transfer case question

[Cav Trooper]

Can the transfer case seals be replace with the case still installed? If not, what is the weight of the case, I'm a one man show and getting old enough that wrestling 150 lb. parts while on my back tends to wear on me quickly.

Thanks,

CT

[Cheyenne Dave]

Working that project under your truck will wear on you pretty quickly too!

I've been horsing one around for the last couple days myself, but getting it out of the truck was easy with a transmission jack.

It will give you a rare chance to bond with your truck and do a nice thorough job...

C.D.

[Kaiser2boy]

Good question.
I am tinkering with the same delema.
I do not have a trans jack and am hoping the seals can be done in place. It looks like it is possible, awkward for sure if the flanges give you a hard time.
Having the case slip and land on my chest or hand is a real worry. Or getting it out and not being able to get it back in is another. Like you I am a one man band and getting to old for doing stupid stuff and getting in a jam.
I will watch this post .
Just as a question , how much leakage do you have? Mine will drip a spot on the garage floor about 2 inches in diam. after a ride. I dont know how much it is losing as I drive. I check the box now and then and it has not gone down enough where I need to add oil. I have driven about 100 miles since getting the truck up and running. I may just skip the seal thing and just keep an eye on it.

[Cav Trooper]

I just went to harbor freight and bought the small transmission jack with the 20% off coupon found in a lot of magazines, I paid about $68 for it. I think it will be worth the money and I can always sell the jack on Craig's list or where ever afterward. I screwed up when I bought the floor jack adapter to do the transmission. It was a piece of garbage as far as holding the trans in a position to get it lined up. I'm hoping this one will do the trick. I'll let you know.

[Gsmith]

I just use a floor jack, and sometimes set a small piece of plywood on the saddle. It won't slip off easily and whatever is sitting on it won't slip off easily either.

That case is heavy and very awkward to handle also.

[Frank Irons]

Can the transfer case seals be replace with the case still installed? If not, what is the weight of the case, I'm a one man show and getting old enough that wrestling 150 lb. parts while on my back tends to wear on me quickly.

Thanks,

CT

Yes they can. The worst part is removing the old seal. I use a slide hammer and chisel to remove the old seal. The front 2 seals are easy to replace I remove the bearing retainer and work on the seals on the workbench.

Frank

[Kaiser2boy]

Frank,
I see that removing the bearing retainers to a work bench would make the job simpler.
I never have had one of those boxes open so I am wondering if you remove the bearing retainers will things inside the box fall out of place down into the box or become out of line and a toatal pain to get back together?
Will they just slide off the shafts or do you need a puller of some sort?
From what I can see the seals are just pressed in place from the outside with no snap rings. It looks like they should just pry out, yes , no, ?
I was hoping that IF I got the flanges off the seal could be pried out and a new on tapped in. Am I hoping for too much?

[Cheyenne Dave]

Frank,
I see that removing the bearing retainers to a work bench would make the job simpler.
I never have had one of those boxes open so I am wondering if you remove the bearing retainers will things inside the box fall out of place down into the box or become out of line and a toatal pain to get back together?
Will they just slide off the shafts or do you need a puller of some sort?
From what I can see the seals are just pressed in place from the outside with no snap rings. It looks like they should just pry out, yes , no, ?
I was hoping that IF I got the flanges off the seal could be pried out and a new on tapped in. Am I hoping for too much?

Nothing will fall out if you remove the front bearing retainers. However, the gasket behind the retainer is also a shim and is required for proper bearing set-up. If you can remove the seal without disturbing the retainer, that would be desirable.

C.D.

[Frank Irons]

Frank,
I see that removing the bearing retainers to a work bench would make the job simpler.
I never have had one of those boxes open so I am wondering if you remove the bearing retainers will things inside the box fall out of place down into the box or become out of line and a toatal pain to get back together?
Will they just slide off the shafts or do you need a puller of some sort?
From what I can see the seals are just pressed in place from the outside with no snap rings. It looks like they should just pry out, yes , no, ?
I was hoping that IF I got the flanges off the seal could be pried out and a new on tapped in. Am I hoping for too much?

The front bearings are ball bearings and the seal housing acts as a retainer. Clearance for the bearing is controlled by the gasket thickness. These retainer housings can be removed without disturbing anything, but the gasket thickness must be retained. Rear bearing assemblies are more involved and are better left in place if you are just replacing the seal, and this is where I would use a slide hammer to pull out the seal. The OEM seals are .75 wide and are a pain to get out.

Frank

[Matthew Ziegler]

transfer case

I had the luxury of a lift while resealing mine, worst part was the big nut that held each drive flange on, had to turn my 1 5/16? socket down in the lathe to fit in there, once you get the cotter pin out use a half inch impact to take it apart.

[Charles Talbert]

Most likely cause of leaks

Well, like usual nobody has mentioned the one thing that is the more likely cause of seal leakage than the seals themselves. That is grooving or rust pitting on the yoke seal mating surface. Put all the new seals you want on a grooved or pitted yoke sealing surface, and the dripping will keep right on coming. A new seal will not work if mated to a rough surface. Do not use an NOS oil seal; you will hate yourself in the morning as they are no good a will leak no matter what. The best seals we have found are National #410308, used in combination with a National #99212 Redi-Sleeve pressed onto the yoke surface to provide a new surface for the seal lip to mate against. If all is installed correctly, this is as fool proof as it gets in doing a good, no drip, sealing job.

If we are doing a seal replacement only job on a T/case; it is done without removing the case usually. We give the case and surrounding area a good steam jenny bath and go for it. We have good seal pullers that work well generally, however we do find stubborn ones that require a little something extra at times which we just deal with however we can. We use anaerobic sealer on the retainer seal bores, then tap the new seals in using a 3"X5" piece of 3/4" flat bar and a hammer. Using the flat bar makes it easy to press the whole seal squarely and completely flush to the edge of the retainer. Unless there is some extremely unusual circumstance in play, this is easier than pulling the case. That is especially true if you don't have proper equipment to support and handle the case well. It is very top and back side heavy and can easily topple off a jack that does not have the means for bracing and supporting the whole case in a steady state. Trying to use a jack that does not offer means of supporting the case so there is no chance of over balance is not a smart thing to do. This case is not well balanced at all and must have solid support; otherwise your chances of it getting away from you may be greater than you think.

It was mentioned about the gasket/shims for the front bearing retainers. If you do remove the retainers from the case, be sure you clean off old gasket well, measure and use the correct shim pack thickness upon reassembly. The actual pack thickness should be approx .006" thicker than the measurement to allow for compression. Remember the retainers are cast, if a too thin shim pack is used; it will result in the ears on the retainers being broken off when the nuts are tightened.

[scrapdaddy]

As usual, alot of good information on this thread. Thanks for everyone's input. I for one am saving all this for future repairs.

[Matthew Ziegler]

lubricant

I have learned, mostly from poking around this site that running 90 weight in the np 200 is barely adequate or even detrimental as a lubricant, after talking to a buddy who is a diesel mechanic I am currently running castrol cd50 at his recommendation. while I can't vouch for my transfer case, I have also put it in the transmission, on cold days it no longer seems like it is full of half cured rtv, now it shifts very easily even on a 20 degree winter day. i'm sold

[Cav Trooper]

Well, another fine mess!! I decided to pull the transfer case since the park brake looked pretty gunked up and I wanted to replace that seal and clean up the whole case. I pulled the frond shaft seals and replaced them. I need new flanges as I suspected. Then, since I got ahead of myself by just doing the fronts without disassembling and inspecting the rest, I pulled the park brake assembly and the tapered bearing are pitted. I then pulled the whole shaft assembly and the straight needle/roller bearings races are pitted, not bad but how much can be acceptable? Now, I'm in for replacing all the bearings!!!!!!! Well, no one said these were cheap projects. First the tranny, then the brake master cylinder (that part is still not right, too much pedaly free play) then, exhaust, then, the brake and clutch pedal assy bushings, then, the broken door glass from previous owner incorrect installation, then, rear differential pinion seal, new bushings in the steering box and pitman arm. The list goes on. Good thing I'm retired and have the time to work on her, bad thing I'm retired and may have to find a job to pay for the repairs. My wife keeps asking why I need to do this since it was restored when I bought in and I assured her it needed nothing, that was a grand or so ago. She keeps looking at the charge card bill and frowning. I drove these in Germany and Viet Nam and never had to wrench on them, just hop in and drive. Now I wrench and really have gained a repect for the guys whole kept them running back then. I know they were newer but, it looks like they still had to keep up the PM. All in all, I'm having a great time solving problems and getting her ready for the Dayton convention which is only about 30 miles from me. I'm insterested in thoughts on the straight roller bearings, do I have to buy the gear and shaft for for the races or can I buy just the races and bearings?
Well enough, rant, ramble, back to cleaning and wrenching.

[Frank Irons]

You can buy the rollers seperately but the "races" are part of the gears. As with any bearing the surfaces should be smooth with no pitting.

Frank