Hey all,

I'm still a rookie under my runner, but I was poking around last weekend and found some fluid leaking. It looked like it was coming from where the transfer case and the front drive shaft meet. This is on a 98 4runner, 4WD. I smelled the fluid. It's not tranny fluid, was clear like fresh oil. Anybody know what's going on? Easy fix (fingers crossed....)?

Muchas gracias!

-Ross

 

Gear oil from your transfer case??

 

sounds like the rear seal on your transfer case. gear oil has a VERY distinct smell and it usually isnt clear.

 

Is it a major pain to replace the seal or can I keep driving and just keep putting in more oil from time to time?

And thanks for the quick replies, guys. This forum is great!

 

maybe too easy, but could it have been the water from the a/c??

 

Sounds like the front oil seal on your transfer case. I had to do mine on my 96' when I bought it. There are actually 2 seals there, a main seal and a smaller one inside the companion flange. Together they cost about 5 bucks from Toyota. If you do it yourself like I did, you have to remove the front drive shaft (8 bolts) then the companion flange (1 big nut) and then use a small puller to pop the flange out of the transfer case. You can then pry out the old seals with a flat screw driver covered with a rag so you don't damage anything. The new seals just press back in with a socket a little smaller than the outside of the seal. All instalation is reverse of the removal. The dealer wanted 160 dollars Cdn labour for this and it only took me about 1 hour. If you are going to do this yourself make shure you drain the transfer case before you start, and fill it with new 75-90 gear oil when your done.

Also if you are new to working on vehicles I would let Toyota take care of this one for you. It would save you alot of head aches if you're a rookie like you say. You can also keep topping up the gear oil untill you have enough money but the leak will just continue to get worse. I let mine go from not bad to pissing all over my driveway in about 4 months, till I finally got tired of topping it up.

 

You may have to trace the oil leak/drip and find the origin - or determine what type of fluid it really is!!

It could be anything from anywhere, just running along the engine and whatever else, working with and defying gravity here and there.

Pull out your creeper and a flashlight and spend a little while under the vehicle - its a great way to learn what is what

 

If you can't tell where its comming you might want to clean it all up as best as you can and check it everytime you drive it untill it shows up. They make dye for anything too. Shows up with uv light.

 

I've been reading old posts for a while today. It sounds like it's exactly what Slick says. I'll probably just have the dealer do it since I dont have air tools, gear puller etc. Hopefully it will just be a $100 job and not a tear down of the T/C. Thanks for the help all!