Transmission TDA Leak

mikeislost

mikeislost

New member
I smelled burning, thought possible brakes or my new tires. I discovered small puddles of ATF. :sobbing:

It appears the fluid was coming from the cover on the bottom of the Transmission "TDA". Is the TDA supposed to contain transmission fluid?

It had white moly grease on the gears. I put more white grease on the gears and put a seal and black RTV on there.. Tomorrow after the RTV cures I was going to check the transmission fluid but now I am unsure if the Transmission fluid was even supposed to be in the TDA because when I pulled it of there was ZERO ATF in there just residual fluid.

Thank you for any help.
 
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Sorry, Transfer Drive Actuator. Its the black box on the Aft end of the transmission.

Found info on replacing it but I am not sure if there is supposed to be fluid in there. I originally thought it should get lubricant from the transmission, but the white grease in there makes me question that idea.
 
Transfer case, not transmission. Sounds like your leak was very serious.

If you have transmission fluid leaking into your transfer case you've got bigger issues.
 
Hopefully it was not transmission fluid then. I will look up how to check the transer case fluid and see i its the same and top it off... Now I feel really stupid :bash:
 
mikeislost said:
Hopefully it was not transmission fluid then. I will look up how to check the transer case fluid and see i its the same and top it off... Now I feel really stupid :bash:
Click to expand...

It takes 75W-90 fluid. A member on here had good results using White Shepard, a liquid sealant that you actually put inside with the fluid.

Don't feel that dumb, people have drained the transmission thinking it was the engine oil on here.
 
Well at least I just got my 6 year pay raise for E-5... Got my first check and bam.. discover this. I will keep you updated with the outcome. I saw the drain port while I was under there, but cannot find online where the fill port is located. I am sure I could get under and find it tomorrow but I do not want to pull the wrong plug.
 
mikeislost said:
Well at least I just got my 6 year pay raise for E-5... Got my first check and bam.. discover this. I will keep you updated with the outcome. I saw the drain port while I was under there, but cannot find online where the fill port is located. I am sure I could get under and find it tomorrow but I do not want to pull the wrong plug.
Click to expand...

here ya go............make sure you remove the fill plug FIRST, u don't wanna drain it and not be able to refill it if the fill plug is froze

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/maintenance/48527-changing-differential-transfer-case-fluids-pics-included.html
 
Eh its 2003 4runner V8 4x4, and its the black box with a little skid plate attached to the cover that I removed. It was held on by I think 6 phillip head screws. It appeared to be leaking from this cover. I hope it isnt the inner seal. We shall see... And yeah it came all of a sudden when I hit 120,000 Miles. The oil was all over the gas tank skid plate... hopefully nothings damaged.

Thanks for the link!
 
ya....sounds like actuator.......if that's it don't be surprised at a quote of $2k or more from the stealership, i think the actuator is like $1400.00. Good luck man.
 
:redbrick: Toyota dealer here said that actuator is a sealed unit and has NO fluid because its electronic. And that it costs $1100 just for the part, and you cant just replace the seal which goes against everything I read online. They said that it has to be cracked on the housing were it connects to the transfer case..... FML
 
I used an additive by white shepherd, solved my problem. Here's a thread on fixing it without pulling the transfer case. Read it through, use this method at your own risk. You'll see near the end where it states why they recommend pulling the transfer case to fix.
Transfer Case Leak
 
So I debated trading her in for another 4runner or tacoma. This is my 3rd 4runner and I love them! But then I came to the conclusion I would end up with another toy with the same problem.

I have a second car, so once I make sure I can order the seals I need I will take my time dropping the transfer case, and inspecting everything, take pictures for easy assembly and hopefully get the leak taken care of.

It will be interesting seeing how this goes. :frisky:
 
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