Just bought a 2003 4R with 190K and V8, leak at back of transmission

[werminghausen]

I just bought a 'new' 4th Genration 4R. Engine is very smooth.
Alls seems to work (except for the brakes- they suck, need to rebuild calipers) but there is a big leak at the output side of the transmission... it is dripping from something that looks like an electrical attachment facing the rear of the car, not sure where the leaks is exactly. It is not the output shaft. It could be a seal from the rear of transmission to that el attachment? It is dripping down from that attachment
Is there a notorious leak point?
Need some help.
I can take a picture if this is easier.

Best, Martin

 

[werminghausen]

Here in the fist picture you see the drop hanging at the lowest corner of the attachment (don't know a better word). And from there it is dripping to the floor.

Also few pictures of the car.
It is overall in good shape despite the rust on a New Englander car.

The car needs to be lifted a bit, new tires and new brakes will make big improvement.

These boards on the side rather suck, they need to go as well.

The most annoying parts at this point however is the transmission leak down there.

Thanks for helping me out.

Martin

 

[hinmo24t]

tcase or actuator leak im pretty sure. did you see it before buying it? could have probably worked the price a bit better if so. good luck, there are a lot of threads on the subject from this forum i believe.

 

[xtremewlr]

tcase or actuator leak im pretty sure. did you see it before buying it? could have probably worked the price a bit better if so. good luck, there are a lot of threads on the subject from this forum i believe.

Agreed, actuator leaks. You should get under there and clear really well to pinpoint where the leak is coming from but plan on having some work to do to replace the seals.

 

[werminghausen]

Thanks,
So this attachment is the 'actuator'. Actuating what? HI LO gears or locking differentials?
Yes agreed I need to clean that area.
Do you guys have a diagram showing the parts and seals (and part numbers) needed for the repair?

Cheers, Martin

 

[werminghausen]

tcase or actuator leak im pretty sure. did you see it before buying it? could have probably worked the price a bit better if so. good luck, there are a lot of threads on the subject from this forum i believe.

No I didn't see this problem when buying. I paid 4300 for the car...not too crazy.

Martin

 

[xtremewlr]

Thanks,
So this attachment is the 'actuator'. Actuating what? HI LO gears or locking differentials?
Yes agreed I need to clean that area.
Do you guys have a diagram showing the parts and seals (and part numbers) needed for the repair?

Cheers, Martin

Yes, the actuator is for selecting hi/lo and locking the center differential.

I think there is a sticky with links to the service manuals above. You can also look online - Toyota Parts Center Online | Genuine Toyota Parts & Accessories

 

[werminghausen]

Still need help


Meanwhile I understand that I need to remove the TC in order to remove the Actuator. Leak is through the connecting rode and or large round gasket at black plastic housing backside. Pain in the neck and a day of work....if everything goes fine.

Where can I get a good diagram to better understand the parts that fall on the floor at one point?
And a list of parts (gaskets and seals ) to buy from Toyota to do a proper job?

I have a car lift and basic tools around and I have worked on cars a lot... I am just not familiar with Toyota and this new 4R.

Martin

 

[ZLJUANN]

Still need help


Meanwhile I understand that I need to remove the TC in order to remove the Actuator. Leak is through the connecting rode and or large round gasket at black plastic housing backside. Pain in the neck and a day of work....if everything goes fine.

Where can I get a good diagram to better understand the parts that fall on the floor at one point?
And a list of parts (gaskets and seals ) to buy from Toyota to do a proper job?

I have a car lift and basic tools around and I have worked on cars a lot... I am just not familiar with Toyota and this new 4R.

Martin

I used the blue devil stop leak when mine developed an insane leak from there. Basically the seals dry up from lack of use.I believe the blue devil "rejuvenates" the seals, buying you some time. my leak was really bad and it stopped altogether.

Pour the stop leak in, fill the rest with the right gear oil, drive it and actuate all the modes until it stops, drain and replace with the right gear oil. Use the actuator periodically. This was my solve while not the "correct" solve. It was also a 200k mile 03 that I bought for 4k to beat on, so ripping the tcase apart was not an option for me.

Now if we were talking about my 06 v8 4wd long travel rig, I think I'd do the seals.

 

[SolRayz]

I'm currently trying AT-205 reseal on mine. So far so good. I will say my actuator leak is not as bad that.

 

[werminghausen]

I used the blue devil stop leak when mine developed an insane leak from there. Basically the seals dry up from lack of use.I believe the blue devil "rejuvenates" the seals, buying you some time. my leak was really bad and it stopped altogether.

Pour the stop leak in, fill the rest with the right gear oil, drive it and actuate all the modes until it stops, drain and replace with the right gear oil. Use the actuator periodically. This was my solve while not the "correct" solve. It was also a 200k mile 03 that I bought for 4k to beat on, so ripping the tcase apart was not an option for me.

Now if we were talking about my 06 v8 4wd long travel rig, I think I'd do the seals.

]


Thanks, that is at least worth to try out. $20.
Mine is beater.... I just found a huge rust hole at the driver floor panel..ohmy...
So I need to weld this poor thing and then come back to the actuator.

Martin

 

[drallan]

TL;DR

Agreed its the TCase actuator. This is the thread I would follow. I haven't done it yet, but have all the parts and this is where I would start. Fixing the transfer case shift motor leak from within..

Long story:

I manged to induce the leak (i'm assuming) when I test drove the car. I bought it from a private seller, a nice couple in their early 30s who I would assume used it for their weekend hiking and biking adventures, so I wasn't too concerned about getting scammed. It was an 04 v8 w/ 178k when I bought it. First inspection looked good. No visible leak, and under carriage didn't show any signs of a recent cleaning so I was confident there wasn't a leak. It had recent MD inspection (very through) and fluids looked good. On the test drive I made sure to exercise all the 4wd modes to ensure the actuator worked after reading some of the use or lose threads on here. Worked like a champ bought the truck, no issues. A month later I notice a tiny drop on the driveway and after some research I figured out where it came from. Could be coincidence, but I'm assuming I probably introduced a tear or something in the o-ring when I used it. I contacted the previous owner and inquired about it, and she insisted that she never used the center diff lock, and was frankly afraid of the button.

The point of this long story is that this was 4 years ago. I'm not sure how bad your leak is, but I haven't fixed mine. It does leak a bit. I tried the Blue Devil stuff once, but probably less than I should of for fear of ruining the other gaskets. It did appear to work for a while, but leak has since returned and I haven't' tried more. Stop-leak seams to be a hit or miss fix. I just keep a cheap gallon of gear oil on hand and periodically check and top off the TCase and before long trips, but it never takes more than 1-2 pumps before it starts oozing out the fill hole. I do think based on the size of the drops in the driveway that it is getting worse. I actually have all the gaskets, just haven't taken the time to try and replace them.

 

[WacoCharlie]

Common problem on 03. There are updated parts. At some point after 03 those parts were installed in production. At the time I did my 03 only Lexus sold the updated stuff in a kit. My 05 never had an issue.