Transfer case hell!

[rogueexplorer1]

Maybe someone changed some parts, who knows. It looks good inside, but why are the seals leaking?
On a rebuild the seals should be included. And yes, too much RTV inside.

There was fluid residue around all 3 seals so I didn’t want to take the chance.

Almost done cleaning the cases. Had to order the pick up screen but it may be here tomorrow. Rampart’s Warehouse is 2 hours away in Redding, CA. They are awesome!!

 

[rogueexplorer1]

Maybe someone changed some parts, who knows. It looks good inside, but why are the seals leaking?
On a rebuild the seals should be included. And yes, too much RTV inside.

You can see in the pics that there's fluid & grime around the seals on the outside of the TC case. Not sure why they failed. Maybe because the pump got enough RTV in it to stop filtering enough to let it get dirty faster & have the seals leak? And why would the pump screen get ripped so easily & quickly? Looked like it was in the correct position so not to have anything hit it. I was pretty close to the chain so may have gotten tangled there. The magnet that goes behind the screen tube hold did have some metal on it with a bunch of RTV as well so maybe that shows some wear of other parts, but every gear & metal part looks great & nothing looks like it's got any chips or wear spots.

After cleaning & looking @ another post on TC rebuild, I can say that the plastic guide for the shift forks are nearly brand new. They didn't put the brass shift rod sleeves in & there is a little play in both cases that hold the shift rod. Not a lot but enough to have a little sway.

I'm waiting on the pump pick up screen & tube, as the screen had a hole in the bottom & 3 rips down the sides. They say the pump is not srevicable but they sell the kit with 3 new screws & a pump gasket. Ever pull the pump apart & check it? I'm concerned those rips in the screen let some RTV into the pump & may hinder it. Would like to pull that apart if it's possible. Still trying to figure out how to get the shaft apart to get the pump off. Can't see what's holding it together. Is there a snap ring of clip that I'm not seeing or can I pump some fluid into the pump & spin it on the shaft to pump fluid through it & get anything out of it?

As far as the clutch plates, I just wiped them off with a clean cloth. From the looks of them, they still have the printed letters on them so think they're in like new shape? I didn't want to use any type of solvent on them as I thought it may damage the friction side. Should I soak these in ATF before installing them back into the cage? I did leave them in the same order they can out but wanna make sure if I need to check if they are in the correct order. Is there anywhere that shows that order?

Anyway, screen should be here Tuesday so gonna check more tomorrow about getting the pump off the shaft & wait to hear if anyone has taken a pump apart with success. If not, I'll try to pump it out & just reinstall it with the new tube & screen.

 

[rogueexplorer1]

If you take it apart:
1: may as well replace the chain (unless it's low milage) while it's open - mine started slipping around 180k miles (search suggests that's not uncommon)
2: the rod that the shift motor turns has a nub on the end of it that's really easy to break when putting the cases back together
3: the sensors in the case are a bit brittle - I chose to add some connectors to allow me to break the wiring harness into sub-harnesses (allowing me to leave the sensors in the case) - you could probably alternatively de-pin the connectors or just be careful

Keep in mind, this is the TC that I pulled from the donor car, not the busted one in the car.

Chain & other parts look near new so not replacing them, just the pick up screen & tube.

Gonna do a test fit before I do the RTV & final fit so I make sure I'm fitting the rear case in correctly to not break that nub & make sure that the pump screen is not toughing anything & everything is in the right place.

I pulled the sensors out when I used the shift motor from this TC. I have a new set of sensors I got that I didn't use with that swap. Have to splice the brown magnet wire to a new connector end to put it back into the connector.

Thanks for the advise!