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Leak from Trans and Transfer Case Area

Chad989of2000

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Had my stock transmission rebuilt by Jack's Transmission a couple years ago and installed it with the stock transfer case. The car has sat for most of that time (JSB) but a few months ago began leaking trans fluid. What would cause this to happen? There were no leaks before the rebuild.
 

transparentdsm

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So it's probably from the transfer case output shaft seal. you need to pull the downpipe and transfer case first to make sure its from there, once you can see the seal and verify its leaking then you can start removing the transmission. I just replaced mine.
 

Chad989of2000

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Appreciate the advice. Seal looked great when I installed the rebuilt trans. Should have just done it when it was out (how it always goes). Now to get to it with the least amount of effort.
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
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Are the fluids the same in your trans and t/c? Can you tell which is leaking based on the fluid?
 

transparentdsm

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ok now this requires a set of balls and a little bit of skill.

lift up front end, put on jackstands, drain all the fluid, remove driver side axle completely, drop downpipe, remove transfer case, (this is where the set of balls is needed) place a block of wood on a jack and rest it just under the transmission, unbolt the transmission mount, remove the starter, unbolt the transmission from the block and seperate them, this is all relying on the jack to hold the transmission in place, now unbolt passenger strut(leave axle in) and seperate the transmission even more, now there should be some room to get in and see the output shaft seal clearly. this is were the bit of skill is needed, take a flat head screw driver and punch it through the seal, do this a few times till the seal breaks loose and come out. slide it off the shaft and let the left over fluid pour out. clean everything real good with a rag, no brake cleaner. once there is no more oil around the seal seat put a light coat of RVT on just the lip of the new seal and press it in by hand as best you can. i was able to get mine in with just my finger, if you have a hard time getting it pressed in you need to find or make a rubber punch and a rubber mallet and lightly tap it in till its sealed. then put everything back together... i did this in about 2 hours the other day.
 

Chad989of2000

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Quoting iceman69510:
Are the fluids the same in your trans and t/c? Can you tell which is leaking based on the fluid?



Unfortunately they are the same fluids. I had already thought about that and if they were different that would have made troubleshooting much easier.
 

Chad989of2000

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Quoting transparentdsm:
ok now this requires a set of balls and a little bit of skill.



This sounds so much easier than dropping the trans completely (especially since I'm limited to just a jack and stands in my garage). Skills...check. Set of balls...hang lower than they used to....check. Now I just need to carve out some time to do this. Thanks for the details. Are the seals the same for the DSM and GVR-4 transfer cases? Can't remember which one I'm using since I'm not under the car right now.
 

Chad989of2000

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This looks loke the culprit. This the seal you were talking about?
 

Chad989of2000

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Easy job...only had to drop exhaust. Wait, I bunged in a wideband o2 in the way so I have to remove that first. Wait, turbo dump pipe is in the way, gotta remove that. Just gotta remove external wastegate to do that. Wait, intercooler piping in the way, just gotta pop that off.
 
Last edited:

transparentdsm

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That is not the seal I was speaking of. The one I was referring to is the seal for the shaft that goes into the transfer case. That is awesome that it's that seal, sooo much easier to do.

While you have the transfer case off, follow the shaft for the transfer case into the bell house and look at that seal. That is the one I was talking about that I just recently replaced.
 

Chad989of2000

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Yeah I was super pumped that it was the transfer case one and not that one in the trans. The trans was just re-built by Jacks, so I'm assuming they replaced that one. The transfer case output seal had evidence of leakage so I believe that to be the culprit. Best part, the OEM seal was only like $8 from Mitsu.
 

Chad989of2000

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New seal seems larger than what was on there before. Comfirmed it is the correct seal. Any advice to get it on?

 

Chad989of2000

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Old seal vs. New seal.




 

transparentdsm

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i forget the size, but i think a 32 or 36 mm socket should fit the seal size perfect and a rubber mallet, put a little caliper grease right on the edge and lightly tap it in.


are the inside and outside diameter of the seals the same size, if so your fine, the height is probably because its an after market sealthatyou removed. the one i put in my transmission for the output shaft seal was way shorter then the oem that came out.
 
Last edited:

Chad989of2000

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Tried it with an old 32mm socket (I used for Saab oil filter changes) with no luck. The seal is hard plastic with a rubber interior so not a ton of flex. I'm always cautious around tapping in seals like this as I've damaged some in this manner in the past. I was thinking about slightly heating up the transfer case around the seal location to get a little more room, but not really a fan of rubber/plastic seals going against hot metal.
 

Chad989of2000

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Also...inside and outside diameters are slightly larger on the OEM new one. Maybe the old one was the wrong size. I've done a ton of research and the part number is always the one I sourced...doesn't differ between 23/22 spline transfer cases or aluminum or aluminum/steel ones. This does not appear to be a common or well-documented job. I'll try to throw a little how-to together when I get it done.
 

toybreaker

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Quoting Chad989of2000:
This looks loke the culprit. This the seal you were talking about?




The t-case input shaft seal (as pictured above) measures;

45mm o.d.
30mm i.d.
6mm thick

The pressfit is approx .18mm (or ~.007 thousands of an inch)
 

Chad989of2000

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I'm an idiot. I purchased the output shaft seal instead of the input shaft seal. Guess I might as well swap that out too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif
 
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