A442F extension housing question

[nickolai]

Hi all

I have a leaky rear output seal on my transfer, and the centre section of the transfer case needs to be replaced (stripped / cracked drain plug threads with PO JB-weld repair).

I’ll be tearing it down to replace these bits with with the transfer in the truck.

I also have a small leak between the trans and the extension housing. If I was to go balls deep and pull the transfer, it looks like (from the FSM ) that can I also remove the extension housing of the trans to reseal without anything falling out. I know the crossmember has to come off etc, but just looking for some real world experience.

Cheers

 

[gummycarbs]

Did you check that the transfer case is filled with gear oil instead of ATF? I seem to recall someone thinking they had a transmission leak that turned out to be a transfer case leak combined with a previous owner thinking that the t-case took ATF.

For what it's worth, I picked up a complete 180k mile '97 transfer case off car-part.com for around $250. They fail so rarely that you should be able to find a used one cheap.

 

[nickolai]

Did you check that the transfer case is filled with gear oil instead of ATF? I seem to recall someone thinking they had a transmission leak that turned out to be a transfer case leak combined with a previous owner thinking that the t-case took ATF.

For what it's worth, I picked up a complete 180k mile '97 transfer case off car-part.com for around $250. They fail so rarely that you should be able to find a used one cheap.

Transfer has gear oil in it, filled it through the Speedo drive and ran if for a bit, drained and has no trace of atf so all good there.

The extension housing leak isn’t that bad (like doesn’t even make a drip, I’m just tossing up whether to pull the transfer out entirely to deal with the buggered case section (have a replacement section), which would then trigger doing the input and output seals and the extension housing.

 

[Outsane]

I just swapped the gears in mine. I followed otramms video. There are shims and stuff that can fall out.

 

[jellis]

I just learned the hard way when replacing the rear output case on my xfer that when you're replacing the castings you need to re-shim the clearances for proper bearing pre-load. These are the shims that Outsane is referring to, but note that you WILL NOT be able to reuse the shims--you will need to precisely measure and purchase new ones that are correct for the new casting dimensions. Don't just look at the disassembly pages, look at the reassembly pages before you dig in!

I haven't rebuilt a xfer but I'm guessing that if you replace the center casing you'll need to reshim both front and rear connections (i.e., the whole thing). I would offer that it's absolutely NOT worth this effort for a stripped drain plug.....either just get a used transfer, or do a full rebuild while you're bothering with all this (also a good opportunity to regear). Regardless, I'd plan on pulling the transfer, those shim measurements are a PITA with it on vehicle. Also worth noting: None of the rebuild videos have shim measurements because they're just reusing them.

I'm unsure about the tranny rear casing, just call up WAT and ask they'd know this off the top of their head....?

 

[Spdstr280Z]

I just swapped the gears in mine. I followed otramms video. There are shims and stuff that can fall out.

Not to threadjack, but how bad was it ? I have turned almost every other bolt on this thing, but I'm scared of the inside of transmissions and transfer cases. No one around here seems to want to touch it, so I may be diving in...

Jason

 

[Outsane]

I reused the shims... willl see how it goes

Not to threadjack, but how bad was it ? I have turned almost every other bolt on this thing, but I'm scared of the inside of transmissions and transfer cases. No one around here seems to want to touch it, so I may be diving in...

Jason

It wasn't bad at all .... I haven't touched a transmission either this was my first dive into the transfercase. I have not had good results from working with diffs..

Just go step by step... no worries.

 

[jellis]

Well if you reused your shims then of course it was a lot easier!

I think if you are going to actually rebuild it you want a hydraulic press. Check out the rebuild vids from OTRAM, etc. they are very thorough--but also note that if you are replacing casings then you should definitely replace shims. Apparently it leads to weird noise if they're incorrect, but certainly can lead to premature bearing/interfacing component failure/wear if over/under pre-loaded.

P.S. Just noticed you're the Solvefunction guy, love the cupholder!!!!

 

[shocktower]

I just learned the hard way when replacing the rear output case on my xfer that when you're replacing the castings you need to re-shim the clearances for proper bearing pre-load. These are the shims that Outsane is referring to, but note that you WILL NOT be able to reuse the shims--you will need to precisely measure and purchase new ones that are correct for the new casting dimensions. Don't just look at the disassembly pages, look at the reassembly pages before you dig in!

I haven't rebuilt a xfer but I'm guessing that if you replace the center casing you'll need to reshim both front and rear connections (i.e., the whole thing). I would offer that it's absolutely NOT worth this effort for a stripped drain plug.....either just get a used transfer, or do a full rebuild while you're bothering with all this (also a good opportunity to regear). Regardless, I'd plan on pulling the transfer, those shim measurements are a PITA with it on vehicle. Also worth noting: None of the rebuild videos have shim measurements because they're just reusing them.

I'm unsure about the tranny rear casing, just call up WAT and ask they'd know this off the top of their head....?

If it measures out the same you can reuse the original shims