ATF in transfer case (1 Viewer)

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topherbecker

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Drained about a qt of ATF/gear oil mix out of my transfer case yesterday - this was a qt above the fill plug. :frown: Good thing is that I don't think I'm getting gear oil back into the transmission. It's tough to know though given there's so much ATF, I'm not sure I'd notice a little gear oil mixed in. But I AM low on ATF, so I think it's just going one way into the xfer case.

I've read a little on replacing the seals between the two, and i'm a bit intimidated/overwhelmed. It looks like a ton of work and fairly technical. Has anyone done this before?

I'm debating just keeping an eye on it/ monthly draining extra fluid and changing the gear oil every six months (<1500 mi) or so. Last summer, I drained about the same amount from the xfer case. At the time, it wasn't apparent that it was ATF; the fluid that came out was pretty dark brown. Now I'm sure it's ATF. So i'm getting about a qt of ATF into the xfer every 3k miles. Am I driving a ticking timebomb?

-Chris
 
This was on of the first things I had to do on my 62, and I would say go for it. I had never been into a transfer case in my life, but I just followed the factory service manual and really didn't run into any problems other than having to pay to have the bearings changed on the output shaft (couldn't get a puller on them). I'd be willing to help you get into it.
 
Fix it. The trans and transfercase on that truck costs too much to not take care of. The ATF is not going to hurt the transfer case as much as gear oil will hurt the clutches in the automatic but I'd not take my chances.

The Fj62 is an awesome Land Cruiser but that A440F automatic needs to be taken care of to live a long life.

I'd have this problem on several trucks and what always concerned me is that although it may not be bad at the movement, in a moments notice it can totally go.

If your busy, have Ryan Bascom fix it.
 
Bart,
Why were you changing the bearings on the output shaft?
How long did the whole tear down and reinstall take you? Did you fly solo or have help? Did you have a lift or do it on the ground? I assume since you pretty much disassmble the case while installed, there's nothing too heavy requiring a transmission jack - is that right? Any special tools besides pullers? Did you do a full rebuild of just do the seal and o-ring?

John/Bart,
On reinstallation, theres a part where you measure clearance before installing a shim and mating the front half to the transmission (TF-35 if you have the manual). It's kind of hard to tell what you're supposed to measure. Is that a wear item or not? If not, I assume there's no need to measure and you can just install the same shim. Or is this wrong? What opportunities do I have to f#$% up this job?

And here's the question I hate to ask... Changing my brakes a few weeks ago I had the rear on jack stands (this is before I drained that extra fluid out of the xfer case). After finishing the brakes, I take it out for a spin, and as I'm pulling out of the driveway for just a moment, it's as if the transmission is in neutral - it revs, but doesn't go. I've never had this happen. My recollection is that I let off the gas, came to a stop, gave it gas and off I went. At the time I attributed it to the truck being at an incline for a long period of time and fluids getting out of place (the auto is a black box to me... no idea how it works, so this could be totally off base). It happened once again last week when the truck had been parked overnight on a slight incline (front end up this time), again only for a moment. Other than that, the transmission is shifting as it always has - very crisply. Anyone want to speculate whether this is because I'm low on ATF (given what came out of the xfer case last night) or if gear oil has gotten onto the clutches? :hmm:
 
topherbecker said:
Bart,
Why were you changing the bearings on the output shaft?
How long did the whole tear down and reinstall take you? Did you fly solo or have help? Did you have a lift or do it on the ground? I assume since you pretty much disassmble the case while installed, there's nothing too heavy requiring a transmission jack - is that right? Any special tools besides pullers? Did you do a full rebuild of just do the seal and o-ring?
Click to expand...

The idler gear in my transfer case was shot, metal shavings everywhere. Just bought a rebuild kit and replaced everything. I was getting transmission fluid in the case too. Don't know how long it was going on, but I don't think that gear oil ever went the other way.

I took it apart myself, but Steve helped me get it back together. It was a big help too because getting that output shaft back in took some wrestling. Did it right in my driveway with no lift, and you do not need a jack to do this job.

Can't remember needing any special tools other than a torque wrench and dead blow hammer if you want to call those special.
 
Last edited:
I've never had a Fj62 so I don't know if they are affected by a small loss of fluid but I do know that with other automatics some are and some are not. Too much or too little can make a difference. There is also a procedure for checking fluid in some automatics where it has to be warmed up and you have to cycle it from park through all of the gears and back - you can't just pull out the dipstick and check it.

What you are describing can be from low fluid or from a bad pump. Both had problems have the same symptoms - not enough pressure to make it work.

I'd chance the fluid, flush it, don't just dump the pan, and fix the seal.

You don't want to know how much those things are to rebuild...unless things have changed it can be thousands. It's a great automatic but it costs a lot to rebuild. I've heard they are used in large buses. Perhaps that is why they cost so much to service as they are really high quality in the first place.
 
I have read that the 62 IS very sensitive to having the correct amt of fluid, but didn't know how low or high fluid levels affect operation.

Bart,
Did you know your idler gear was bad before teardown? How did you know? One concern I have is getting in there and not knowing (i.e. having the technical knowledge to know) if something needs to be replaced. Did you replace that shim I mentioned above or reuse the one that was in there. Did you measure anything on rebuild, or just put it all back together. I'm generally good at taking something apart and putting it back together so it all fits - not so good at knowing what i'm looking at while doing that.
 
I did not know what was wrong, but it was humming like a bee's nest so I knew that something was amiss. It was clear when I got into it what the problem was because the inner surface of the idler gear was scarred horribly as well as that of the idler shaft https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/420539-how-badly-worn-idler-gear.html. I didn't measure anything...used the old shim, new bearings, new gaskets, and buttoned it up.
 
Chris, i would take Bart up on his offer to help, he did his and it still works fine. Do a search on the Rodney flush while you are at it and hurry up so you don't miss the day trip.
 
Von Hayek said:
This was on of the first things I had to do on my 62, and I would say go for it. I had never been into a transfer case in my life, but I just followed the factory service manual and really didn't run into any problems other than having to pay to have the bearings changed on the output shaft (couldn't get a puller on them). I'd be willing to help you get into it.
Click to expand...

Alright Bart, you offered. You around on the 29th? I could play hooky from work too if a weekday is better for you.

I have no strange noises from my xfer case, and it's always worked just fine. I'd rather just order those two seals vice swap out all the bearings unless someone tells me this is just plain stupid.
 
I was just trying to goof on Vince, we used that on Barts front end (the second time) after the Toyota paper gaskit leaked. It was great and there is no waiting time, just put it on, put it together and no leaky.
 
Just spreading the word of the almighty "Right Stuff", one Capital guy at a time!!




Ha Ha, it really is awesome stuff!!
 
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