Colt, Thermo,
The oil just provides lubrication properties. By itself, it can not be root cause of failure. Lack of cooling the oil, keeping it contained in the TC or filtering the contaminants out of it can however be the root cause for TC failure.

So we can ensure cooling by maintaining the air scoop, fix any leaks and/or refill when necessary and keep the magnet in contact with the oil. These actions are the countermeasure for the root causes.

Second failure mode where the root cause may be poor structural integrity of the TC case, there isn't much to be done about. Changing the oil often will only slow down the eventual breakdown of bearing surfaces and gear meshing.

But here is my thought on this one: If it was structural issue with normal usuage, I would expect this issue to not make to production. There isn't a manufacture I know of that will release product with known (TC) structural issues for 7 years in running(2002 - 2008), other than the VC all model years have interchangeable TC.

 

Tony...I can see what you are getting at...In this case you maybe somewhat correct, in that, the TC is fragile and under built for the torque loads for the engine size, or it is very close, with no excess durability… But given that, these cars are suppose to be driven sanely (okay, I'll say it...like little old ladies drive), for that then, the TC case is adequate...But if you drive it like you stole it, then that's where it could experience mechanical failure...That being said...The lube properties of ANY oil will go out the window if the oil is subject to prolonged extreme heat and of course age. With that come the typical failures that these TC's are experiencing as a majority of the failures noted...

So bottom line. Change the Lube oil regularly and the TC should last the life of the car if driven sensibly.

 

Sevren, almost all radiator drain plugs are 1/4" NPT (NPT= National Pipe Thread). You are after a plug with male threads. What is different about the one that I am telling you to buy is that most of them are topped with a T handle (small handle with 2 wings coming off of it) where the one that I am wanting you to get will have the same handle, but you will see what looks like a spent shell casing welded to the center of the handle. This "shell casing" is where you would stick the tubing into so you can refill the TC. I will see if I can find some pics of the piece I am after. When you find the drain plug, the adapter will make a lot of sense to you.

 

Well I just made my first attempt, after getting a billion tools (from jack/stands to wrenches to gear lube), and the 3/8 ratchet is too small to reach the drain plug. So I got an extension but with the extension it's too long and won't fit in either. Not to mention that there is very little room to work with in the first place. I was hoping it would be easier but it's a real challenge for a newbie like me.

I will try again tomorrow because now I'm dead tired from jacking/unjacking the car so many times, because this is my only car so I need it when I realize I'm missing a tool or something else.

 

Sevren, you can more than likely get away using a 1/4" ratchet and then getting a 1/4" to 3/8" adapter. That will extend you out the 1" that you need to get past the supports on the outside of the casing. When putting in the adapter from the 1/2" opening to the 1/4" opening for the drain plug, you will need a 3/4" open end wrench. For the drain plug you should need a 9/16" open end wrench.

You may need to have a file/bench grinder handy in that it seems to me that you may need to round the points on the 1/2-1/4" adapter to allow it to fit on the transfer case. Not a hard job. What I did was install the adapter to the drain plug and then rounded the adapter to allow it to fit. From there, you can get everything tight using the 9/16" hexagon on the drain plug.

Hope this helps put a little bit more clarity into what you are doing.

 

When finished are you leaving the adapter assembly in the TC or removing it and replacing the original drain plug?

 

Try using one of these Universals when getting the TC drain plug in or out...it works perfect..

 

lymeboy, you leave the adapter with the drain plug installed in the TC. IT replaces the drain plug.

 

Well, second attempt failed again. I still cannot reach the drain plug with my ratchet. I got the Universal joint recommended by Colt, but now with the joint I don't have enough room to squeeze the ratchet's head in. It's close, but I don't have enough room.

Could it be that by TC hasn't been properly installed? It sounds like you guys have more room than I do!

 

You need to use a short extension with that universal,

 

Sevren, Welcome to the world of do it yourself! I feel your pain. You are reminding me of much time spent covered in grease and laying on a gravel drive under a vehicle in December. Taking the bus or riding a bike to the parts store because my only vehicle is up on jack stands. Then add the stress of not really knowing what the hell I was doing in the first place... wrench in one hand and a Chilton's manual in the other... memories...

Keep at it, man. It is frustrating and stressful but you will feel good once it is finished and the next project you decide to undertake will be less intimidating and you are also building up your tool collection and that is always a good thing. Sorry I am not offering any tech support, but it sounds like you could use a morale boost. Good luck! You will get it done.

 

postmodern, it looks like our stories are similar indeed! You described exactly what I felt like, going through this job.

And the great news is... I got it done!! Sure it's not as pretty as the job done in the pictures, but I did manage to get it done. And guess what... the transfer case was empty. No lube at all came out (I was ready with my bucket) when I got the drain plug out. So I got the adapter in, but I couldn't get the valve in. There was not enough room. So I had to buy a 90 degree sort of adapter to bring the pipe down, and I put the valve there. I connected the tube to the valve, got it through the engine with the hood open, and voila. The only thing now is that because I had to get a 90 degree adapter to bring the pipe out of that mess, it is pointing down and the valve is kinda sticking out a bit low. I'm afraid if I hit a big bump the valve may touch the ground, and that would probably be the end of the transfer case. So I gotta find a way to make it better, but for now I'm just happy things turned out OK. I went for a quick ride and the car is MUCH quieter now.

I still need to see if the lube is going to stay for a while, because I have no idea why the TC was empty to begin with. It is my second TC so it may be that the job was not done properly, or that a seal is broken. So I guess if the noise comes back soon, the TC may be empty again and I will need to get it replaced once again. Otherwise it looks like I may have saved it in time!

I'd like to thank the guys who put up the pictures and PowerPoint in the first place, as well as Thermo and Colt and all the others I may be forgetting who helped in this thread, and in all the other TC-related threads because we all know there are many of them.

Thermo I'd like to thank you again for taking the time to write all those paragraphs when you could be doing other things. THANK YOU!

 

You're welcome and you get an A+ for your efforts..congrats.

 

Congrats, Sevren. Good job. I have not done any major work on a vehicle since I was an undergrad in college. Had an 1989 Eddie Bauer ed. full size Bronco. Man, I loved that truck - you could fit about 12 bikini clad girls in it, but I hated it equally as much. I was always working on it. I have only had my X-Type for a couple of months and as far as I know none of the fluids have been changed. The X makes sort of an undulating whining noise while driving. Do not know if it has anything to do with the tc, but I am sure a fluid change could not hurt at 60,000mi. I have a wheel and tire situation that I am trying to work out with the dealership now, but when that is over I think I will be putting all this info to good use and probably cussing and knuckle scraping a lot. Congrats again!

 

Sevren, as for the paragraphs of how to do things, you will see tons more. Some guys in my truck club think I should have carpal Tunnel syndrome because of the amount of typing I do. But, if it helps the fellow members, it is all worth it.

As for room, yes, I will admit that the 02-03 transfer cases have a lot less room than the 04+ transfer cases. You may want to see if you can either tighten the joints a little more or even loosen them slightly to get the valve to rotate some and get it to point more towards one of the bumpers. Ideally you will want it to point more towards the back bumper so in the event that it does touch the ground, it will tend to fold up, vice possibly catching and leading to major heartaches.

If you could, take a picture of the valve (whenever you are under the car again). Maybe we can give you an idea of what can be done to improve your situation.

As for no lube inside the transfer case, welcome to the club. I would guestimate about 50% of us had the same thing. The lube is normally lost 1 of 2 ways. You will loose it out either the right side half shaft seal (feeds power to the front passenger wheel) or if you look at the tailshaft, follow the driveshaft (towards the rear differential) back to where the U-joint is. If you look on the body, you will see some black spray there. If you have the halfshaft problem, not much that can be done about that other than adding more fluid periodically. As for the driveshaft issue, what you can do is disconnect the driveshaft and then access the tailshaft on the output of the transfer case. Inside the tailshaft there is a nut. You need to remove that and the collar that is inside and put a little bit of RTV on the side of the collar. Then you can tighten it all down again.

Happy driving.