Thread: What should I do????

You can do the gearbox and transfer in one piece if you have a hoist and a suitable transmission jack. If all you've got is a flat floor and muscles, you're better off taking the transfer off separately. Take off the hand brake, back plate and all, drain the transfer and it'll be manageable. You'll need two guide pins made out of 10mm by 150mm long bolts with the heads cut off, they'll guide the transfer far enough back to not damage the input seal. Also remove the centre console and drill out the pop rivets holding the tunnel cover on, so you can access the upper transfer case area with ease.

There is a plastic retaining clip on the clutch fork that id replace while you have everything apart (guess how I learnt about this thing breaking, a month after changing a clutch).

there is 2 orings on the opposite end of the stake nut which holds the intermediate shaft in place.

some people recommend to change these. this means breaking the stake nut and requires a new one.

personally i have mixed feelings on this one.

on one hand, while you have the box out you may as well do it as it is common leak point for tcases and cannot be replaced unless boxes are apart.

on the other hand though, mine wasnt leaking and i changed it anyway. doing this is well and good but be aware that undoing the stake nut releases the pre-tension which was set on the bearings. you will never get this right again without changing the crush tube inside. ive been advised that when doing the new nut up, ratchet tight is good enough. you can go all the way and set the right pre tension (with a new crush tube), but every variant of the tcase has a different method and people arguing over which is the right one.

i set mine to the manual recommended settings (which is too tight when you are reusing the old crush tube, which i did not know about at the time).

then i found out about it and released the nut and set it ratchet tight. too late. you could hear the bearings after that whining. ended up getting the whole box rebuilt.

just something to be aware of mate.

be careful removing seals from gearbox etc as well. i accidentally gouged the steel collar at the back of the gearbox.

in hindsight i would remove both boxes together. i build a little box out of wood and attached it to my jack. it cradled the boxes.

i held the boxes up with normal jack plate and undid the chassis mounts and cross member. then i put a bar in the cabin with ratchet straps to hold the boxes up whilst i changed my jack plate to the wooden cradle i made. then you jack up front of engine and drop boxes down a bit so you can get at top bolts of bellhousing.

removing the little metal cover on the top of gearbox that the lever comes out of helps you get more clearance.

as mentioned before, take off handbrake drum and assembly. no need to undo cable though, just cable tie out the way.

i think v8 you need to remove exhaust too.

if you have one of those extra capacity cooling sumps on your tcase it helps a lot as it gives you nice flat jacking point.

all the best.

Originally Posted by Fausto79

be careful removing seals from gearbox etc as well. i accidentally gouged the steel collar at the back of the gearbox.

If I may ask, how did you remove that collar to repair? I did this as well, prompting the mother of all trans fluid leaks only realized once all was back together. fun times.

I know they make a fancy $300 puller for this job, but I dont have any desire to buy that.

Originally Posted by oyamum

Hey guys Iv decided Saturday week I'm gonna pull my 5spd gearbox out of my d1 v8. I'm gonna replace the rear main seal and probably some of the gaskets on the transfer case. Just curious is there anything else people would recommend to do whilst the box is out? The clutch is fine although on clutch release its a little clunky so I'll probably replace thrust bearing. Anything I should know? Any special tools needed? Can I get the box out with the transfer case attached or will I need to split the transfer?

Thanks in advance

By rear main seal, do you mean the one on the gearbox or the one on the motor?

If it is the motor, don't touch it unless it is leaking badly.

I have just had the rear main seal replaced for the third time on my 300tdi and the ****ing thing is still leaking like a sieve. Mine wasn't leaking, I just changed it as a maintenance thing, what a huge mistake.

You might want to replace the clutch fork for a heavy duty one, they are cheap and are reinforced to last longer.

Originally Posted by Corgie Carrier

By rear main seal, do you mean the one on the gearbox or the one on the motor?

If it is the motor, don't touch it unless it is leaking badly.

I have just had the rear main seal replaced for the third time on my 300tdi and the ****ing thing is still leaking like a sieve. Mine wasn't leaking, I just changed it as a maintenance thing, what a huge mistake.

You might want to replace the clutch fork for a heavy duty one, they are cheap and are reinforced to last longer.

There are some dodgy rear mains apparently. There is a specific brand (i forget which) that is a safe high quality one which you should aim for. Bit like the elring head gasket deal.

Also make sure there is no damage around where the seal fits. Use blue rtv or your preferred oil/heat/vibration proof sealant under the seal once all cleaned and install it properly using the plastic ring that comes with it. Think needs a slight rubbing of oil on the lip too.

If you know all this sorry, but it shouldn't be leaking that much after changing seals so many times, has to be something wrong.

If one of the bearings is worn could it cause crank to wobble a bit thus making it leak? Anyone able to elaborate further?

Just to add to that. I would ditch the gasket that comes with the new seal and just use a generous amount of the sealant. That's what it recommended.

Make sure you remove the old gasket. It is camouflaged quite well. I could not see it when i did mine n luckily poked around n it came loose. Almost put the new rear main on top of it.

Originally Posted by moneypit_k5

If I may ask, how did you remove that collar to repair? I did this as well, prompting the mother of all trans fluid leaks only realized once all was back together. fun times.

I know they make a fancy $300 puller for this job, but I dont have any desire to buy that.

sorry mate did not see this. bought a new one online and got gearbox specialist to remove old one and fit new one for me (including the seal). it is a very tight piece. i think even the special tool would have trouble sometimes. few people on here needed hydraulic help.

cost me i think just under the $200 mark do but it was piece of mind that it was done properly for me.