Transfer Oil Leak

Cougar

Cougar

Member
Last night I noticed a clear oil on my garage floor. Upon inspection it is coming from the transer case? It appears to be coming from where the black box goes into the transfer case? Is this a actuator or solenoid? Has anyone had this problem before. I have 135,000 miles and it's the first time I've even experienced a leak so I can't complain. I'm just worried this may be expensive.

I've include a picture for reference. Any help would be appreciated.
 

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I would try a resnug of the attachment bolts first. I like to loosen by a quarter turn then resnug so I get a good feel for it to avoid breaking something...

It might have just loosened up a hair.

:cheers:
 
Transfer Case Actuator

Good luck! Retightening the nuts won't help - a very disappointing design is the issue. Toyota built the seal into the transfer case actuator - and that is the problem. In a nutshell, you'll have to replace the actuator (I know there is no problem with the actuator, but the seal is integral, not a logical o-ring) and that is about 1600 for the part, and 12 hours of labor. The math isn't pretty. I speak from experience - a very slow leak from this part and the dealer gave me the bad news. I took it to a local mechanic I trust, and we lifted the truck and he agreed - I asked him if he wanted to do it, and he said "no way". I was really furious with the lack of foresight in this design - a perfectly good actuator, with a weak seal, and instead of replacing a $4 seal, you have to replace a $1600 part. My dealership was actually really good on this one - charged around 1K for the part with a big discount and 50 per hour labor (normally 90)

Sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news - and it's not that uncommon a problem, unfortunately. Most of the ones I've heard about were under warranty. Good luck!
 
Also, it won't remain a slow leak for long - it WILL get worse, and you don't want to be driving with no gear oil in there...
 
Bad Design is right

Funny that I got your post just 30 minutes after talking to my local transmission shop about the very same thing. He told me it was the worst design he's ever seen! He said normally you would just replace the seal, but you can't on this design and you have to replace the whole thing.

My mechanic said he found a used one with 33,000 miles and he will check it over real good before he installs it to make sure it's not leaking. He told me the total cost with the used part is $950.00. I told him I was hesitant about putting a used part in that could fail again but to proceed. It would cost $1,025.00 for the new part plus labor and materials. I figured I'd save about $800.00 going this route. I just hope it works!

2003 4-Runner
V8 Sport
149,000 miles
 
Sounds like a reasonable deal - but keep in mind that I've heard of these things going out around 70 or 80K, and if you're keeping your 4Runner more than 200K, you may be gambling on that seal. Worst case scenario, you've got 50K more on it, best case, it never leaks. Good Luck!

It is a pretty darn poor design. I love my truck, but it's nowhere near as solid and reliable a vehicle as my 97 was. Nice new safety features, horsepower & torque, etc. But the assembly and materials just don't feel as solid - and it seems to be a fairly common opion with those who have had more than a couple of 4Runners over the years.

I hope it doesn't get any worse - been lots of problems with Camrys, Siennas, and Avalons. 4Runners are still built in Japan, for what that's worth, but I just think the engineering overkill isn't there anymore.
 
I appreciate the comments. I found it strange that no one else had mentioned this problem before on this site, at least that I could find. I should get my 4-Runner back tomorrow. I'm hoping that this fix lasts awhile because I do plan on keeping it a couple more years. I just paid it off this summer and I'd like it to start paying me back!

I guess I was lucky that mine didn't leak until the 149,000 mile mark. Do you think it makes a difference by how often you put it into the low gear? I've heard people say you need to do this every now and then to keep things lubricated.
 
Weird.

Never heard of it.

Why do you say "so unreliable"?

We have 75k on our '04 now. It feels solid to me, and the only problems I've had so far is the rear license plate bulb burned out, and the seal from the axle housing and third was bad.

We got the car for my mom with 0 miles and fresh off the truck :D . It wasn't until I turned 15 that I started to do the maintenance on all of our cars. By then Toyota replaced that same seal under warranty, but used almost no FIPG or whatever. Which caused the paper seal to leak. I re-did it a month or two ago and it has been fine ever since.

My point is I think that this is seldom seen. Maybe a bad batch of seals?
 
It doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the seal. The problem is the seal isn't replaceable, it's a poor design. You basically have to pay for a $1000 part just because a $3 seal is bad. The seal is integral to the part. So, if you have oil leaking down the black box on your transfer case, get ready for a big surprise.

I may be able to post a picture later.
 
That depends on how the seal is.

Most likely it would be trial and error until we get a particular one that is good.
 
I have been dealing with this same problem as well. I have been keeping an eye on it for a while now. Do you know how hard this would be to fix myself. Paying over $1000 is pretty steep. By the way I have 103,000 on my 4Runner.
 
Well I have to get the 4runner prepped for a cross country trip. 1,700 miles in one day! lol.

I'll be checking everything over, and if the t-case needs to be done ill check it out.
 
Transfer Case

To the earlier post that it's not commonly seen - search for the terms transfer case actuator and you'll find several people on this forum have seen it - RTV isn't a solution that works. And the seal does not detach from the actuator, so you can't simply remove the seal and replace. As said earlier, it's an integral part of the transfer case actuator. And my 04 V8 is at 120K now, and has not been anywhere near as reliable as my 97. Perhaps compared to a Ford or Chevy, but in 210K on my 97, the only items that needed addressing were normal maintenance, not a single repair outside of standard maintenance - oil, filters, belts, brakes - it was a better vehicle. I've had my driver's side seat replaced, sunroof, transfer case actuator, and body trim is now starting to feel loose.

All I'm saying is that yes, the 04 is nice. But the 97 was better built.

And perhaps I was spoiled by the 97 - it was bulletproof.
 
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