Well I was all fired up to do this oil change , but I seem to have confused myself , if the drain plug is removed will it empty the transfer case completely or will the reservoir still hold some oil , to be honest I have not been under the car to look yet , just trying to gather info , I would have thought the drain plug would be at the lowest point but now not sure , or do you fill until it starts to leak out of the drain hole , but then how do you get the oil out , oh yea , its filled for life , hahahahah.
My brain hurts .

 

Mike X, the drain plug is not at the lowest point in the transfer case. Now, with that being said, it is also not at a point where you fill it till the fluid comes out. There is a fill hole, but where this hole is located, the only way to access it is to drop the transfer case out of the car.

So, simply pulling the drain plug will leave about 200 ml of gear lube (full synthetic 75W-140) inside the transfer case. You can get most of this out by lowering the driver's side of the car and raising the passenger side up till the bottom of the body is approximately 24 inches off of the ground. From there, you will need to devise a way to put back in about 600 ml of gear lube, remove your fill assembly and then quickly insert the drain plug. Some have used a valve in the drain plug that allows them to fill the transfer case with the recommended amount, close the valve, then remove the fill tube. If you need some ideas, let me know. Otherwise, plan on making a little bit of a mess as you remove the plug used to fill and quickly get the drain plug in.

 

Should i just let the dealership or a reputable garage do it for me I see its cheap up to about 100.00,

 

Thermo,

Is the 200ml left in the TC after normal drain based on an observation (did you or someone actually measure it) or is it a guess on your part. I'm not trying to be critical, but if the 200ml is true then the fill should be 400ml and not 550 as the JTIS says. Thanks.

 

Ah , I see , that is what I needed to Know , thankyou oh mighty Thermo , I will now start gathering the necessary hardware now i have the info.
Thanks again,
Mike.

 

I have 988XX on my 02 2.5, I haven't noticed any problems with the TC. But after reading this tread makes me think it might be a good idea to check and see if and what have in mine. I'll have to look and see if I can find, the fliud needed to go in. After reading the tread, I better get a little extra in case I need to clean out any un-wanted pieces.