Tcase Leak Help (input shaft seal) (1 Viewer)

[matthewscruiser]

Good morning all,
I resealed a transfer case with OEM seals and installed new output bearings about a year ago. It seems to have a very slow leak. I need some advice! ‘97 LX450.

I cleaned everything/added UV dye to the tcase, and it’s definitely Tcase oil leaking from between the transmission/transfer case, so the assumption is a bad input shaft seal.

When I rebuild the Tcase, I noticed a visible groove on the sealing surface, but it didn’t seem deep enough to cause an issue. The seal was definitely install straight and pre-lubed with oil.

I’m removing the powertrain in November/December anyways and would like to take care of this while it’s out. Would you guys just try putting in a new seal? Speedi sleeve? New input shaft? (Amayama shows the shaft available for $140)

Just trying to avoid doing this job more times than I have to!

 

[Malleus]

It's impossible to tell accurately from a photo, but that groove looks like a leaker to me.

You can try seating the seal so that it seals at a different place and ignores the groove. I've never heard of putting a speedie sleeve there, but in theory it could work. I'd ask Cruiser Brothers/Valley Hybrids. Maybe they've done it.

Replacing that shaft is rebuilding the transfer case. If you're sure you're up to that, email Dave Stedman at Japan4x4, before you send Amayama your money.

 

[matthewscruiser]

It's impossible to tell accurately from a photo, but that groove looks like a leaker to me.

You can try seating the seal so that it seals at a different place and ignores the groove. I've never heard of putting a speedie sleeve there, but in theory it could work. I'd ask Cruiser Brothers/Valley Hybrids. Maybe they've done it.

Replacing that shaft is rebuilding the transfer case. If you're sure you're up to that, email Dave Stedman at Japan4x4, before you send Amayama your money.

Thanks for the reply!

I thought about seating a new seal 1-2mm deeper. My only concern is that the housing and the seal are the same depth—the bottom of the seal would then be unsupported and hanging into the case. I wasn’t sure if that’d be ok.

I’m comfortable opening the Tcase and using a press to swap my gear/bearings over to a new input shaft—I just didn’t want to buy one unless it seemed like a good fix. I actually replaced those two sealed bearings when I rebuilt my Tcase last year.

Thanks for the contact, I’ll be sure to reach out to Dave if I decide to buy a new shaft.

 

[Malleus]

Be sure to hit up Georg at Valley.

 

[matthewscruiser]

I called their business, but I think they were at lunch. I sent them a message explaining my situation and asked what solution they thought was best. We’ll see!