What Dynosoar said about tapping in place is totally correct. Should be pretty straight forward. Synchros in the trans are made of brass and do wear,leaving some particles in the oil, totally normal.
Builds Work In Progress aka: Badass (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter NeverGiveUpYota
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
g-man
SILVER Star
I was pretty nervous tapping mine even when the 1/2 case was out of the truck and in a vice. I can't imagine doing it lying under the truck.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #863
I’m pretty capable and know just enough to be willing. Lots of room under my truck and I’m small.
Already raining now so not sure how far I’ll get later today.
Already raining now so not sure how far I’ll get later today.
I've been reading your threads for a while now, and I know you got this. Don't worry, when the weather clears , 
go for it.
go for it.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #865
So nothing happening truck wise today. Crazy wind and rain since last night. A bonus of the wild weather, I had a tree go down which had been broken in half back since hurricane Sandy.
My son and I were just heading out to meet his dad when we heard it getting ready to go. I pulled him back from the door since I hadn’t pinpointed where the cracking was coming from so we only heard it go down. Amazingly it went down smack dab in the middle of the backyard and didn’t hurt anything. I was so thrilled, hooting and hollering my dogs started barking in their crates.
Guess I’ll be adding that carb I bought a bit ago to my chainsaw sooner than later.
My son and I were just heading out to meet his dad when we heard it getting ready to go. I pulled him back from the door since I hadn’t pinpointed where the cracking was coming from so we only heard it go down. Amazingly it went down smack dab in the middle of the backyard and didn’t hurt anything. I was so thrilled, hooting and hollering my dogs started barking in their crates.
Guess I’ll be adding that carb I bought a bit ago to my chainsaw sooner than later.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #866
Scrunched myself under the truck and pulled that ugly plug out of the tcase filler hole. I don’t have any idea what it was other than a bolt backward stuffed into a rubbery plug held by a washer and a nut. Talk about shady. Looking into the hole, should there be that big gap? Seen in first pic.
And the threads I could see were basically flat. I tapped it w/ a 1/2npt, held by a 5/8th socket held by my 3/8 ratchet. I can pretty much sit under the truck in that space do it wasn’t the worst position to do it in.
Threads much better now but realised the plug I grabbed is straight and won’t go in. So she’s been stuffed w/ a wine cork temporarily.
Fluid was no where near where I could touch so I added some as well. Got a few cool pics before my battery died.
And the threads I could see were basically flat. I tapped it w/ a 1/2npt, held by a 5/8th socket held by my 3/8 ratchet. I can pretty much sit under the truck in that space do it wasn’t the worst position to do it in.
Threads much better now but realised the plug I grabbed is straight and won’t go in. So she’s been stuffed w/ a wine cork temporarily.
Fluid was no where near where I could touch so I added some as well. Got a few cool pics before my battery died.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #867
After.
Ok so looks like the threads were def stripped so you made the right move. Looks like a nice job tapping threads as well.
Not sure what you mean by a straight plug. Did you buy a 1/2" NPT plug? T stands for taper.
In any event nice work. Get the plug to match your threads and you're good to go.
Not sure what you mean by a straight plug. Did you buy a 1/2" NPT plug? T stands for taper.
In any event nice work. Get the plug to match your threads and you're good to go.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #869
Yeah I think I simply grabbed the wrong one. I went by eye, saw 1/2 and didn’t read further. The guy in the store was a tad flabbergasted that I needed a tap as big as the plug I was holding so I didn’t go back and verify what I had in hand.
They’ll swap it.
They’ll swap it.
Ok good. Yeah if you tapped for 1/2 NPT then you want a 1/2 National Pipe thread Taper plug.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
@Dynosoar is 100% right.
I'm going to make a recommendation you won't like. I know you're working alone but get some help and pull the transmission and transfer case as a unit. It's surprisingly easy. Then pressure wash it to make it easy to work on. With it out on the ground, you can address all the issues at once. Replace your rear main seal, the tranny seals, the breathers, etc. You can also get a good look at the condition of your clutch and replace that while everything is apart. You need a cruiser friend with a tranny jack! I'd lend you mine but you're 3000 miles away.
The bypass pipe thing is not only a good idea, it's the only idea, unless you take your transfer case apart and replace the seal between the transmission and the t-case. The bypass hose will keep you from frying the transfer case as it runs low on oil. But the problem I see is the stripped threads in the filler. The transfer case end of the bypass hose screws in there, so you'll need to adapt to the new thread size. Not sure how you'll do that but find a way! When I first got my FJ40, I ran one of those bypass hoses for years before I properly fixed it. It works like a charm. Just don't let that t-case run low on oil.
Good on you taking on this much project by yourself. That rust is going to cost you one way or the other. Time for you to learn to weld. That's the great part of Cruiser ownership. You learn one super useful skill after another while you slowly go broke.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #872
I honestly don’t have the $$ to sink into a tcase rebuild kit, a clutch, etc etc etc. My tax return will be nice this year but it’s all called for already.
I’m doing what I can. In a perfect world I’d do what your suggesting, but life isn’t perfect.
I’m doing what I can. In a perfect world I’d do what your suggesting, but life isn’t perfect.
Get the right plug,some Teflon thread tape and call it good. Nice job on cleaning up the threads. You could also go with a shouldered bolt and fiber washer just like most oil pans have. I actually converted mine over to that style as I really don't like the whole Allen-head thing. With the bolt style, you can always clamp onto it with vice grips if it gets rounded off. Just my.002 worth.
Last edited:
g-man
SILVER Star
You're going to have to try and determine how fast fluid is leaking past the seal from tcase to trans. If it drains the tcase that quickly then Cruiserdrew makes a good point. You will need to make an adapter that goes from the bypass hose fitting to the tcase. Prob best to get a brass (softer) 1/2 npt plug then drill and tap the center of it out to accomodate the bypass hose. Otherwise you will constantly be draining your transmission and filling the tcase. But maybe you're leak is slow and you can get by with just transfering fluids once every 6 months?? or once a year?? I don't know how quick these seals leak. Maybe others will chime in. If I were you I'd be checking the fluid often at first, like daily, then weekly. then monthly until you get an idea of how fast the gear oil is moving over.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #875
TIrally grasp what you all are saying. Someone told me he was refilling every three days before adding a hose. That’s pretty huge.
I’m all for rebuilding, you guys must know that by now, it’s the $$ part that has me by the neck. Will see... Sometimes I can steal from Peter to pay Paul.
I’m all for rebuilding, you guys must know that by now, it’s the $$ part that has me by the neck. Will see... Sometimes I can steal from Peter to pay Paul.
Life is life, the bypass is a very inexpensive, acceptable, medium-to-long term fix. It's not a permanent solution, but it will absolutely keep you on the road for a long time.
Family/food/bills first....I find its easy to get caught up in doing stuff on my cruisers that I really want to do and not just what I need to do. There's a time and a place for everything. Just my $.02.
Family/food/bills first....I find its easy to get caught up in doing stuff on my cruisers that I really want to do and not just what I need to do. There's a time and a place for everything. Just my $.02.
My vote (under the circumstances):
Get the transfer fill plug squared away, don't get that over fill bypass hose and drive the cruiser & just keep an eye on the fluid levels. It's easy to check and adjust.
For all you know, the oil migration between the two cases is slow. It hasn't been checked since you got the car.
My TFR & TMS migrated oil for 10 years. Every month or so (depending on how much I drove) I would check the levels and adjust. No big deal.
IMO- those bypass hoses give you a false sense of security and make you lazy thinking everything is fine when it's quite possible you're ruining your transmission. The oil migration doesn't always flow up to the transmission. Sometimes it fills the transfer and there's no way to know when it's going to switch directions (mine went both ways). Also having that hose installed makes checking the oil levels more of a pain. And you still need to check them regularly.
I tried one of those hoses. Based on my experience with it (bad) I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.
Get the transfer fill plug squared away, don't get that over fill bypass hose and drive the cruiser & just keep an eye on the fluid levels. It's easy to check and adjust.
For all you know, the oil migration between the two cases is slow. It hasn't been checked since you got the car.
My TFR & TMS migrated oil for 10 years. Every month or so (depending on how much I drove) I would check the levels and adjust. No big deal.
IMO- those bypass hoses give you a false sense of security and make you lazy thinking everything is fine when it's quite possible you're ruining your transmission. The oil migration doesn't always flow up to the transmission. Sometimes it fills the transfer and there's no way to know when it's going to switch directions (mine went both ways). Also having that hose installed makes checking the oil levels more of a pain. And you still need to check them regularly.
I tried one of those hoses. Based on my experience with it (bad) I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #878
Thank you for the devils advovate. That’s a good explanation. And shhh, how dare you expose my deliberate incompetence! I’ve been busy!
Chuckling. No really, I “should” have been more diligent and I stupidly let it go. Hey I do have to save when I started to hear the growling, I knew it was time.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
Is the growling from your t-case? Pretty common symptom when the bearings on the countershaft get worn. Output shaft bearings can do the same thing. Whatever you do, watch your oil levels carefully and prepare mentally for an eventual transfer case rebuild. $200 in parts and the rest you can do yourself.
BTW-I bet yours is not the first transfer case with a wine cork for a fill plug!
BTW-I bet yours is not the first transfer case with a wine cork for a fill plug!
NeverGiveUpYota
Dare me.
- Thread starter
- #880
Can’t quite tell exactly where. I could hear and feel it when coming to a stop at a light. It would settle out after a few seconds to a minute.
And well aware of the cost. I’ve checked.
Thanks for the words.
Felicity
And well aware of the cost. I’ve checked.
Thanks for the words.
Felicity
