[nitely]

The TC is sealed if you do not touch it. Once CVT, TC and AXLE is parted from each other the seal will be broken and fluids can mix and spill. I think turbizzy made that point when replacing the right axle seal on an awd.
Even if they just top off the TC fluid during removal and assembly of the new CVT, paying $289 for a TC fluid change/flush is just too much. All they are doing is unscrewing 2 bolts and replacing the fluid with ease since its out already. Coulda sworn that they replaced my TC fluid when I had a TC/CVT seals leak repaired under warranty 3 years back.

Just took a quick look at the FSM and I maybe wrong in saying that they needed to drain the TC fluid when replacing the CVT. I just thought its just the proper way of doing it since its already out and only takes a pint of oil. Topping it off is certainly part of it though. Anyways, if The price is right for him then cool. I just drained and refilled my TC fluid few months back for $15.

 

[nipsirc]

Turbizzy said ... "Replacing the seal is not difficult at all, but the work to remove the transfercase can get involved. Basically what i do is remove the exhaust y pipe, engine sub frame, rear exhaust manifold, drain a few qts of cvt fluid and all of the TC fluid, remove the rh axle and remove the TC, replace seal and vise versa, top fluids, etc.

 

[Phife]

Trying to check/change my Tcase oil and I cant get the damn filler bolt off. I can only turn it about 1/8 of a turn with my long wrench and the smaller wrench is even harder to work with.

Has anyone found a tool that would make this easier? Ive seen curved boxed wrenches and ratcheting wrenches, anyone had any luck with those?

I can see I have a small leak from the the Tcase and wanted to be able to keep a regular eye on it until I can afford to get it fixed.

I wish i had a lift..

Thanks for any help..

 

[nitely]

Try the 1/4" drive ratchet with 12 mm socket. Then add a pipe extension. I used an old 3/4" copper pipe about a foot long or so. You can turn it little by little with no problem. Putting the filler bolt back in with the ultra grey on it is a bit tricky also. I use a long box wrench to put it on the thread then continue with the 1/4" ratchet to tighten it.

 

[Phife]

I wasn't able to get a socket in there, so I found a stubby ratcheting boxed wrench, its about 5" long and the closed end has a ratcheting mechanism that requires very little swing.

So I bought it for $8. It works well for removing the hard to get to filler bolt. Anyone else that has trouble, this tool worked for me.

 

[TJ12345]

did you have trouble getting a allen wrench to the filler bolt of the rear differential? my allen wrench couldnt get to the hex because of that steel frame on the way. the transfer case fill bolt was tough as well. any suggestions on how to get those off. will work on those in another time.

 

[nitely]

did you have trouble getting a allen wrench to the filler bolt of the rear differential? my allen wrench couldnt get to the hex because of that steel frame on the way. the transfer case fill bolt was tough as well. any suggestions on how to get those off. will work on those in another time.

For the rear diff...I just used the $1 allen I got from the dollar store and extended the long end with socket extensions to get leverage. Works fine. The longer you can extend the allen the easier to break loose the plug.

 

[nipsirc]

I had mine done by the dealership both TC and Rear Diff.
Cost was $80 dollars + taxes for each Diff.
They forgot to bill the other service so I got two-for-one-deal..... what an idiot !
Good for me !!! LOL

 

[pridbor]

I didn't see this as a "sticky" did you remember to make it one, or am I looking in the wrong area?

Really helpful thread!

 

[jwa95ta]

Checked my TC oil this weekend as I suspect I have a leak. This writeup was really helpful, but I had the hardest time finding the bolt to where I fill the TC oil, and check it.

I finally found it, and it appears someone has replaced my bold from a 12mm to just one you can put a 1/2" drive socket wrench in without a socket and remove it.

Considering I have had seals replaced before, and the engine replaced, maybe someone stripped the 12mm and found that as a replacement. Lots easier IMHO.

Anyways, looks like the seals are leaking , and of course this is out of warranty, just wondering what the going rate/price is to have the TC seals replaced? It appears there would be lots of labor involved.


Thanks

Jason

 

[Phife]

Checked my TC oil this weekend as I suspect I have a leak. This writeup was really helpful, but I had the hardest time finding the bolt to where I fill the TC oil, and check it.

I finally found it, and it appears someone has replaced my bold from a 12mm to just one you can put a 1/2" drive socket wrench in without a socket and remove it.

Considering I have had seals replaced before, and the engine replaced, maybe someone stripped the 12mm and found that as a replacement. Lots easier IMHO.

Anyways, looks like the seals are leaking , and of course this is out of warranty, just wondering what the going rate/price is to have the TC seals replaced? It appears there would be lots of labor involved.


Thanks

Jason

Im in Canada, and I got quoted $2500 from the Dealership and $1700 from a local mechanic. I think they said 15H labour?

Ive got a slow leak too, but not very much, so I just have the mechanic check and top up the TC fluid during oil changes, I will eventually have it fixed but I figure keeping an eye on it and topping it up should keep it going until I can afford to fix it.

 

[rzsionak]

I just did the Transfer Case and Rear Diff this weekend and can provide some tips on those fill bolts.

The TC fill bolt is a challenge to get to. I used a Craftsman dogbone wrench to loosen it and a stubby ratcheting flex wrench (flex to fit in there better) to unscrew it the rest of the way. Craftsman has a ratcheting dogbone, but it doesn't have 12mm on it. The dogbone wrench loosened the fill bolt very easily as it's a 6 point wrench with a lot of meat to it. It didn't require any liquid wrench.

For the fill bolt on the rear differential, there's a hole in the frame that you can insert your socket through. Doing so with a short socket extension, it was very easy to undo that bolt.

Hope this helps anyone having trouble with the TC or Diff.

 

[Mckinjc]

Success

I used the 12 mm offset box wrench to remove the fill plug on my transfer case. I bought the set above from harbor freight. I also occasionally used a regular 8" long 12mm wrench. It was tedious but it worked. I believe a ratcheting box wrench would work also.


I used a vacuum pump seen below to fill the tranfer case with gear oil. Just slowly pump it in until it starts overflowing. I bought the one seen below from harbor freight for $15

 

[scottsrepair]

just got done replacing transfer case in a 03 murano (not as bad as I thought).after test driving I wanted to re-check t-case fluid and found it was very tight access,I removed the exhaust heat shield(2 small bolts)and it helped a ton.

 

[latour]

fill plug for the rear diff

I am surprised no one mentioned having any trouble getting to the fill plug for the rear diff. I was trying to change the fluid for my 07SL / 87K for the first time, and find out that the fill plug has small clearance. My No10 allen key will not fit. What tool do you use to get to it? - Thanks.

 

[BlueHorse]

washers for rear differential

Can the old aluminum crush washers be reused, or it is best to replace with new? Autozone could not figuer out what washers I need, and I was also told you can use metal (copper, aluminum) washers as long as they are not too beaten up. Is that true? I always replace the copper washers when I do oil change.

Shot of the Drail Plug. It has a long magnet built into the tip of the plug that should be wiped clean before re-installing. Also you can see the old aluminum crush washer.
The plugs are removed using a 10 mm allen wrench with an extension pipe for leverage.

 

[BlueHorse]

I have not done it myself, but remember reading somewhere that there is some kind of box right behind the hole in the rear frame, and that somebody removed this box in order to insert tool through the hole in the frame to access the fill plug. If you know how to remove this box, pls post here.

I am surprised no one mentioned having any trouble getting to the fill plug for the rear diff. I was trying to change the fluid for my 07SL / 87K for the first time, and find out that the fill plug has small clearance. My No10 allen key will not fit. What tool do you use to get to it? - Thanks.

 

[BlueHorse]

The red circle in the attached photo is where the "box" is, and I am not sure its name or how to move it aside.

 

[BlueHorse]

Rear differential oil very clean after 110K miles

I just changed rear differential oil today. My car is 2004 AWD SE, with 110K miles.

The old oil looked really clean. The magnetic drain plug has about 2mm thick black gunk on it (see the first photo). The gunk is probably fine metal? They are not going anywhere given the magnetic plug, so I doubt whether this oil change is indeed necessary.

Is the transfer case used no more than the rear differential gear? If so, I would not want to change its oil.

For those who still wants to do the rear differential, you don't need to remove the plastic box behind the rear frame. I used a L shape 10mm Allen wrench, plus a box wrench as an extension for leverage. See the second photo. You need to slide the shorter end of the L shape Allen from the rear differential side to the back of the car, into the whole of the rear frame. The longer end of the allen wrench, depending on its length, may get stuck. In my case, I had to slide it just between the two plugs while rotating slightly to get it in.

My filler plug has two aluminum washers and drain plug has one. All 3 in good condition, so I reused all of them.

 

[BlueHorse]

did transfer case oil replacement

Changed transfer case oil today.

The oil looks much worse than the rear differential oil I mentioned in prior post... darker, brownish, and similar black gunk on the drain plug. From what I estimated, the refill capacity is ~280ml, while I only drained about ~150ml of old fluid. So I am guessing I have a slow seepage somewhere. Plan to check again in 7K~10K miles.

The 12 mm offset box wrench from Harbor Freight worked really well. I also tried a flexible racheting box wrentch and a curved 5 inch long box wrench but neither could work the filler bolt.