Thread: leaking transfer case r380

thats no blank, its the idlershaft.....

normal ATV blue is enough to seal it up but the proper repair means removing the shaft and replacing the orings.

Fun...

Bad news... It's leaking because (at best) because the o rings on that shaft have failed. At worst, the hole it's sitting in is now slightly oval.

There's no way to fix it without removing that shaft. In which case you might as well remove the transfer case and have it rebuilt and that housing hole sleeved.

The silicone was the previous owners attempt to slow the leak enough to sell it to you. You could do the same, but it's a common fault with LT230 transfer cases with a hundred or so thousand k's on 'em.

Originally Posted by up2nogood

Bad news... It's leaking because (at best) because the o rings on that shaft have failed. At worst, the hole it's sitting in is now slightly oval.

There's no way to fix it without removing that shaft. In which case you might as well remove the transfer case and have it rebuilt and that housing hole sleeved.

The silicone was the previous owners attempt to slow the leak enough to sell it to you. You could do the same, but it's a common fault with LT230 transfer cases with a hundred or so thousand k's on 'em.

bugger!! no way it is coming out!!! just had a rebuilt main box put in there!! And the one they put in was a dud so had to take it back and put another in!!
think i will silicone it up and keep an eye on it...... shouldn't get any worse?

also with the gearbox cover removed the fill point for the main box is very easy to see! i was thinking about cutting an access hole in the side for future services ....mmmmm

just like a series tunnel...

so everything old will be new again.

The transfer case is not such an ordeal to remove. Harder than making your morning toast, but it can be taken off by itself, separated from the R380.

As others have said, it's going to be a leaky o-ring, but the reason why the o-ring is leaking needs to be addressed. It won't be as simple as just replacing it because the alloy casing will have fretted, allowing the intermediate shaft to move about. A new o-ring will fail again in this case.

Originally Posted by MacMan

The transfer case is not such an ordeal to remove. Harder than making your morning toast, but it can be taken off by itself, separated from the R380.

As others have said, it's going to be a leaky o-ring, but the reason why the o-ring is leaking needs to be addressed. It won't be as simple as just replacing it because the alloy casing will have fretted, allowing the intermediate shaft to move about. A new o-ring will fail again in this case.

do you think i should sort it out?
will bad things happen if i leave it?

the tooth contact on the gears supported by the intermediate shaft will be out of whack, which will increase the wear rate of everything else. It will also cause misalignment that can chew out the bearings and shims.

I forgot to add what Blknight has added.

Leave it long enough and you will find that there is a whine proportional to road speed in high and low ratio (more pronounced in low) that increases with time. It's not going to be a problem overnight, but the beginnings of gearbox death almost always start with loss of bearing preload. Leave it long enough and you'll have to do much more. If you can bring yourself to do it in the next 10,000km you will be better off for it. You may not want to bother - as long as you keep oil to the right level, it will probably last a long time.

Get yourself one of these:

Tom Thumb Utility Pump - Autobarn - Tools & Equipment - DIY Tools

Takes the pain out of doing a fluid top up. Doing a fill from empty is tiring, but you'll get there.