Tranny Case Q

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 11:57 am

Should it be looking all greasy and grimy like this? I think I might have a leak of some sorts. (I wiped most of it off)

blackwidowkj06 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:57 pm

They will get like that over time. Mine looks the same way. I wouldn't worry about it unless it quits working or fluid is dripping out a lot.
Have you changed your transfer case fluid yet?

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:14 pm

If it looks like that you have a leak
Mines dry after 180,000 miles
Leave it be and more dirt etc will get in
Clean it real good and find out what the problem is

KJ_WHEELER_2010 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:02 pm

tommudd wrote:

If it looks like that you have a leak
Mines dry after 180,000 miles
Leave it be and more dirt etc will get in
Clean it real good and find out what the problem is

X2 mines clean and dry. I also wash the underside everytime I give the Jeep a bath.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:41 pm

blackwidowkj06 wrote:

They will get like that over time. Mine looks the same way. I wouldn't worry about it unless it quits working or fluid is dripping out a lot.
Have you changed your transfer case fluid yet?

I don't know if the fluid has been changed since I'm not the original owner. I bought it off my uncle last christmas and have no idea if it's been changed or not. He's taken good care of it and has taken it to the dealer for the required maintenance. New plugs, coolant flushed, new oil, filters, and not sure what else was done at 100k.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 4:42 pm

tommudd wrote:

If it looks like that you have a leak
Mines dry after 180,000 miles
Leave it be and more dirt etc will get in
Clean it real good and find out what the problem is

If I do have a leak what should I do to go about fixing it?

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:51 pm

How do I know if I have a command trac or select trac tranny case?

Gageraid · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 5:54 pm

TheBlueKJ wrote:

How do I know if I have a command trac or select trac tranny case?

Do you have the bill of sale maybe? On the KK, our 4x4 selector are the dead giveaway. Mine is a Command Trac.

Someone smarter than me in this area will probably have a more educated answer.

Gageraid · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:00 pm

TheBlueKJ wrote:

tommudd wrote:

If it looks like that you have a leak
Mines dry after 180,000 miles
Leave it be and more dirt etc will get in
Clean it real good and find out what the problem is

If I do have a leak what should I do to go about fixing it?

Honestly, it looks normal to me. Give it a good scrub, and keep an eye on it. If it's leaking, it's probably just from the gasket/RTV sealant holding it on. That's what you look for. If it's parked overnight or for a few days, put some card board under the Jeep on your driveway by where it might be leaking.

It it is leaking, changing the fluid and replacing it with a new gasket or sealant, whichever is correct for that Liberty, would probably solve it. Worst case scenario, new differential cover in case the original is warped, in that case, you'd still be replacing the fluid.

Highly recommend changing the fluid sooner than later anyway.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:13 pm

Gageraid wrote:

TheBlueKJ wrote:

tommudd wrote:

If it looks like that you have a leak
Mines dry after 180,000 miles
Leave it be and more dirt etc will get in
Clean it real good and find out what the problem is

If I do have a leak what should I do to go about fixing it?

Honestly, it looks normal to me. Give it a good scrub, and keep an eye on it. If it's leaking, it's probably just from the gasket/RTV sealant holding it on. That's what you look for. If it's parked overnight or for a few days, put some card board under the Jeep on your driveway by where it might be leaking.

It it is leaking, changing the fluid and replacing it with a new gasket or sealant, whichever is correct for that Liberty, would probably solve it. Worst case scenario, new differential cover in case the original is warped, in that case, you'd still be replacing the fluid.

Highly recommend changing the fluid sooner than later anyway.

It's the transfer case not differential. I mean it is pretty gummed up. I'll more then likely take a wire brush to it to get all of the built up crude off and then change the fluid. But it looks like something got sprayed all over the place down there, like all around the undercarriage were the drive shaft links into it.

Gageraid · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:15 pm

My bad. It's not often that those parts get cleaned. Next chance you get, do exactly that.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:55 pm

Gageraid wrote:

My bad. It's not often that those parts get cleaned. Next chance you get, do exactly that.

You keep them clean so that if you do have a leak you can see right where it is
Its more than likely just the seal but spray it off with engine cleaner, hose it off and then watch it closely to see what it is

At The Helm · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 7:34 pm

I'd also check the fluid level to make sure its full in the meantime. Should be at the bottom edge of the fill plug parked level.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:24 pm

Will do. And if there is a leak all I have to do is repair the seal?

user113 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:00 pm

TheBlueKJ wrote:

Will do. And if there is a leak all I have to do is repair the seal?

That will depend entirely upon where the leak actually is. But if it were mine, I would get the leak fixed at some point. It's usually not too expensive, but I would go to a good transmission shop rather than the dealer; it should be cheaper.

Gageraid · **Posted:** Mon Jan 21, 2013 12:14 am

tommudd wrote:

Gageraid wrote:

My bad. It's not often that those parts get cleaned. Next chance you get, do exactly that.

You keep them clean so that if you do have a leak you can see right where it is
Its more than likely just the seal but spray it off with engine cleaner, hose it off and then watch it closely to see what it is

I agree. The bottom of the Jeep is the first thing I wash off when I'm taking care of her.

Who knows if the previous owner ever did that before him though... years of neglect could be evident here.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Mon Jan 21, 2013 2:39 pm

I've cleaned it up and so far no more leakage. It's stayed dry over night ad is still dry as of now. I'm going to change the fluid as soon as I get a chance, just to be safe.

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Sun Feb 24, 2013 1:51 pm

I've come to the conclusion that the seal where it is bolted into the tcase is old and needs to be replaced. So my next question is how hard is it to replace and what else should I replace while doing it?

dgeist · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2013 6:09 pm

no-one appears to have mentioned it, but you likely have an NP/NV231 or NP/NV242 transfer case. There are only a couple variations used on the KJs, and most of the gas models have the first one. To be sure, find the ID tag on the back of the case (usually to the left of the rear output shaft) and clean/read it. Command-trac refers to the series of transfer cases that have 4HI/2Hi/Neutral/4Lo option (i.e. the 231). Selectrac refers to the family of cases that added a center differential for a "full-time-4wd" option (i.e. i.e 242).

Assuming you're correct in your diagnosis, knowing which case it is makes all the difference. The "output shaft seal" is what you want, I believe, and depending on the model, should be pretty easy to remove and replace. Not sure if you need to slide the seal off the shaft or the other way around. It might depend on what's covered up by that boot (i.e. can you remove the slip-yoke from the shaft to allow the seal to slide off).

Here's what a tag looks like:

Dan

TheBlueKJ · **Posted:** Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:30 pm

dgeist wrote:

no-one appears to have mentioned it, but you likely have an NP/NV231 or NP/NV242 transfer case. There are only a couple variations used on the KJs, and most of the gas models have the first one. To be sure, find the ID tag on the back of the case (usually to the left of the rear output shaft) and clean/read it. Command-trac refers to the series of transfer cases that have 4HI/2Hi/Neutral/4Lo option (i.e. the 231). Selectrac refers to the family of cases that added a center differential for a "full-time-4wd" option (i.e. i.e 242).

Assuming you're correct in your diagnosis, knowing which case it is makes all the difference. The "output shaft seal" is what you want, I believe, and depending on the model, should be pretty easy to remove and replace. Not sure if you need to slide the seal off the shaft or the other way around. It might depend on what's covered up by that boot (i.e. can you remove the slip-yoke from the shaft to allow the seal to slide off).

Here's what a tag looks like:

Dan

I know for a fact I have the 231 t-case. Now I'm just wondering how hard it is to replace the seal. I'm hoping it's what you said with just removing the slip yoke and sliding the seal off. i asked one of the techs at work what they thought (I work at pepboys) and he said I need to rebuild the t-case or buy another (wtf?)

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