Can anyone isolate this leak?? Or, 'Depends' for an FJ40...

[65swb45]

1. Excessively worn gears will cause the gear oil to overheat and come out the breather. Adding a hose to the breather only addresses a symptom, not a problem.
2. If it's been some time since an overhaul was done, the chances of #1 being true increase.
3. 76-78 cases are the most at-risk cases for cracks on the rear of the case around the idler shaft. If there is any moisture in the ribbed area between the shaft and the cone cover for the trans tailshaft, you should give that a good cleaning and further inspection.
4. If you need a dual seal speedo housing, I sell them too.

Best

Mark

 

[Solace in Solitude]

1. Excessively worn gears will cause the gear oil to overheat and come out the breather. Adding a hose to the breather only addresses a symptom, not a problem.
2. If it's been some time since an overhaul was done, the chances of #1 being true increase.
3. 76-78 cases are the most at-risk cases for cracks on the rear of the case around the idler shaft. If there is any moisture in the ribbed area between the shaft and the cone cover for the trans tailshaft, you should give that a good cleaning and further inspection.
4. If you need a dual seal speedo housing, I sell them too.

Best

Mark

Great info!!

I'm raising the breather for water fording... But, need to find/fix the leak.

I don't think it's coming from the breather since it's so obviously wet in front of the parking brake and us dry around the breather.

I'll do as you say and clean/check it all out and tighten bolts... And pop the top plate and re-seal with a new gasket and orange FIPG.

If I need the dual seal housing, I'll call you.

Thanks Mark!!

 

[honk]

Danny,

I'm probably wrong but I don't like the look of the transfer case to the left of your yellow B_U light wire, looking down as in your last image above. Is it cracked just in front of the right top rear cone bolt?

The way the metal seems to be washed clean from that point downward and to the right is how it might look if there was a good flow of oil.

Get a strong light and a small wire brush to scrub that area cleaner of goo so you can make sure that the transfer casing itself isn't cracked/broken open.

I'm hoping it's not but if it is at least you can save yourself from wasted time and money fixing things that didn't need fixing, and you'll know what you have to do.

 

[tls3601]

Had a feeling it was off the yellow wire. Easy to see now.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Danny,

I'm probably wrong but I don't like the look of the transfer case to the left of your yellow B_U light wire, looking down as in your last image above. Is it cracked just in front of the right top rear cone bolt?

The way the metal seems to be washed clean from that point downward and to the right is how it might look if there was a good flow of oil.

Get a strong light and a small wire brush to scrub that area cleaner of goo so you can make sure that the transfer casing itself isn't cracked/broken open.

I'm hoping it's not but if it is at least you can save yourself from wasted time and money fixing things that didn't need fixing, and you'll know what you have to do.

The good news is, I don't think it's cracked/broken at all... But, I'll finish cleaning it up and inspecting it anyway.

What I've found is, EVERY bolt on top of the plate, with the breather, was NOT EVEN finger tight... Except the one that holds the wiring bracket... It was simply hanging... A Christmas miracle that the bolts were still there... Especially the one that was just hanging!

The bolts were probably never torqued and, given the miles I drive on extremely rough roads and trails, they have become looser and looser.

I think, as @diogenese noticed, the oil has been pouring out around this top plate..

I bought 44 in Feb, 2014... No idea when/if the tcase has been rebuilt, but I know it seems operationally sound... I never have any sort of problem with it.

So, I'll finish cleaning and inspecting and see were that takes me.

 

[diogenese]

It's nice to find a "smoking gun", it gives you confidence that the repair is going to get the job done

 

[Solace in Solitude]

It's nice to find a "smoking gun", it gives you confidence that the repair is going to get the job done

Shot Bro!!

 

[honk]

Wow Danny - buy a lottery ticket!

I'm glad to hear this about the bolts loose as unusual a thing as it is, and won't even say "WTF took you so long to find them?"

As much as you use your truck you're doubly lucky that the transfer case isn't packed with sand or muck. Anyway, there's a gasket for it and it's available from SOR if nowhere else and the torque is here somewhere or in your chassis FSM.

Congrats - it can only be the luck of the Irish.

 

[diogenese]

I would seriously consider changing the oil in there after the top is fixed and confirmed. As Honk says you don't know what has worked its way in.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Wow Danny - buy a lottery ticket!

I'm glad to hear this about the bolts loose as unusual a thing as it is, and won't even say "WTF took you so long to find them?"

As much as you use your truck you're doubly lucky that the transfer case isn't packed with sand or muck. Anyway, there's a gasket for it and it's available from SOR if nowhere else and the torque is here somewhere or in your chassis FSM.

Congrats - it can only be the luck of the Irish.

More like, the luck of the mongrel... While I have Irish, only a bit... I also have a bit of Dutch, Scottish, English and Native American. My maternal grandmother was named Osceola... After the Seminole Chief.

Whatever it was, I like that kind of luck!!

I only just realized it was leaking... I hadn't been loosing gear oil... My guess is the plate had a good seal and the bolts were just tight enough to keep it sealed... Until recently... But, who knows... Santa came late!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I would seriously consider changing the oil in there after the top is fixed and confirmed. As Honk says you don't know what has worked its way in.

I bought the gear oil this morning... Along with more cleaner and some small brushes. I'm gonna change the oil in the granny and diffs too. Edit: well, granny's oil is fine... I'm gonna change the oil in the tranny.

44 will be down for a while... I have plenty to do, while waiting for my new rear harness... and I don't work as fast as I used to... After all, the main attribute of retirement is to take your time and enjoy everything you do.

Questîon: when I pop the top, do I need to worry about anything jumping out? I can only see half that plate clearly and the last thing I want is a Jack-in-the-Box!!

Thanks for all your help everyone!!

 

[honk]

Nothing Toyota will pop out but who can predict the behaviors of a Brown Recluse spider or a Scorpion?

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Nothing Toyota will pop out but who can predict the behaviors of a Brown Recluse spider or a Scorpion?

I doubt they're inside, but already made sure there are none outside!

I hope putting a new gasket on this isn't as difficult as my oil pan gasket! There's not a lot of room above the linkage.

I have the tcase cleaned and can see anything wrong with it.

But, I've got to clean the passenger side of it from underneath and clean the foot well before I pop the top. Too much crap to fall in...

After I drain the oil and pop the top, is there something I should run thru it before I close it back up and fill it back up?

 

[sggoat]

Well, I removed the seats, seat frames, center console, mat, Jack bracket and tool strap apparatus. Next was the tank cover and the gas tank. Then the hump bolts. I had to unbolt the rear heater and move it, to get the lines out of the way. Next was the shifter, then an hour or so to get the hump to break loose without bending the hell out of it.

Once the hump was off, I found the tcase breather cap slightly askew... But it wasn't wet on top... Just very grimey...

The bulk of the gear oil is on the backside of the tcase, between it and the parking brake. I haven't checked bolt tightness yet... There is one tcase bolt that clamps the wires (to tranny) that was not even threaded at all.

So, without snugging bolts or raising the breather... I'm going to shower and crash for today.

Tomorrow, snug bolts, raise breather, Jack it up and put it on stands and run thru the gears a bit... May have to put the shifter back for this Does anyone have a pic they can post of the tranny shift tower breather? I need to seal it and can't find it...

If I don't find any loose bolts (including the two @honk mentioned behind the pto plate) or I tighten loose bolts and still find gear oil escaping, is it a fair assumption that the drive shaft / parking brake need to be removed and the output seal needs to be replaced on the tcase?

Oh, also found a couple of 1/2" rust holes under the gas tank... I'll need to fix them. Also found a ton of crap under the mat... I'll clean that up before I lay the insulation.

Here are the rust holes...


View attachment 1185055
Here is the tranny and tcase and beautiful floor

View attachment 1185058

Here is the breather... It wasn't plugged

View attachment 1185063

Here is the area between the tcase and the parking brake... The wiring bracket bolt that was hanging loose goes in a threaded hole that is outside the right scope of this pic... The corner of the top plate, with the breather.

View attachment 1185064

Almost looks like the t-case cover is what's leaking. You can see where the oil actually cleaned the gunk of the case as it ran down. Check the cover bolts(maybe gasket?)

sorry-posted this before I got to the end of the thread--glad you found the problem!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Two more questions:

1. After I drain the oil and pop the top on the tcase is there something I should run thru it before I close it back up and fill it back up?
2. Can anyone tell me what the wire with the green connector is connected to on the tranny in this picture? I can't find anything that tells me. Unlesß it has something to do with the seatbelt warning light...

 

[lostmarbles]

Two more questions:

1. After I drain the oil and pop the top on the tcase is there something I should run thru it before I close it back up and fill it back up?
2. Can anyone tell me what the wire with the green connector is connected to on the tranny in this picture? I can't find anything that tells me. Unlesß it has something to do with the seatbelt warning light...

Happy new year Danny.

1. No need to flush anything through it. (The oil itself does a fine cleaning job.)
2. Shift-point sensor

We don't hear much about shift-point sensors but the EPC says quite a few FJ4# got them from aug 1980 onwards.

Since no BJ4# got them, I know little about them... Perhaps the tachos on some FJ4# had boy-racer style shift lights?

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Happy new year Danny.

1. No need to flush anything through it. (The oil itself does a fine cleaning job.)
2. Shift-point sensor

We don't hear much about shift-point sensors but the EPC says quite a few FJ4# got them from aug 1980 onwards.

Since no BJ4# got them, I know little about them... Perhaps the tachos on some FJ4# had boy-racer style shift lights?

Happy New Year Tom.

Thanks for the info!! I'll see what, if anything I can find about shift-point sensors ... 44 is an 01/78... Maybe the tranny is newer...

Shot Bro!!

 

[honk]

Danny, look carefully at the little 'valley' between the cover that you found loose and the trans side of the transfer case before buttoning everything up. That's a place where the things crack and sometimes break practically in two.

It was a common enough thing that some vendor used to sell a steel brace made to bolt across the two sections and add support/strength in the hope of preventing cracking and/or breaking.

I'm not saying that I think you have such a crack. Just trying to cover everything possible so you don't have to come back too soon.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Thanks @honk!!

I'll check it closely. It's gonna be a while before I button it up. I'm waiting for the gasket and cleaning up and insulating the floor and hump in the meantime.

My rear harness connectors went out this morning, so probably a couple of weeks before my new harness arrives.

So, no hurry - if you think of anything else, yell out!!

Thanks!!

 

[GA Architect]

Danny,
Being you have the access to the top of your t-case as well as some time, maybe look into one of these "t-case saver" from Mr. @orangefj45 that @honk is mentioning. What is it they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?....It's just a thought.

Hope you get your leak solved and repaired quickly.

Cheers to Ya!