What should I do? / T-case fluid problem

[Rob]

Today it was maintenance day as preparation on next weeks ski holidays to Austia.

I checked the transfer case fluid on my 69 Wag. There's only Dana written on it, I suppose it must be a D20. Fluidlevel was too low so I added SAE 80/90. According to Chilton till 1982 all T-cases used this oil.

I had to add almost 1qt till the fluid started to poor out of the filling hole. Then came the surprise. What was pooring out was NOT the thick yellow oil, but thin red ATF !?! http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/eek.gif

Did some yerk put the wrong oil in before I bought it? Am I mistaking and Chilton too? Is there another T-case (not stock) which needs ATF? Lots of Questions in my head.

I drained all the fluid, first came out yellow, then red. Big Q now: what shall I do? I need the wise men's advice.

Fill it with SAE 80/90. There is still some ATF in the case, stuck in chain, gears clutches or whatever is inside there. Mixing two oils can cause what?

Fill it with ATF, knowing that I've already drove 15.000 miles since I bought the car and the ATF was in it all the time. Anyway, before the holidays I don't have time to open the case to clean the whole inside, so I have to make a choise.

Who can help?

[joe]

Rob,
The D20 does use gear lube rather than ATF so you did the right thing by adding 80-90 lube.
It's a gear driven x-case so it doesn't have chains, clutches etc so there isn't much for the old ATF to cling too. ATF is actually a really good lube so you shouldn't have hurt anything by having it in there for awhile but do stay with conventional gear lube in the future. So far as the little ATF you may or may not have left in the x-case will mix fine with the gear lube and won't cause you any problems.

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Regards,
-joe
63 2-dr Wag, 73 J-4000, 82 CJ-8

[jeepnut7]

I'm with Joe on that one, but if you'd feel better you could drive it a while and change the fluid again to make sure you got the ATF out http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/smile.gif

[Ralph]

Rob, pleeeeeeeeeeze, would you take some pictures of your Jeep in the alps?

One of my favorite places in the world is northern Austria. When I was in the US Army I spent 18 months at a place called Bad Tolz in Bavaria. Just breathtakingly beautiful in that entire area.

[Rob]

Thanks for the advise, guys. Happy to know that I don't have to worry.
Nice to see you're back, Joe.

Today I filled it up with 80/90. I never have been able to put it in low. It was just stuck. But when I tested it with the new oil, it just slipped in low with no effort! Funny...

Guess she must have been very thankful to finally receive the right lube. http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Ralph, I will surely make some pics with the jeep next week and I have a few nice ones from last year as well. Let me know how you want to get them. We've been living in the Alpes for 6 years, so I've albums full with breathtaking pictures. It sure is beautiful there!