permanent damage, cuz I don't really want to buy a new t-case. (who does)
It looks to me like the gasket (what gasket) at the mate to the transmission is leaking. I think I'm gonna have to drop the t-case next weekend and slop some permatex on there then put the t-case back in. It's a lot of work for a simple fix, but it's gotta be done.
BTW, this truck is not a daily driver, it's my weekend warrior, so it can safely wait a week.

 

[thBriGuy]

Oh jeez... I see I forgot to post my question. :crazy:
What I was wondering is if anyone has any advice or notes of interest in this procedure. I know the haynes manual says to use a jack, but I muscled my manual tranny out of my Toyota, many many years ago, and it was a bit larger than this xfer case, so I'm pretty sure I can wrestle this thing out as well. I will have a jack (and a friend to help if I get pinned) standing by.
Thoughts?

 

[Almond Pale Ale]

If you have room, I'd put a floor jack underneath it to help lower it. NOt worth throwing out your back or losing your front teeth over it!

 

[thBriGuy]

Well, we dropped the T-case out this morning. Stupid Haynes book has several innacuracies in it. 1) it shows the transmission position sensor connection and lists it as the transfer case position switch. The actual connector/sensor is on top of the transfer case. 2) It says to seperate the transfer case and remove old gasket material from mating surface, and upon reassembly, to apply rtv sealant to the mating surfaces between xfrcase and tranny. There is no gasket material (bad for me cuz I thought this was where the leak was), just a nice machined surface with a drain channel for fluid that may leak.
This means that the problem I have is not the gasket material, and it appears the input shaft seal is leaking, although we couldn't duplicate the problem with the T-case on the ground. Right now the transfer case is at the tranny shop having a new seal installed, and when I pick it up, the guy will have a new transmission output shaft seal for me to install before bolting the t-case back in.
Another unnecessary step listed in the Haynes book is to drop the tranny support cross member. Now this may or may not have made getting that top passenger side bolt off, but with the right combination of socket extentions and knuckles, it work out pretty well. Will post more when complete.

(BTW- My transfer case is the 242, I can't tell you if my information applies to others.)

 

[thBriGuy]

Crap crap crap crap crap!

It's still "F"ing leaking!
I had the input shaft seal changed, and I changed the rear seal on the tranny, so there is no more leak between the tranny and t-case. (I'm pretty sure that was the tranny seal that was leaking there) There is no more fluid coming out the drain channel, but I still got fluid leakage, the front driveshaft spin has blown the fluid from frame rail to frame rail. I think that the nut/cap? whatever it is sticking down may be the source of the leak. Anybody know what this thing is?
I thought it might have been the output yoke seal, but it's nice and dry around it.
I think tomorrow I'm gonna put it on jackstands, put it in gear, and carefully watch underneath to see what I can see. (Will have someone inside to hit the brake if jackstands tumble, I'm not an idiot)
If anyone has any ideas, I'm willing to entertain.

 

[thBriGuy]

I'm starting to think I'm the only one who's ever had a t-case leak.
Anyway, I think I've narrowed the leak to the little plastic plug right in front of the shift linkage. I hope that little bit of fluid showing on and around the shift selector is residual that I couldn't wipe up from behind the lever. If not, does anyone know how to change the seal there? Sure hope its just the little plug.
BTW-the white stuff in the pictures is baby powder I sprinkled on the t-case to help locate the source of the leak.

 

[Almond Pale Ale]

I've got a leak on mine as well - and you've probably just helped me isolate mine. What's that little plug do? It looks like it may be a vent or a "weep" hole? There's some fluid around the linkage bolt in the pics - is that just from driving and the fluid moving around?

 

[thBriGuy]

:dunno: I'm not really sure what the plug is for, the t-case has a vent hose in the top, and before I reinstalled, I stuck my head up in the hole and blew in the hose to make sure it wasn't blocked. I wouldn't use compressed air as most vent hoses have vent caps on the ends, and they might blow off.
If I were to guess about the plug, I'd say it was an inspection hole of some sort.(?) I may try cleaning around that plug and gopping some RTV sealant on there. I'm really hoping the oil around the shift lever is just residual from what's been blowing around under there. Kinda hard to wipe real good behind and above the shift lever. I'm gonna try to get by the dodge parts counter again this week and get a new plug, and see if they'll give me a parts breakdown printout for the t-case or any other info , and also see about getting a seal for the shift lever in case it is actually leaking there. It doesn't seem like it would be too hard to change, unless it's an inside seal.

 

[Almond Pale Ale]

let me know what you find out

 

[thBriGuy]

I worked out of town today, and stopped by a dealership on the way home. I got a look at the exploded view of the t-case, and the guy said the plug is 90¢ and the shifter seal is about $6.00, but of course he had none in stock. The shift linkage seal is basically nothing more than a glorified O-ring that goes between the linkage plate and the case side. This guy was just a parts guy, and knew nothing about anything mechanical, he could barely operate his computer. I'll try to get to my local dealership tomorrow after work, to pick up my new t-case skid plate that is in and get a hard copy of the exploded view to scan & upload.
At a buck each, I'm gonna get a couple spare plugs to keep on hand.

 

[Almond Pale Ale]

thanks

 

[thBriGuy]

I took that little plug out last night, wiped it down real good, bushed it back in 2/3 of the way, slopped some RTV on my finger, sealed all around it and pushed it all the way in. It doesn't leak there anymore, but there's still a leak
Now I cant tell if it's the shift linkage or front output shaft seal. I'm gonna clean it up real good tomorrow and wrap some masking tape around the shift linkage and see which side gets wet. I did get the drawings from dodge, and apparantly the shift linkage seal is inside the t-case, so if it's there, back out with the transfer case and off to the tranny shop again. Anyway, here's the drawings.

 

[Almond Pale Ale]

what's the purpose of that plug?

 

[thBriGuy]

what's the purpose of that plug?

I guess it fills the hole.
:thatfunny As for the hole, dunno. The official name for the plug is "transfer case side plug" or some crap like that.
I see I forgot to post the other diagrams. Oops!
Well here they are.

 

[thBriGuy]

It looks Like I cured the problem. It may be temporary, but I hope it works out for permanent. It turns out the leak was coming from the shift linkage, so I undid the bolt, and had some rubber flat washers I was gonna install, but the connection is keyed to hold the linkage plate, so the flat washers were no good to me here. There is a small groove all the way around the connecting point that looked like it should have an o-ring. I did a fruitless search through all my stuff trying to find an o-ring of about 3/4", then I found a rubber hose washer. You know the kind that goes in the nozzle for a garden hose. I cleaned the sand out of the groove and pushed the hose washer on, and reinstalled the link plate. This was yesterday morning, and I have driven nearly 100 miles since, and still no drip. I'm glad too, cuz I got ambitious and installed my new skid plate at the same time, and I would have to pull it off again if I needed to get back in there.

Hopefully, this will be my final "Blog" on the subject.
:ylsuper: :bman: :evillaugh :flippy: :cheers: :booty: arty: :elton: :rck:

 

[Rick99]

BRI,

I pm'd you yesterday, but thought I'd post my question as well in case you don't happen to sign on for a while-- I'd appreciate your help or the help of anyone else here that knows--

I also have the leak between the t-case and tranny in my 99 Durango, so I was planning to replace the internal seals and started to take the t-case off. I removed all the bolts from the crossmember under the tranny (following Haynes-- I wish I read your post first) and moved it enough that I was able to get the tranny mount out and lower the tranny somewhat for better access-- The problem is, I can't figure out how to get out that upper passenger-side bolt you mentioned above. Could you (or anyone else) tell me exactly what tools you used and how you got it?

I'd appreciate your help, my truck is still in pieces.

 

[thBriGuy]

BRI,

The problem is, I can't figure out how to get out that upper passenger-side bolt you mentioned above. Could you (or anyone else) tell me exactly what tools you used and how you got it?

Yeah, real M-F if I do say so. I believe the combination was:
Socket, universal, 3" ext, universal, and then another 20" or so of extensions to get to the ratchet. It took 2 guys to push it together, and hold the extension between the universal from binding. I wish you luck.
We discussed leaving that bolt off when we re-installed the t-case, but I'm too anal to do that.

 

[Rick99]

Thanks Bri! At least I know it can be done and I have a plan of attack. Did you use a 3/8 drive socket or 1/4? It's pretty tight there.

I read Haynes and the FSM for the procedure on this and all they say is "remove the bolts attaching the transfer case to the transmission" like it's just that easy. I think I wasted four hours on Sunday trying to figure this out. Personally I think the Haynes guys should have to spend some time on the garage floor at home with limited tools under a rusty old truck before they're allowed to write.

 

[thBriGuy]

It was a 3/8' drive, but with all those extensions, the ratchet was under the engine. I tell you, it took 3 of us to figure out the right combination.

 

[Rick99]

Success! I went to Sears and picked up a 14mm 1/4" drive "flex socket"-- since this has the lowest profile including the built in u-joint, it made things much easier than trying to use a bulky 3/8 drive socket with a standard u-joint attached. I followed that with a 3" extension, then a 1/4 to 3/8 adapter, 3/8 u-joint, about 20 plus inches of 3/8" extensions to get the ratchet under the engine. This allowed me to keep only a slight angle up to the bolt with the extensions routed (from bolt to ratchet) along the side of the transmission, over the crossmembers and through the middle of the exhause Y-pipe. I was able to do this alone by keeping one hand on the first 3" extension to stabilize the u-joints and one hand on the ratchet.

This is pretty much what Bri said to do, but I thought I'd set it out in more detail for posterity.

Thanks again for the help!