Thread: Weeping from transfer box

Originally Posted by Jpdv

Hmmm. Not from either the fill or drain plug (they're both bone dry) but one of the lowest bolts of the set that go around the transfer box appears to have a very slow weep. It's not even dripping noticeably, but I've seen a 'dewdrop' of fluid welling on it the past couple of days... The logical first thought is a gasket leak at that point - does that make sense to people? Worst case is some sort of crack in the casting is flexing I guess, but there's nothing obvious...

Grateful for all helpful comments. I'd prefer to 'stop the rot' before a catastrophic failure if that's a likelihood.

A cracked transfer casing would let all the fluid out in a rush. IMHO you have a gasket that is failing due to thermal cycling. With a small ratchet and suitable socket (torx?) Go around the casing and see if any are loose. 9/10 you can nip them up and seal the leak. Worst case, the transfer case has to come our and you will need to split and replace the gasket. Positive side is you will able to re-grease the drive shaft splines whilst you're there.

What Eric said^^^^^^^.

Then clean off and monitor.

To close the loop for anyone interested. The manual quotes 35NM torque setting for the bolts... I couldn't find one done up tight enough. I've nipped up all I can reach without removing the box, and will monitor the results.

And to confirm, that was the issue - now bone dry all round. A little disappointing that none of the bolts were at the recommended torque, but at least it was an easy fix...

Originally Posted by Jpdv

And to confirm, that was the issue - now bone dry all round. A little disappointing that none of the bolts were at the recommended torque, but at least it was an easy fix...

Well I might do mine then. Similar issue. I’d suggest they’d worked loose over time. Maybe stretch wasn’t leaking from the start of its life presumably?

Presumably not, or I'd have been an unhappy camper buying a new one. I only noticed because I'd just done the fluid change and was checking that the fill/drain seals weren't leaking... Spotted the welling fluid on a bolt at the bottom. very slow, but definite, and definitely gone after tightening.

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Well I might do mine then. Similar issue. I’d suggest they’d worked loose over time. Maybe stretch wasn’t leaking from the start of its life presumably?

Probably would be worthwhile to undo and remove each bolt and add a dab of loctite to each bolt DJ.

Not exactly sure where your oil weep / leak is situated. I had a similar problem in that there was an oil weep that bugged me as I thought it to be an indication of a bigger problem in the making. From beneath the vehicle is impossible to understand where it was coming from. For other reasons I had the body off and there was the problem looking us in the face so to speak.
See the attached picture.
The thin black tube running along the top of the auto trans and into transfer case is fitted with an 'O' ring which had failed. This was the cause of the problem and had been 'weeping' for quite some time. A new 'O' ring was the cure, with some added silastic to be sure, to be sure!