transfer case leaking

[oneeyeddawg]

i have a 89 fs gw and the transfer case is leaking. is this cause for concern or simply an inconvenience (you know, spots my drive, spots on ny neighbors' drives). any feedback much appreciated. thanks, steve

[fredws]

First thing would be to crawl under there and see where it is leaking from. Could be as simple as an output shaft seal.

[oneeyeddawg]

fred - thank you for the response. it seems like it's leaking from the top of the case. i hate to sound stupid, but i don't know where to locate the output shaft seal. steve

[Nobby]

Its a concern in that you cannot simply check level with a dipstick, so depending on your schedule of maintenance you will have no idea if its suitably wet or not.
Plus if it is say the rear output shaft inner/outer seal then it can spray nice warm oil all over that nice glowing catalytic converter. Believe me the smoke trail is most unnerving :eek:
This is a fairly simple fix.

[Nobby]

Output shafts connect to the front and rear driveshafts via the universal joints.
The outer seals are the ones in the Tcase that surround the drive to the driveshafts right before the universal joints.
There is also an inner seal that can leak too from inside this same shaft normally if this is the case you will see dripping from the universal joint itself.
I hope this makes some sense. smile.gif

Oh yeah watch out for ghost leaks I.e oil leaking form further fwd say the engine or transmision which underway blows back on to the Tcase and then drips down to the ground when parked. My Tcase is always wet and drips slightly when parked but is not in itself leaking, on the other hand the rest of my rig well thats another story. smile.gif

[ January 22, 2003, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: Nobby ]

[la mula pescadora]

i also have the same problemn i fill it up to level and it starts leaking not from seals but from the joints it stops leaking when it is about 3/4

[oneeyeddawg]

nobby, thanks for the reply. you mention that this is a fairly simple fix. what do i need to do?? thanks, steve

[Nobby]

Hmm yep I should clarify my fairly simple statement, in that the fix means replacing the seal and if need be sleeving the output shaft.

Why I said it is simple is that the fix is made in situ and the amount of dismantling minimal. For example for the rear seal, you simply drop the rear driveshaft at the Universal Joint, undo the output shaft retaining nut, remove the output shaft hopefully saving and not damaging inner felt seal(I have yet to find a source for one), pull the old seal out, install new seal. If necessary i.e a bad groove on the output shaft where the seal runs slip a 'speedy sleeve' over it
Reinstall output shaft, refit hopefully saved felt inner seal. Torque on retaining nut rehang driveshaft.

This process is adequately covered in the Haynes Manual, so I have loosely gone over it to give you an idea.

[fredws]

You say it is leaking from the top of the case, is this the top rear? Is the vent hose hooked up?

I am assuming you have a NP229 transfer case?

[oneeyeddawg]

fred - it appears to be leaking where the case joins together. the leak is in line with the cat. con., and there's lots of smoke behind me going down the road. i will check the shaft seals and the vent this weekend. hopefully this leak problem will be solved. thanks to all who offered advice. steve