First few hundred miles I was getting 20-21mpg averaging 60-70mph

The most recent 120 miles were all at 75-80mph (more time spent closer to 80, averaged 18.1 mpg

Not bad, I'll take it

 

Remind us where you are going on this roadtrip?

 

First stop is Badlands national park/mount Rushmore

Then on to the sawtooths of Idaho, maybe Yellowstone or glacier, maybe on to the cascade range in Oregon, maybe through moab on the way home

taking 3 weeks to travel the west and go backpacking, we'll see where the wind takes us

 

Transfer case output seems to have a decent leak. I thought it might have a slow one from the gunk on the underside of the truck, but it now looks fairly wet under there and there tends to be one of 2 drops under the truck after parking.
i wonder if wrenching on it installing the parking brake aggravated it.

I can pick up 75w90 or 80w90 at a truck stop to keep it topped up. But I'm wondering how to know how much to add. Is there a jerry-rig way to check the fluid level without draining it?

 

10 minutes at a rest stop, a few drops on the ground

 

awesome! I'm looking forward to photos.

 

yes. remove the fill plug. add oil until it begins to run out. insert plug.

 

as an aside, the badlands are great. i believe you’ll find rushmore a letdown; i’d suggest devil’s tower instead.

 

Ok, in des Moines realized the rear seal was leaking so bad the back of the truck was coated in oil... Pulled the rear seal out in sioux city... Put the new one in in Sioux falls 80 miles from there... I have a good wrenching story now to tell around campfires lol. I'll post it later when I have time to type it out.

For now, back on the road!

 

mitchell corn palace. saw it in 1992!

 

a cool place!

 

Awesome boondocking spot overlooking the badlands, I think the truck was happy to get off the pavement for a few miles

 

Wrenching adventure, part 1/³
At the Iowa border, realized the tcase was leaking
In Des Moines, realized it was leaking bad enough to coat the undercarriage and back windshield in sprayed oil... Realized I probably ought to do something about that before proceeding the next 3k miles

Looked up the repair, grabbed the tools I need from menards, and figured out the closest store with the needed oil seal is Sioux City... 197 miles away

So, I add 1/3 quart with no idea how much of the 2 quart capacity had leaked out. Stopped 100 miles down the road and added another 1/3 quart

Finally make it to sioux city, get to O'Reillys 45 minutes before closing, get the seal, whew, hard part over right?
...

So I'm wrenching away under the truck in the 95° heat, starting to feel good as things are going pretty smooth, go to install the new seal... Tap er in really gently...
And I cock it sideways and bend it

So I hang my head in shame, and walk back into the parts store 5 minutes before closing, praying...
"Hey... Do you guys happen to have another one of those in stock..."

Against all odds... They do!! My heart soars once again!

Until I get under the truck with it... And despite the part number on the box... it's the wrong size
:'(

The helpful guy at O'Reillys tries to see if they have the right part but no dice. The nearest store with one is Sioux falls, 80 miles away, and can they get the part in the morning...
No, they can't get the part until noon... The day after next, because of the holiday

​​​​​

 

Wrenching adventure part 2/3
So here I sit on a Saturday evening, with 2 bent oil seals, the nearest good seal 80 miles away, and every shop in town closed until Monday (and yes, I was checking every parts store, not just O'Reillys)


At this point, heart broken, I'm weighing the option of throwing in the towel barely 24 hours into the trip and calling AAA and enterprise rental car

But looking at the original seal... I didn't bend it *that* much when pulling it out... And if I'm gonna get a tow anyway...


So, flattened out the original and reinstalled best I could. Put in 1/3 quart, and drive 55 mph to sioux falls, stopping every 30 miles to dump more oil down the shifter, praying I'm not frying my T-case as the whole truck gets soaked in oil.

​​​​​thankfully, made it to sioux falls, and the next morning I was able to successfully complete the repair, after about 3 hours wrenching in another parking lot, again in the 90° heat (most of that time spent calmly putting everything together while giving the rtv a chance to cure)

Then I'm trying to figure out how much fluid is in it and how much it needs.
Wally very helpfully reminds me that I'm a dummy, and there is a fill port...
Unfortunately my new parking brake makes it pretty much impossible to access...

So I convinced myself that since some came out when I removed the seal, it should be at pretty much the right level. So I add a bit, and set off.

Then I get 10 miles down the road, and unconvince myself of that. I decide to just drain the fluid and fill with the 1.7qt capacity. Of course, i just left Sioux falls, and there are no other parts stores ahead for about 300 miles...

So after checking a few gas stations, we double back to Sioux falls. I go to yet another O'Reillys, grab the fluid needed, and a funnel, to catch the old fluid in the empty bottles I now have plenty of.

Of course, the moment I pull the drain plug, a wind gust blows the funnel over. I get sprayed with oil. Totally soaked. Half a gallon of oil all over the parking lot. Turns out it was in fact full.

I once again hang my head in shame, and walk in covered in oil to buy some towels.

But hey, at least now it's got an oil change, and I can head out confidently.

 

Amazing story ! Well done getting it fixed and not letting it get you down. Sounds like a fun trip

 

Wrenching adventure part 3/3
What's the real kicker here?

As I had many hours to noodle it over underneath the truck, I realized exactly why it was leaking in the first place, and it wasn't the seal. (Well, a tiny bit the seal, but not mostly)

When I installed the driveline brake (and when I should've installed a new seal while I was down there) when reinstalling that 30mm nut
1. I didn't use fresh RTV. Didn't realize it was part of the process/important. Which would have been fine except for...
2. When I torqued the nut, it can only be staked in one position. It was looser in the staked position, but I figured having it staked was more important than having it tight at the torque spec. Wrongo.

So yea, combination loose nut and no RTV meant i was leaking out that spline. Coulda probably just put some rtv on and tightened it up, skipping the seal all together. But I had already messed up the original seal by the time I realized this.


Moral of the story... When doing the transfer case output:

RTV
Locktite
Torque properly

Save yourself 6 hours of trouble down the road


​​​​​

 

Thanks for reading!!

After the letdown of screwing up the seal, and accepting the possibility of bailing, I figured the most I had to lose was a couple hours, so it became a fun exercise in self-reliance

​​​​​

 

Great story magnet! Glad you got it fixed, and good info to help others out!

 

Thanks!

300 miles later, dry as a bone under there!

 

Godspeed, Magnet!