Actuator leak temperature related?

[Bob22222]

My transfercase actuator (developed a rather serious (noticeable dripping down the case and a few half dollar size stains each time after parking) so I waited for the weather to ease up a bit. Got the required seals and cleaned it up at the spray wash and stopped to exercise it ( or exorcized it?) home. I crawl under to set jack stands and there was zero signs of any leaking. It's been close to a hundred miles since and still no leak.
Now, the leak started shortly after I used the actuator when both the vehicle and weather conditions were rather cold. It was like 6 or 7 degrees below zero f. (An aside here: The car was cold because a live at the top of a big grade an don't feel extended warm ups are good for modern engines. My actuator hates to be used cold, but I was headed down a narrow and twisty road with16-18 percent grades and huge drop offs that was covered with glare ice and I wasn't chained up so a thought lots of engine braking was a good idea.
I've seen more than one owner has reported the actuator leak fixing itself. I was rather skeptical this could occur but now that I've experience the actuator self-healing phenomenon I'm a believer And wondering it anyone else has had an actuator leak that seemed likely linked to cold weather. Or if anyone has had the leak repair itself what do you attribute it too? And did the leak come back?

 

[techoguy]

My transfercase actuator (developed a rather serious (noticeable dripping down the case and a few half dollar size stains each time after parking) so I waited for the weather to ease up a bit. Got the required seals and cleaned it up at the spray wash and stopped to exercise it ( or exorcized it?) home. I crawl under to set jack stands and there was zero signs of any leaking. It's been close to a hundred miles since and still no leak.
Now, the leak started shortly after I used the actuator when both the vehicle and weather conditions were rather cold. It was like 6 or 7 degrees below zero f. (An aside here: The car was cold because a live at the top of a big grade an don't feel extended warm ups are good for modern engines. My actuator hates to be used cold, but I was headed down a narrow and twisty road with16-18 percent grades and huge drop offs that was covered with glare ice and I wasn't chained up so a thought lots of engine braking was a good idea.
I've seen more than one owner has reported the actuator leak fixing itself. I was rather skeptical this could occur but now that I've experience the actuator self-healing phenomenon I'm a believer And wondering it anyone else has had an actuator leak that seemed likely linked to cold weather. Or if anyone has had the leak repair itself what do you attribute it too? And did the leak come back?

Mine leaked only in cold weather. Normal temp is around 60-80 degrees where I live. No noticable leak. Drove up to the mountains for a weekend where temps were dropping to the teens. Over night there would be a 1-2" diameter oil stain in the morning. Drove back home, no more leak. Drove to the central valley where temps were dropping to high 20s and low 30s, and leak came back. Drove home, no more leak. During those times the actuator was never used.

I ended up trying blue devil as a temp fix and it hasn't leak again so far even after a couple trips to the mounts again. Eventually I'll replace the seal though.

 

[drallan]

Same here. My 04 v8 only leaks in the winter. Id say anytime the temps are consistently below 50 or so she leaks, come summer time the driveway stains stop. Has been like this for the past 2 years. I too have all the parts to replace the seals and have looked into the work (doesn't seem difficult, just time consuming and tedious). But as I only have to top off a few ounces once a year it hasn't seemed worth it. I use Penzoil Platinum and change oil every 6 months (Jan/Jun), at that time I check the transfer case level and have only ever had to put in a few ounces. It's my wife's car and she has never needed locked or lo, the regular AWD mode works just fine.

It's kind of funny, I think I caused the leak during test drive when we bought it 2 years ago. She wasn't leaking during inspection and owner didn't report anything and there were no signs of leak. I made sure to test out all the 4wd modes during test drive to ensure the actuator worked. About 2 weeks after purchase I noticed a few drops in the driveway.

 

[Bob22222]

Thanks guys, that's interesting. Anybody else? Mine still isn't leaking again and we've had temps ranging from about 11f to 40f since I cleaned it up and warmer weather set in . Now I'm really wanting to see what happen when the temps drop back down into the single digits and below. I'll try not the use it till then and see if the temp drop alone causes a leak. Then wait till it warms again and see...
By the way this vehicle has been in Colorado for the past 15 or so years and this year is the first sign of the leak. And like I said also the first time I (the past 4 years) switched it when it was so cold.