Transfer Case Actuator Leaking - HELP!
01-15-18, 08:39 AM
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Transfer Case Actuator Leaking - HELP!
I read iH8mud, Russian sites and all of the threads regarding this and RTFF
Some misinformation clarificaion:
1. Transfer case takes gear oil not Tranny Fluid in our GX
2. Our GX has one rod going into the actuator the 4runer has two.
My question are the following,
Leak is coming from the electrical connection , it is sitting at the highest point, so I dont think fluid travelled upward. I am guessing the Seal is broken and gear oil is filled in the Actuator motor.
I read here and elsewhere the actuator is factory filled with the transmission oil, however all of the pic I am seeing they look clean and dry internally am I correct it is not filled?
I had the O ring AND Seal 15x23x7 replaced by toyota mechanic last year. I am assuming it took a year to refil the actuator and now its leaking again.
I checked last night my Differential lock button and Hi Lo shifter all works fine. Differential locks takes about 10 seconds.
I am assuming changing the Seal and O ring should fix the issue? What about all of the fluid in the Actuator box, I will drain it via the seal hole, do I need to open it? Should I spray some brake cleaner on the electrical harness?
Please help.
Some misinformation clarificaion:
1. Transfer case takes gear oil not Tranny Fluid in our GX
2. Our GX has one rod going into the actuator the 4runer has two.
My question are the following,
Leak is coming from the electrical connection , it is sitting at the highest point, so I dont think fluid travelled upward. I am guessing the Seal is broken and gear oil is filled in the Actuator motor.
I read here and elsewhere the actuator is factory filled with the transmission oil, however all of the pic I am seeing they look clean and dry internally am I correct it is not filled?
I had the O ring AND Seal 15x23x7 replaced by toyota mechanic last year. I am assuming it took a year to refil the actuator and now its leaking again.
I checked last night my Differential lock button and Hi Lo shifter all works fine. Differential locks takes about 10 seconds.
I am assuming changing the Seal and O ring should fix the issue? What about all of the fluid in the Actuator box, I will drain it via the seal hole, do I need to open it? Should I spray some brake cleaner on the electrical harness?
Please help.
01-15-18, 03:03 PM
#2
Pole Position
If it's been a year or close to it you should be under warranty I would think. If it was me, I would be giving the dealer a ear full! DO NOT use brake clean on anything electrical, a technician of mine did that and fried a sensor. I realize this is the outside of the plug but better safe than sorry. They make electrical connector cleaner. As far as the actuator being filled with ATF I never heard anyone mention as I been doing research and getting ready to replace my O ring and seal. There is no way it should be a yearly procedure!
01-15-18, 04:03 PM
#3
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Thanks Diablo,
Past work is out of warranty: I wont be taking back to Toyota mechanic, I want it done right this time. I ordered 3 seals (2 as a backup, or if i tear up while inserting into the shaft) for $12 total, picked up the O ring from the dealer.
I will pull it out, drain out gear oil from the actuator through the shaft hole, clean up outside much as possible, reinstall it.
I called the mechanic who installed it last year, he said new seal may of been damaged while inserting the shaft into actuator.
Past work is out of warranty: I wont be taking back to Toyota mechanic, I want it done right this time. I ordered 3 seals (2 as a backup, or if i tear up while inserting into the shaft) for $12 total, picked up the O ring from the dealer.
I will pull it out, drain out gear oil from the actuator through the shaft hole, clean up outside much as possible, reinstall it.
I called the mechanic who installed it last year, he said new seal may of been damaged while inserting the shaft into actuator.
Last edited by gxman1; 01-15-18 at 04:15 PM.
01-16-18, 04:22 PM
#4
Pole Position
Thanks Diablo,
Past work is out of warranty: I wont be taking back to Toyota mechanic, I want it done right this time. I ordered 3 seals (2 as a backup, or if i tear up while inserting into the shaft) for $12 total, picked up the O ring from the dealer.
I will pull it out, drain out gear oil from the actuator through the shaft hole, clean up outside much as possible, reinstall it.
I called the mechanic who installed it last year, he said new seal may of been damaged while inserting the shaft into actuator.
Past work is out of warranty: I wont be taking back to Toyota mechanic, I want it done right this time. I ordered 3 seals (2 as a backup, or if i tear up while inserting into the shaft) for $12 total, picked up the O ring from the dealer.
I will pull it out, drain out gear oil from the actuator through the shaft hole, clean up outside much as possible, reinstall it.
I called the mechanic who installed it last year, he said new seal may of been damaged while inserting the shaft into actuator.
01-17-18, 04:57 AM
#5
I think last time the job is not done properly. Checkout and confirm the plastic is intact and not damaged...if the sealing surface has got damage then no point is replacing the O ring. You T case actuator has to be replaced.
01-17-18, 05:35 AM
#6
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I think it is Seal since there are no leaks around the part where the actuator meets the transfer case O ring area. Or as you suggested check for crack or damage.
Mann777 what should I do about fluid being in the actuator and seeping out of wiring harness?
Last edited by gxman1; 01-17-18 at 05:44 AM.
01-17-18, 05:42 AM
#7
Pole Position
Thread Starter
The seals seem like they would be pretty difficult to damage, the o ring, that's a different story. Where did you order the seals from, are they the ptfe type? Basically they have a spring inside of them. I ordered 2 hopefully I won't have to do this again. Since I'll be under there, I'm going to do the differential fluids also, going with Amsoil.
I like NBR type since they belong to rubber clasification and the PTFE belongs to thermoplastic classification. The NBR in my opinion is a better material for this applicaion, it surpasses all characteristic if PTFE with the exception of Density.
http://www.oringsandmore.com/oil-sha...rice-for-1-pc/
When I did my transfer case and differential oil change about 100K ago I used Mobil 1 gear lube 75w 90, I used it for rear and transfer case, it takes total of 6 bottles for both. I didnt have any issues and I would use Mobil 1 again, great product.
Also get: Fill/Drain plug gaskets/washers which are a couple of bucks each from Toyota (part number: 90430-18008). These are not required and the old ones can be reused of they are still in good shape.
http://www.toyota120.com/html/driveline_service.html has a great pic and tutorial on driveline service along with our sticky here.
Last edited by gxman1; 01-17-18 at 06:15 AM.
The following users liked this post:
GX4OLand (01-31-22)
Trending Topics
01-17-18, 12:06 PM
#8
Pole Position
I seem to remember something about the actuator shaft having a notch cut in it, and during reinstallation there's a caution not to damage the O-ring by getting it caught on the notch.
Chip H.
Chip H.
01-17-18, 03:34 PM
#9
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Here are the pic of the actuator and the shaft with sharp teeths. This pic were taken from Russian site. My leaks is on the actuator by the electrical harness.
01-20-18, 03:04 AM
#11
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I completed the job, pulled out the actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.
5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid
mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.
Last edited by gxman1; 01-20-18 at 03:27 AM.
01-20-18, 07:37 PM
#12
Pole Position
I completed the job, pulled out the actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.
5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid
mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.
01-21-18, 07:32 AM
#13
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Good luck, and please post your expereince here. Also, I am not sure why many people only change the O ring and not do the seal. I know the seal is not easlily available, but if you order a week in advance it will be at your home at a cost of $10 for 3 pcs.
The reason you want to change the seal is , as you pull out the Actuator, you will most likely damage the seal, since the rod has so many sharp teeth. It is so easy to change the seal.
My first leak was from O ring failure, because the oil was leaking by the transfer case and actuator where they meet. My 2nd leak was from the actuator being filled of oil and leaking from the plug.
If anyone doing the job order the seal a week in advance from source listed earlier or any other place since the dealer do not sell the seal, order the O ring from toyota dealer. Have a bottle of Mobil 1 gear oil bottle handy.
The reason you want to change the seal is , as you pull out the Actuator, you will most likely damage the seal, since the rod has so many sharp teeth. It is so easy to change the seal.
My first leak was from O ring failure, because the oil was leaking by the transfer case and actuator where they meet. My 2nd leak was from the actuator being filled of oil and leaking from the plug.
If anyone doing the job order the seal a week in advance from source listed earlier or any other place since the dealer do not sell the seal, order the O ring from toyota dealer. Have a bottle of Mobil 1 gear oil bottle handy.
11-05-20, 08:37 AM
#14
Is it hard finding a mechanic to do this work without dropping the transfer case (per the book)? Anyone know anyone in NC that has done this and wants to make a little money?
01-30-22, 08:23 AM
#15
I completed the job, pulled out the actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.
5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.
1. Took off 3 bolts and disconnected the wiring harnes at actuator and the vent tube.
2. Pulled back, it came out about an inch and was stuck, slowly turned counter clockwise and kept pulling and it came out no crackling sound.
3. The actuator was full with oil, I drained it via the rod hole, gave it a good cleaning on the out side, and let the inside oil drain for an hour. Cleaned the connector both side the harness and at the actuator.
4. pulled the seal out, previously stupid
mechanic changed the seal to wrong size it was only 3MM tall as opposed to 7mm. Upon close inspection saw inner lip was also bad.5. Installed the new O ring and new seal, tapped it with the wide socket placed over outside of the seal into the the actuator.
6. Put grease on the teeth of the shaft, and greased up the Seal opening, and lightly coated the O ring, renstalled it. I put some dilectric grease on the electrical connection.
7. Lower the truck off the ramp, once leveled checked the transfer case oil level.
8. Made sure there are no residue of oil, gave it a good cleaning.
9. There is a protection plate underneath the transfer case and when you pull the actuator out, the oil spills and pools into the protection plate, make sure to clean it out, it is held by four bolts, otherwise you may think a dropped oil from there is from the actuator.
10. Easier than an oil change ..slow and careful.
11. Drove it around the block, when I was close to home, I stopped and pressed the differential lock button and prayed, it locked up so fast withn 2 seconds, it was taking over 20 seconds yesterday, I guess being full of oil had to do something. Drove it slowly and made 1 hard left turn and can feel the wheels binding, didnt want to do this, since I was not on gravel or wet surface, but curious to see if it works. All good. Turned off the differential lock.
12. stopped the truck, put in N and changes the Hi Lo to put in Lo and put the car in drive and drove no issues. Stopped the truck, put the shifter in N and put the car back at normal Hi position and than to D and was done. All good.
If you take to a mechanic make sure you see what the heck he is doing, and inspect the part he takes out, On a Previous job I paid shop around $200 for this easy job by "Toyota/Lexus Mechanic" for a professional job. he not only used a thinner seal he over charged, If some mechanic is doing this, it should not cost more than $75. Its a 15 minute job, all you need is 12MM socket, and an extention, rags, bucket to catch oil when opening, $3 seal , $4 O ring from Dealer, can of brake cleaner, ramp and wheel chock and a pair of glove. I took my time and made sure all of the oil was out of actuator.