Transfer Case Nearly Dry

[Badunit]

I found my transfer case to be nearly dry today, 1/2 qt in it vs the 2 qts it should have. It might have happened when I had a new a clutch installed by a shop (10K miles ago) or maybe just a slow leak over a long period of time (60K miles). Either way, no noises or other problems so far but I am concerned. Anyone else run one this dry for so long and have it live through it?

 

[jelag]

I lost 2 of them (transfer cases) from a lube center that failed to check them when the trucks were in for lube/oil/filter changes once a month.... from that point on we did the service in house... and we checked them every month... we actually added a pint or so extra... so we'd loosen the plug and if it seeped out we'd tighten the plug...

Like you... I had no clue where it went... no splash from either drive shaft... in both cases we lost them from dry bearings... I don't have a clue if yours is OK.... but I'd sure put fresh oil in it... run it or 60 days and change it... if in 60 days its hasn't started to make noise and when you drain it out.... its not full of steel.. I'd run it... if its full of silver from the bearings, I'd buy a kit and overhaul it....

A service kit is available ..... seals, bearings, and chain...

On the trucks we've had over the years where we've kept the oil good... we've ran them 400K miles before I sold them with no problems.... so its good design...

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

You might get lucky. The transfer case doesn't lube by splash alone; it has a pump with a pickup tube near the bottom where there is a flat in the case.

 

[Regcabguy]

Joe,
What's a good service interval for a transfercase?
I've got 20K on mine. No towing.

 

[BDaugherty]

Service at same interval as trans. It's quick, easy, and cheap as it only holds 2 QTS. Even the newer ones are still less than 3 QTS.

 

[Badunit]

Looks like I got lucky. I drained & refilled my transfer case today and no signs of damage.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

ATF+4 seems to last longer than +3. With light use of 4wd, I guess around 15-20k or whatever your owner's manual says. +4 is good for NV cases. Ram went to Borg Warner cases about a year or so ago, a special BW fluid is correct for those cases. I haven't found BW fluid except at the dealer. As above, they don't hold a lot so it doesn't make sense to try to save a buck by not changing the lube.