transfer case seal?

[broncojosh]

I have a 86 ranger,I had a mechanic tell me that my seal was bad in between my case and my trans,cuasing my reverse and eventualy everything to go.In my manual I cant find anything shows me that seal.I have already pulled the transfer case and now im not sure how where the seal is and how to replace it.help..... please...

[metalmacguyver]

there is no seal between the cases. there is a seal on the tranny and on the Tcase. if your reverse failed then its something with the seal on the transmission itself.

[Jspafford]

Some transmissions did not have a seal in the rear. Therefore they would fill up the tail housing when the fluid was added. As long as you use RTV sealant between the transfer case and the transmission it will retain the fluid and be fine.

One of my FM-146's had a rear seal in it, the other didn't, and when I took the T-case off I got a nasty 80-90w bath.

[MAKG]

There IS a seal between the transmission and transfer case. It's the transfer case front seal. But that's not going to kill your reverse gear.

[Jspafford]

There IS a seal between the transmission and transfer case. It's the transfer case front seal. But that's not going to kill your reverse gear.


While theoretically you are correct. That seal does nothing to keep the fluid inside the transmission, it only serves to keep it out of the transfer case.

[metalmacguyver]

WTF? what the hell was that engineer smoking when they designed a tranny without a rear seal?

does this mean that you have to drain the tranny fluid before pulling the Tcase?

[Jspafford]

WTF? what the hell was that engineer smoking when they designed a tranny without a rear seal?

does this mean that you have to drain the tranny fluid before pulling the Tcase?

Well you could try draining the transmission first, but it would be in vain unless you tipped the truck up on it's nose and let it drain that way. Once the fluid runs back into the tailhousing it is pretty much stuck there. There is no way to NOT get a bath in it when you seperate the two.

[metalmacguyver]

Well you could try draining the transmission first, but it would be in vain unless you tipped the truck up on it's nose and let it drain that way. Once the fluid runs back into the tailhousing it is pretty much stuck there. There is no way to NOT get a bath in it when you seperate the two.

i will remember this when i pull my tranny/tcase apart soon.

[MAKG]

Well you could try draining the transmission first, but it would be in vain unless you tipped the truck up on it's nose and let it drain that way. Once the fluid runs back into the tailhousing it is pretty much stuck there. There is no way to NOT get a bath in it when you seperate the two.

It's VERY modest, at least on those transmissions that didn't come with rear seals. I've never had a significant problem with it. Just a few drips, even on my sloping driveway with the butt end pointed downhill. Some of the transmissions (TKs) have secondary drain plugs in the extension, specifically for this. And the mount keeps almost all the fluid away from the flange.

And it's really nothing at all compared to what you get when you remove the differential cover.

The rear seal is not necessary if there is a transfer case. It's just an extra part -- and an extra cavity -- to remove oil from circulation under some circumstances. What benefit would you expect? Not having to drain the transmission when removing it? Better not tip the transmission, then (that's next to impossible), and you had better have a GOOD transmission jack and hydraulic lift.

[metalmacguyver]

i dont know what benefit i would expect if there is any. its just that intuition would lead me to expect that since everything else has some type of seal on it, the tranny output would aswell. it simply never occured to me that there wasnt a seal.

[AllanD]

WTF? what the hell was that engineer smoking when they designed a tranny without a rear seal?

does this mean that you have to drain the tranny fluid before pulling the Tcase?



I've actually always thought:
"WTF? what the hell was that engineer smoking when
they designed a tranny WITH a rear seal?"

and in addition I'd like to bitch slap the idiot responsible for the tailshaft design of the Mazda transmission because not only does it have a useless (and expensive) seal but when the seal fails some thoughtful jackass
very carefully designed in a drain passage in the gasket surface between the trans and T-case so that the oil can escape.

On a mazda trans if you seal that little drain squiggle you
can REMOVE the seal and the only thing that can happen
is that you wind up with half a quart of fluid "Trapped"
in the tailshaft housing.

Seal the transfer case to the back of the transmission with RTV
and don't worry about any internal seal.

BTW, the FM146 also uses a seal.

the ONLY purpose for that seal is to allow the transmission to be
transported and installed while pre-filled with oil.

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