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Replaced transfer case chain with many pix

35K views 46 replies 26 participants last post by  Jinx 
#1 ·
I needed to change the chain because of the well known issues. See this post for the details:
http://rangerovers.net/forum/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0

Gathered all the parts, studied rave for several days. I paid a garage to take out the transfer case for me. My wife and I took a half day on Friday and got to work. Yes I said my wife, she proved to be very handy, didn't even mind getting all dirty. Here is what we did:
This is the case before I started


You will need a 30MM socket to get the bolts off the drive. I replaced 4 seals in total, 2 on each side of the axle. The big one was about $25 from the dealer, the small one was $4. Here is the part for the larger one (don't have the part number handy for the smaller one):


Here is the drive shaft flange off with the nut. I used a air impact gun to take the case apart


Flange off the axle:


Here is the other side of the unit with the flange and cover already off:


We then carefully pryed the front and back half apart, this part took some time.


When it was apart you could see the cause of the problem, a very streched chain. Everything else looked very good, NO METAL. gears and bearings were perfect. Good thing too because each bearing unit is over $125 from the dealer.


Here is the other half of the unit.


At this point we took the unit apart to get the new chain on there. This proved to be the most difficult part of the project. It took awhile before we found the correct angle to get the chain on there. You can see, the new chain is much more snug then the old one:


At this point we cleaned all the old gasket material off all parts with a razor blade, brake cleaner and elbow grease.

We are going to let everything dry overnight. Tomorrow we will put the new RTV gasket on and seal it up. We will then wait until Monday to bring it back to the garage for install back on the truck.

The job took about 4 hours, start to finish. We went very slow and took lots of pictures.
 
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#5 ·
Thanks alot a bud ,my TC also needs a new chain.I actually have 2 TCs .The one I have lying around is the one which came with the car and has a seized VC .I was cheaper to buy a used TC than a new VC ,but on the recontioned one the chain is sloppy.So i've been trying to get around to take out the VC from this one and put it in the old one .But just havent found the time to do this swap ,mt only worry is that the chain my also sloppy on the other one aswell .Anyways thanks alot for the pics I'm sure they will be most useful
 
#7 ·
tomspas2k said:
Yes I said my wife, she proved to be very handy, didn't even mind getting all dirty.
I love a wife that doesn't mind getting 'dirty'. Almost as much as a man who does a scary job on his RR and does an excellent job detailing the operations. Very well done sir, I hope I don't need to refer to this link for a loooonnnngggg time.
 
#9 ·
What was the method of identifying that the TC chain had slop in it?
And how much was the replacement Chain?

Great Job in showing the process.

I am systematically going through my 03 4.4 and my next project is replace the front Diff and two front CV joint drive shafts and two front wheel bearings. Followed by Transmission filter and case flush, then rear diff, drive shafts and wheel bearings. Then finally the Transfer case.
 
#10 ·
L4FLIROP said:
What was the method of identifying that the TC chain had slop in it?
And how much was the replacement Chain?
In the P38, when the TC chain starts to get loose, the rig will make a VERY loud machine gun like popping noise when starting out fast from a stand still. At first it will only happen occasionally at full throttle, then as it gradually gets looser, it will happen all the time until you just can't drive anymore.
The chain is around $350-$400 if I remember correctly. And every idiot mechanic you take it to will try to tell you your tranny or the viscous coupler is shot, not the chain.

There's probably 100 or more of us on here who have replaced this part.
 
#12 ·
Well done!!

Photos are always gold mine for DIY operations on rangies.

How many of us have their wife helping them on some rangies operations?

I do but she still says that this car is a problems car ;)
 
#13 ·
That is the reason I did the job myself - the shop didn't want to do it unless I put in a entire rebuilt transfer case. He said there was no way that there was no other damage. I can tell you everything else looked perfect. Problem is totally gone, truck rides great.

The chain was $379 from Atlantic British. I will do a detailed write up once work slows done a little.
 
#15 ·
Zubi said:
How much does the transfer case weight, can it be done with a floor jack alone?
A floor jack would certainly handle the weight, but it would be very unsteady. I would spend the few dollars to rent a tranny jack from your local auto rental shop. There are a couple different types out there. My tranny jack has adjustable legs at four corners designed to fit in the four corners of a tranny pan. It would certainly be much safer at the odd angles you would be working at.
 
#17 ·
Great to see someone giving it with both barrels to the garages and doing a great job and also saving themselfs alot of cash. At least you know its done right aswell.
Onetime
 
#18 ·
Re:

onetime said:
Great to see someone giving it with both barrels to the garages and doing a great job and also saving themselfs alot of cash. At least you know its done right aswell.
Onetime

But its interesting to note how many will still call a garage for detailed info regarding a certain repair

Lets see if anyone will admit to knowing that you must use ATF Dexron III in transfer box (Official LR update)
 
#20 ·
Re: Re:

viperover said:
Lets see if anyone will admit to knowing that you must use ATF Dexron III in transfer box (Official LR update)

Do a search back for when I had mine done at Aamco... they put in gear oil and I had to argue with the guy and prove to him that it took ATF. He then acted like he was doing me a favor by taking the synthetic gear oil off my bill. :doh: Not only that, but they swore up and down that my TC was shot and that I needed a new one for $2k +... I ended up telling them to put in the chain and if it didn't work I'd still pay them. That was the first time since I was 16 that I took my car in to get worked on, and a solid reminder of why it will be the last.
 
#21 ·
Re:

rrtoadhall said:
Zubi said:
How much does the transfer case weight, can it be done with a floor jack alone?
A floor jack would certainly handle the weight, but it would be very unsteady. I would spend the few dollars to rent a tranny jack from your local auto rental shop. There are a couple different types out there. My tranny jack has adjustable legs at four corners designed to fit in the four corners of a tranny pan. It would certainly be much safer at the odd angles you would be working at.
Just for info -I swapped out my transfer and auto box recently using my high lift floor jack using the following adaptor to replace the normal saddle. I took out the transfer box and auto box separately.

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=17643
 
#22 ·
Lets see if anyone will admit to knowing that you must use ATF Dexron III in transfer box (Official LR update)
I swapped out the ATF DexIII for Mobil Agrifluid 45. It's now been in for 15,000 km and the smoothness and quietness of the T/F box as a result is most pleasing. It's recommended for wet clutch tractors 8-0= and 4wd transfer cases. guess time will tell. I had to empty it recently to change the VC unit. I suspended a strong (rare earth) magnet in the oil container and shook it around a few times and let it settle over a few hours... came out clean...no filings! :thumb:
 
#23 ·
Hoges said:
Lets see if anyone will admit to knowing that you must use ATF Dexron III in transfer box (Official LR update)
I swapped out the ATF DexIII for Mobil Agrifluid 45. It's now been in for 15,000 km and the smoothness and quietness of the T/F box as a result is most pleasing. It's recommended for wet clutch tractors 8-0= and 4wd transfer cases. guess time will tell. I had to empty it recently to change the VC unit. I suspended a strong (rare earth) magnet in the oil container and shook it around a few times and let it settle over a few hours... came out clean...no filings! :thumb:

Its a good oil but the spec doesnt match up......
If you ever get to see a VCU then you'll understand why a ATF oil is used, its also better for the chain and bearings and planetary gears.

The reason why that oil is used where there are wet clutches is the oil has not got any friction modifiers, our transfer units require these friction modifiers, using a good quality ATF your box should run smooth, if not then proberly bearings are on there way,

Important that you note the specs of the mentioned oil and its usage and so heres a link
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/ ... id_424.asp

hope this helps
 
#25 ·
paul.adshead said:
I thought the VCU is a sealed unit? As far as I know, the fluid you put in the transfer case, is not the fluid used inside the VCU (- which I was under the impression was a silicon base).
That's my understanding as well. The outer of the VCU does, however get covered in the ATF used for the transfer box.
 
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