Replacing cracked Transfer Case plate. Any advice appreciated (1 Viewer)

[ToyotaTruck]

A simple drain/refill of my 1997 Land Cruiser transfer case turned into a nightmare over the weekend. I cracked the fill plug housing on the front plate while tightening the bolt. After talking with some tig welders, the price/time is the same getting it welded vs. just buying a new plate from Toyota. So, I will be tackling this job as soon as the parts come in. In the meantime, does anyone have any experience with this job that they wouldn't mind sending my way? I found an excellent video on how to replace the bearings and seal which I think covers a lot of the same job I will be doing. That video is below in case someone needs it. I also have a 96 FSM but it is a little over my head in terms of technicality. The FSM recommends getting new snap rings with varying thicknesses for axial play and so on.... I was just planning on using the existing parts minus the seals and bearings of course. Any advice/insight is greatly appreciated.

By the way, I plan on having the new plate tig welded just to beef the plug area up before I install it so that this doesn't happen again. Seems like this is a failure point on all 80 series Land Cruisers.



Thanks,
JARED

 

[JunkCrzr89]

Gonna get dragged thru the coals for saying this but I JB-Welded a practically identical crack about 8 years ago and it’s still holding up. You’re not as f*cked as you would be if it was the drain plug.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

Thanks. I did see some threads about jb welding it and it is tempting but with my luck these days, the jb weld would get into the gear oil and/or would break apart while I am 4wheeling in some forsaken middle of nowhere land. I figure this would give me the opportunity to also install a new bearing/seal.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

I am also trying to find the torque specs for the 14mm bolts that hold the plate onto the transfer case. I can't seem to find these specs anywhere including the FSM. Anyone have an idea?

 

[Howard705]

Used transfer case or jb weld it. It's ONLY a boss for the plug. Go easy tightening the plug. It only has to not fall out. could even try the low temp aluminum brazing rod.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

Thanks. I was able to get the rear case housing from Toyota - or at least it is on its way. Once I get it, I will be heading over to a machine shop and have them tig weld around the plug area beefing it up. I am not sure how tough it is actually replacing the rear case. I know separating the rear extension housing and the rear case will be a pain due to the FIPG holding it together but not sure how the rest will go. Guess I will find out as I dig in.

 

[gummycarbs]

I got a low-milage case off of car-part.com for about $250. They never fail, so it's easiest just to swap them.

The rear extension and rear cover aren't hard to get off. For the latter, loosen the cross-member bolts to lower the case a bit. Use wobble extensions on an impact driver. The upper ones are the hardest part. If you're dropping the whole case to replace internals, then clearance isn't an issue.

Toyota provided big lugs to pry on to separate the cases and extension housings, so that's not an issue.

To remove the old FIPG, pick and scape the big pieces. Use acetone on a rag to remove what's left.

The torque values are given in the FSM in the "Transfer Assembly" section.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

I got a low-milage case off of car-part.com for about $250. They never fail, so it's easiest just to swap them.

The rear extension and rear cover aren't hard to get off. For the latter, loosen the cross-member bolts to lower the case a bit. Use wobble extensions on an impact driver. The upper ones are the hardest part. If you're dropping the whole case to replace internals, then clearance isn't an issue.

Toyota provided big lugs to pry on to separate the cases and extension housings, so that's not an issue.

To remove the old FIPG, pick and scape the big pieces. Use acetone on a rag to remove what's left.

The torque values are given in the FSM in the "Transfer Assembly" section.

Good advice. Thanks. So far I have the driveshaft off. Gotta start somewhere. Yep, and I noticed that the torque values are indicated in the 96 FSM that I have. They are just buried at each step as opposed to having a one-pager with all values.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

So I have the front exterior housing off the transfer case. That actually went well. Now I am at the defective rear transfer case sandwich piece that I need to remove in order to replace it with the new Toyota one. Question is, one I have the 8 bolts off of that, how do I get it over what I am assuming to be where the front driveshaft and bearing meet? In the picture below, there is an axle looking thing sticking out the front of the rear case. Will it come out with the rear case once the 8 bolts are removed?

 

[Stoshu]

This video shows the process of pulling the case apart for a part time kit installation. Should be helpful in seeing how it all fits together. Good luck, I recently installed a part time kit on the work bench and it wasn't that bad.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

This video shows the process of pulling the case apart for a part time kit installation. Should be helpful in seeing how it all fits together. Good luck, I recently installed a part time kit on the work bench and it wasn't that bad.

That video is absolutely helpful. THANKS

 

[Stoshu]

You are quite welcome @ToyotaTruck . Helped me visualize the job as well.

 

[Howard705]

Good time to remove the VC now if you want to eliminate a potential future problem part.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

The rear case is off! Now to wait for the new one and start putting everything back together. Thanks Howard for the suggestion on the VC. I'll probably keep it stock for now plus I have some concerns going without full time 4wd in deep snow and ice. Something to think about, though.

 

[Howard705]

The rear case is off! Now to wait for the new one and start putting everything back together. Thanks Howard for the suggestion on the VC. I'll probably keep it stock for now plus I have some concerns going without full time 4wd in deep snow and ice. Something to think about, though.

Great to have on the road in slick conditions and snow however I removed mine and barely notice unless Really trying to make it spin. If sticking will cause serious binding then wear on the drivetrain Especially the front birfs.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

So I received the new rear case from Toyota and of course it is missing the dowel pins, the breather tube and the bearing races. See photo B below with the new and old cases. I am at a dilemma here; do I remove the races from the old rear case that is cracked (one of the races has already fallen out) and install them in the new case or do I install completely new races from Toyota? If I install new races, I might as well install the bearings that go with them but how painful is it to install both bearings represented on Photo A? The video Stoshu provided shows the guy removing one of these bearings with a pneumatic press which of course I do not have. Is it possible to remove the old bearings/ install new ones without a press? I think i am over my head in terms of capability at this point and now know why people just jb weld cracks in the case. Maybe I should just drop the transfer case entirely and let some shop deal with it. Any advice/help is appreciated. I am pretty desperate at this point.

 

[ppc]

Use new bearings and matching races. Your local NAPA or similar should be able to press in the new races for a relatively small cost.

 

[DivByZero]

I personally would carefully drive out the old races with a brass drift, and drive them into the new cover with a race driver. Reusing the races that are already worn in against those bearings would be ok here IMO, and save this ballooning out further. You won't be able to change the bearings without pulling the TC and starting a full rebuild.

 

[jpoole]

Yeah, I'd do what @Nemesis1207 is saying or return the new case and focus on a repair of the old one.

With the case off you can get the cracked area/boss really clean including a nice area out onto the case surface around the boss. Clean / degrease all of this area a few times with brake clean, simple green and whatever else you want to use then sand/scuff it all with coarse sandpaper (like 40 - 60 grit) then clean it again until you have great surfaces for the "weld stick" or whatever you use to adhere to. Try to use a higher temp repair material if you can, just in case, and work your repair out an inch or two onto the face of the case to increase how much adhesion area you give it. I may consider trying to fill the crack itself with gear oil resistant rtv initially but that will likely only be partially effective long-term. You'll likely be good to go for a very long time with an approach like this. A bit of research may turn up even better options/ideas.

I'll also add that the right welder may be able to patch the old case up more easily/cheaply than the one you talked to previously. I've had various cracks repaired in cast aluminum in the past quickly and cheaply and this seems a good candidate esp. if you take it in cleaned and prepped to some extent and possibly did the post-weld clean up and thread tapping.

 

[ToyotaTruck]

great info as usual, everyone. Thanks!! Based on everyone's input here, I think I have a plan going forward:

1) I did get the old case welded and it looks good. So now I have the decision on which one to use...the new Toyota one or the original, repaired case. I am worried about using the old case because the middle race fell right out when the welder was making the repairs. So, I am thinking of using the new Toyota case and keeping the welded one as a spare.

2) Now on to the bearings issue. I do not want to drop the TC. So that limits me to replacing the large bearing (input shaft?) represented in photo A that I posted above. I saw in the video Stoshu posted that the differential can be removed via those 12 bolts. I will bring this in to a machine shop to have them press out the old bearing and put in the new. I will leave the other two bearings in photo A intact.

3) That now leaves me to the races and this one I am puzzled on. The middle race in photo A fell right out so I have no idea how far to press this into the case. I have a seal setter kit and I know the trick of freezing the races and lightly coating them with grease in order to make them set easier but I have no idea how far to press them into the case. When I took off the old case, the middle race was sticking half out the back and probably pushed into the case recess by at least a 1/4 inch. Is this normal and should I set it the same distance in the new case? With all the races I have set (and there have been quite a few), all of them were set to be flush with the surface - so I am a little baffled as to what to do here. I will install the new race for the large bearing but install the old race for the middle bearing since I am not replacing that one. One final thing about the races and it's really a stupid question but do I set (hammer) them in from the inside of the case or outside where the lip is thickest?

4) Once I have the bearing/races all in place, I still need to press in the 2 dowels and breather metal pipe into the new case. I have new ones from Toyota and I figure I can do the same trick as bearings in freezing/greasing them in order to brass punch them in. I will place wood blocks underneath the areas I am tapping in order to avoid damaging the new case.

Any thoughts/advice on this approach?