Atf leaking from Toyota split transfer case in fj60 with vortec and auto swap

[Shebamacalla]

There is a red fluid leak from the back of my transfer case that I'm assuming is atf. When I bought the truck a year and a half ago an engine/tranny swap had just been finished and the transfer case was rebuilt by Amazonia 4x4 ( a cruiser shop). So I would assume it was done correctly. But from my research the transfer should have gear oil not atf in it. Other searches brought up similar situations and people said atf could be leaking into the transfer from the tranny. But that seems unlikely with a freshly rebuilt case as well.
I'm wondering if there is possibly a reason why it could have been filled with atf on purpose, and therefore draining it and filling with gear oil might be bad? The transmission dip stick shows full. And the red fluid leaking out of the transfer looks like clean red fluid. Not a mix of atf and gear oil.

Any insight on what to do?

I'm in the middle of a large road trip and don't want to damage anything.

Thanks.

 

[klinetime574]

Where specifically on the back of the transfercase? Dripping along the bottom could be fluid moving to the lowest point from the transmission itself.

Next step if it is for sure coming from the t-case: Check fluid through fill hole. Drain the transfercase if needed. Refill with gear oil. Not sure about mixing them, but a fill and then drain with gear oil would get all the ATF out. Just run a short interval on the first refill of gear oil like 500 miles or so. I can't see that doing any harm.

I would not drive that truck with ATF in the transfercase.

I am not familiar with transmission to transfercase adapters for GM transmissions to a Toyota Split Case so hopefully someone can chime in on them.

All of that said, you need to be sure that the transfercase is not sharing the same fluid as the transmission, not sure if that is even possible hence why I need someone with the experience listed above to help out.

 

[lcwizard]

It needs gear oil not ATF. I would guess if there is ATF in the transfer someone other than Maurico filled it.
Check the fluids in the case and refill it correctly. If ATF is transferring to the T-case, there is an issue with the sealed bearings in the adapter. The Mark's adapter , last time I installed one , used sealed roller bearings
supporting the spud shaft that kept the fluids from transferring from the tranny to the T-case. I doubt that has changed in the last few months

 

[Shebamacalla]

Thanks for the info! I'm gonna open up the fill plug to inspect further. From the best I can determine the leak is coming from the bolt above and to the right of the fill plug in this photo. Anyone know what that bolt does?.

 

[MANUCHAO]

that's a retainer bolt to the iddler shaft. Make sure is nice n tight..
Rather than checking it first and if IN the middle of a trip drain n refill asap.
Gear oil is cheap..
No tranny gear should be sipping into the TC.

Make sure atf is not traveling outside to the lowest point of the TC... It has happened to me before..
Good luck..

 

[Shebamacalla]

So I checked the retainer bolt that manuchao suggested and it feels tight. I didn't really reef on it but pulled a good bit. I cleaned the whole area and waited about 45 minutes and there is def red fluid leaking out around that retainer bolt. Which seems impossible since it is above the filler whole and I haven't run the truck the past 4 hours. Does that mean it's definitely leaking in from the transmission to the transfer. They are connected through an advanced adapter.

I feel like if I open the fill plug atf is gonna pour out. But I guess that's my next step no matter what.

 

[gregnash]

Definitely looks like it was filled with ATF which as the others said is incorrect. Time to drain and fill with the appropriate amount of gear oil (80w90) and go from there like Alex said.

 

[Shebamacalla]

Yes that's my next step @gregnash. The thing I'm confused about is how it is still leaking out of that bolt that is a couple inches higher than the fill plug hours after turning the car off. Shouldn't the fluid level be much lower than that bolt unless the gears are moving?

 

[amazonia4x4]

...and the transfer case was rebuilt by Amazonia 4x4 ( a cruiser shop). So I would assume it was done correctly. But from my research the transfer should have gear oil not atf in it. rebuilt case as well...

Any insight on what to do?

I'm in the middle of a large road trip and don't want to damage anything.

Thanks.[/QUOTE]

Hi @Shebamacalla ,this is Mauricio from Amazonia 4x4, the shop you said the transfer case was rebuilt from.

My first question would be, can you tell specs of your vehicle? meaning, color, year, etc. So I can have a good idea on what vehicle we are talking about.

On the other hand, looking at the pictures, if we did rebuilt that transfer case, it had to be done a long time ago, because everything we rebuilt, we also restore it, that's the main reason people recognize our work, even in the most simple labor, we do it as we are restoring it completely, so looking at the pictures, either it was restores a while ago, or we definitely didn't perform that job. Either way, please let us know and we will do our nest to help you out.

Thanks.

Mauricio.

 

[theron]

^ Super curious to hear how they got wind of this post so quickly. You know, being their very first post on the forum and this thread just going live.

Shebamacalla did you call the shop? Mystery show here!

 

[amazonia4x4]

^ Super curious to hear how they got wind of this post so quickly. You know, being their very first post on the forum and this thread just going live.

Shebamacalla did you call the shop? Mystery show here!

Hi @theron , nothing mysterious here, it was a friend of mine who told me about it, and yes, I know we had to be more active in this site due to its popularity, but honestly, between the shop and family, I don't have to much time to jump into the computer. But due to this post, I decided to make it my first post and try to help @Shebamacalla with his issue. Same to you, if later on you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reply or contact us directly.

Thanks.

Mauricio.

 

[theron]

Hi @theron , nothing mysterious here, it was a friend of mine who told me about it, and yes, I know we had to be more active in this site due to its popularity, but honestly, between the shop and family, I don't have to much time to jump into the computer. But due to this post, I decided to make it my first post and try to help @Shebamacalla with his issue. Same to you, if later on you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reply or contact us directly.

Thanks.

Mauricio.

MYSTERY SOLVED! There goes my next podcast episode

 

[red66toy]

Is there old sealant around the bolt? The metal looks "off" just to the left of the bolt, like someone tried to stop the leak.

 

[Shebamacalla]

This is the truck. I bought it off a guy from Florida who had a 6.0 vortec and 4l80e swapped in from another shop and at the same time said he had the transfer case rebuilt by Amazonia 4x4. But that's just info I remember him saying when I bought it from him. I do remember seeing a photo on Amazonia 4x4 social media somewhere of the truck in your shop so I assumed he wasn't lying about the rebuild. But maybe he had it in there for a different repair, or was possibly a miscommunication. I wasn't trying to throw anyone under the bus but was just figuring if a reputable cruiser shop worked on it, that it would have the correct fluid in it, and the issue might be something else like the tranny leaking.

 

[Shebamacalla]

@theron nope I didn't call. Wanted to get some info here first before maybe giving them a call.

 

[theron]

@theron nope I didn't call. Wanted to get some info here first before maybe giving them a call.

Did you drain the transfer case? What sort of oil came out?

 

[amazonia4x4]

@theron nope I didn't call. Wanted to get some info here first before maybe giving them a call.

Hi @Shebamacalla , actually I do remember the Land Cruiser, but I don't remember the details of what kind of job we did due that it was almost two years ago. But I will check tomorrow my files and I will definitely let you know what jobs we did in it. What I can tell you for sure, is that if we did rebuilt that transfer case, someone else already opened and did something in it, because I can see all the RTV/Gray Silicone around the cap, and we definitely don't do that.

However, the idea is not to look for past errors, the idea is to help you with your issue, right?, so, if there is ATF coming from the tranny to the transfer case, it is due to: either the outer seal in back of the transmission, or the input seal in the transfer case, or actually both.

First thing you have to check, is the actual fact that ATF is in the transfer case. So, just open the inspection plug and check it out. The ATF should come out first due that it is lighter than the gear oil. It won't hurt your transfer case if there is ATF + gear oil, but if someone put only ATF instead of gear oil, then you could have a later bigger issue.

Well, let us know your findings when you open the inspection plug.

Thanks.

Mauricio.

 

[Shebamacalla]

@theron
I am planning to get the appropriate wrench and gear oil first thing in the am and get to work on it. I don't have a wrench big enough except my adjustable and don't want to risk rounding the bolts.

I'll update with what I find then.

Thanks for everyone's help and insight!

 

[Shebamacalla]

@MANUCHAO is it ok to remove and inspect that idler shaft retaining bolt? Or is attached to something inside and can't be reinstalled unless the case is apart? Is there a crush washer or something for that bolt?

 

[dbleon]

You can remove it. be sure to reinstall it though! that unless you want your idler shaft to become a flying object