Transfer Case Leak (6 Viewers)

[slktuc]

Thanks dnp,
I had the same problem on my Lexus GX 470 2003 with 84,000 miles on it.
I started noticing a oil drip on the floor of my garage.
I took the vehicle in to a shop for a look over. The shop said,
it will cost $ 2,000 because the transfer case has to be removed and taken apart. That takes 20 hours of labor. I said, Forget it I'll sell the vehicle.
I found your comments through a search online. I printed what you said took pictures under the car. Appeared to be the same type of leak. I then took the vehicle this morning to another repair shop and had them read your article and compare your pictures with mine.
They took the vehicle raised it up, took out 3 bolts, slide the acuator off. Then looked at the seal, it was a bad o'ring. They ordered a new o'ring from a Toyota Dealer because Lexus always has to order.
Installed the new o'ring and put it back together in 1 hour.
Whalla problem solved for $ 85.85.
A far cry better than $ 2,000.
Thank you for your information

 

[GXO]

How much "play" is in the shaft? Meaning, if you release the bolts, how far will the actuator housing come out before you reach the point where the shaft prevents further outward movement?

If there was any amount of slack I could see a FIPG solution to that O ring problem

 

[BeratE]

This needs doing on a friend's truck. I really wish the pictures gave a better step by step of the process. $1100 job just for an o-ring seems mad

 

[GXO]

I looked in detail at this as mine has started...there should be no way to pull it out without compromising the c clips. If it is forced you will introduce clips into the oil in the tease and potentially cause the shift forks for the high low clutch to not correctly align. I would shop for a mechanic that can do this right and honestly. 20 hours seems crazy. I would think 8 hours straight plus parts and shop materials is more than fair. $1000 max.

 

[Sam Stewart]

I looked in detail at this as mine has started...there should be no way to pull it out without compromising the c clips. If it is forced you will introduce clips into the oil in the tease and potentially cause the shift forks for the high low clutch to not correctly align. I would shop for a mechanic that can do this right and honestly. 20 hours seems crazy. I would think 8 hours straight plus parts and shop materials is more than fair. $1000 max.

"Book" time on a transfer overhaul (closest thing to this actual job) is 13.7 hours. I'm thinking there has to be a way to do it without taking the whole thing apart but that's what the guide shows. As you stated, the c clips would likely cause an issue when just trying to slide it back. Is there no write up on this anywhere? I know the 4Runner has the same setup and I think we've done a couple over the years.

 

[GXO]

It doesn't look that hard to disassemble and fix. The manual has the full detail on races, etc being removed, but if you simply pulled it out, left everything as is, and fixed and reassembled it seem pretty straight forward.

 

[Sam Stewart]

It doesn't look that hard to disassemble and fix. The manual has the full detail on races, etc being removed, but if you simply pulled it out, left everything as is, and fixed and reassembled it seem pretty straight forward.

I agree. As far as how much time and labor ($$$) you are going to pay, that depends on where you go.

 

[rtrdriver]

my mechanics labor cost

I am getting my actuator motor replaced on my 2006 gx470 to day.my mechanic quoted me 8 hours labor for pulling the transfer case and replacing the bad motor. Assuming he will use new seal. Total cost with new actuator.....about 2,000.00.

 

[groovshadow]

I had the same problem on my wife's 03. Can get the O-ring thru Toyota/Lexus, but that was not my problem. Leak was from a damaged seal. You cannot purchase the seal from Lexus. You have to purchase the actuator which is $1,000 just for the part. I tried several aftermarket seals, but none worked. Finally found one that worked, but had to buy a gross. Let me know if you need a seal and I will be reasonable as I'm just trying to recover some of my costs.

Do you still have these seals? If so I would like one. Pm or email me. Also located in Utah

 

[GXO]

I would take a seal as well...price shipped to 30188

 

[KillerPea]

Once again.....If you are in or around Dallas, or within driving distance, shoot me a PM. There's no need to drive around dripping gear oil and risking transfer case damage, there's no reason to risk 1000$ worth of actuator damage by letting Bobby at Drippy Lube try his hand at your Lexus repair, and there's no reason to spend 2000$ to get your leaking transfer case repaired.
Edit: you only need the seal mentioned in the 3 earlier posts if someone has already damaged your actuator by attempting repairs without knowing what they are doing. If your transfer case has never been repaired, the seal will not solve your problem.

 

[04UZJ100]

Please tell me why some fancy sealant/silicone/tape wont work? It appears to be very minor for those that have it.

 

[GXO]

My 2004 GX just passed 101,000 and I noticed some oil under it. Turned out to be the transfer case actuator leaking.

I took it in to the dealer expecting a quote to rebuild the transfer case. Much to my surprise they said my actuator o-ring (90301-56009) needed to be replaced.

$252.00 parts and labor. The o-ring was $7.59.

Yep, the master techs do it in 5 hours or less by pulling the actuator apart instead of pulling the rod.

 

[kandewinn]

I know this post is old. My gx470 started leaking from the actuator. I read this post, went outside using the procedure described above to remove the actuator without pulling the T-Case, and verified that the seal was bad, not the O-ring (this was replaced by lexus last year). I cleaned the gear oil out of the actuator, reinstalled it, came back inside and ordered the seal described above, Rocket Seals part #15x23x7-MOS/D $4.85. I had to buy 3 of them, $10 minimum purchase, and had it overnighted to me. The seal came in, I removed the actuator again, thoroughly cleaned it, replaced the seal and O-ring, reinstalled, NO MORE LEAK. The entire process, cleaning/replacing took 45 Minutes Total. Most of this time was simply cleaning out all of the Gear Oil. This is not a difficult job at all. 7 screws, and 3 bolts expose the entire actuator. Just lubricate the teeth on the shaft and carefully slide the new seal over the shaft at installation so that you do not tear the new seal. I paid $50 total with new seals and new Mobil-1 gear oil. Do Not pay thousands for this job. If you are not handy, print this post and take it to someone you trust to perform the job for you. Rotate the actuator CounterClockWise as you pull it out. I used a small pry bar to apply leverage and pressure at the shaft while I rotated the actuator, it popped right off. The actuator will hit a T-Case bolt as you rotate it, this is where I used the pry bar. Once the actuator clears the bolt, it will pop off. Installation is just the opposite. Hope this helps someone.

 

[GXO]

I disassembled the actuator to remove it. Worked fine. Left the actuator rod in and removed the actuator off of it. There is a C-clip on the inner end so I didn't want to pull it out and force the clip. Also no leaks.

 

[MAH77]

Does anyone have a diagram of the interior of the actuator? The breather hose came off and filled it with water. I currently have it in the oven to dry it off, but the gears fell out and I'm not sure how to align in properly.

Thanks

 

[backwoods boy]

Do you have a photo of the breather hose? Is it a small one coming from the top of the transmission? I noticed a small hose that was hanging down in that area that wasn't attached to anything on mine.

 

[skiater]

You may have seen this but there is a pdf in post #1 that shows the breather hose.

 

[ljlc]

Killerpea?

Does anyone know how to get a hold of Killerpea? I am interested what method he uses to fix the transfercase leak? I have a 2003 4runner that has developed a leak, I don't want to shell out $1000 for the dealer and unfortunately am not close to Dallas. Thanks Phil

 

[Highpockets]

Aluminum plate replacement

Not to . . .

has anyone found that the aftermarket market has machined an aluminum plate replacement, for the plastic actuator plate which warps?