I'm changing the clutch on a friends 4runner, w56.

We seperated the transmission/tranny to make it easier to reinstall since our jack failed. I expected it to be dry between the two since they have their own fill plugs/drains, but when we cracked them, a lot of oil flowed out.

Is this normal or should we replace some seal while it's apart?

 

when you say transmission/tranny are you referring to separating the transfer case from rear section of the transmission?

if so, i believe there should be fluid there, its the fluid reservoir for the transfer case. you are going to need a gasket at least now. might as well replace the seal while you are in there. its cheap insurance. just my 2 cents. but wait and see what other people think too i guess.

 

yes, we separated the transfer case from the transmission so we could easily install each separately w/out a jack. Probably could have put it in as one, but this made it much easier on the arms.

 

ok then i think you should be okay as long as it wasnt leaking out of that seam before. the only seal there is in the output shaft of the transmission and around the perimeter of the case is the gasket. i dont THINK there are any seals on the front end of the transfer case shafts that could be leaking. but you could tell just by looking at the separated transfer case. you will see the ends of two shafts, vertically. just check to see that there is no black rubber seal around those shafts that could be leaking. (i just cant remember ) but if there isnt then you could just put a new gasket there and refill with new fluid.

if the seal on the output of the transmission was bad, your fluids could mix between the transfer and transmission, but not necessarily leak out of the seal if the gasket was good. so you would have to actually inspect that seal (in the back of the transmission)

 

Pretty sure there's not supposed to be oil between the tcase and trans. Both shafts have seals to keep their respective gear oil in. You might hunt for some pictures to verify this for yourself.

 

is there seals on the front half of the transfer case?
im pretty sure my fsm says that the front half of the transfer case has gaskets.

from what i can see, from a quick peak, it shows the only seals on the rear of the case behind the rear output shaft bearing and another on the extension housing. the rest are just gaskets.

 

now idk. toyotapartszone.com is showing something that might look like a seal.

36117A SEAL, OIL(FOR TRANSFER ADAPTER)
**311-32009 1983.08-1989.03

lets see if someone else can confirm this. but that might be the one i was refering to in the back of the transmission on the output.

 

I wish I had thought of this before putting it back together. Now I'm thinking it's better to drop it again and double check...

Looking through the FSM, it's probably this seal that needs replacing...

 

Yeah, I have pulled the tcase off before and I don't remember taking a bath in GL-5

 

fluid in there is NORMAL. The front of the transfer case is just two open faced bearings, the fluid is free to flow through the bearings but not into the tranny, that is the seal your looking at. they have to separate from each other to maintain the proper fluid levels, but the gear oil inside the transmission tailshaft housing is from the transfer case. There is the paper gasket that seals between the two, I would recommend using Toyota FIPG instead, but the oil will always be there. Look at the front of the t-case and you will see it seals to the back of the tranny. you just have to make sure the transmission output seal shown in the pictures is still good, otherwise on a steep hillclimb your transmission would drain into your t-case. Don't sweat the oil being there.

 

thanks abe.
i didnt think i was crazy.
i hope this guy got his junk slapped back together.

 

This was not the case with mine. When I changed out to a 4.7 t case there was no oil in between the two. I think the OP needs to take another look at the transmission output seal.

 

The transmission output seal looked fine, but I didn't inspect that closely. It was definitely intact and clean though so if any oil was leaking, it would be minimal.

Maybe there was more oil then expected because the t/tc were on the ground for a day?
Maybe the angle it was sitting at let the oil drain into the middle section?

My buddy drained the transmission and didn't really pay attention to how much oil was in there, but there was a reasonable amount.

Unfortunately everything is put back together and he's on his way back out of town so I'll just get him to check his levels and will post back if anything is out of normal.

 

Was no oil between mine last time I had them separated.

 

Possibly some of the rangeboxes had sealed bearing installed rather than open faced bearings, but every one I have ever seen used bearings that allowed the oil the run into the back of the tailshaft housing, still sealing it between the two. Honestly wondered why they would do it that way, but that has been my experience.

 

Mine also did not have any oil present when I seperated the tanny and the transfer case. The oil for the two are kept seperate. I think you have a seal that is bad.

 

No bad seals, they are open faced bearings. Open faced bearings cannot retain oil within the case, allowing the oil to flow forward allows for a larger oil bath for the t-case, but the seals are good. Appreciate the concern, but seriously... I am not a total moron. Every t-case I have seen allows for the oil between the two. The transmission output seal is good or the tranny would be low on oil, and the t-case would be overflowing. IF they were sealed bearings, then yes, oil between the two would be a sure sign of a seal failure.