Small reminder: transfer case fluid

[devildog0]

That is true I believe I read an article in peterson's where they took the temp. of the P/S gearbox (externally with an infared thermo.) they saw an over 100 degree *F rise in temp of the gearbox going from street driving where the temp mwas under 200 to the dirt where thetemp rose to 280 or so with smallish sized tires on what they called mild terrian. The ones with the bigger tires in harder terrian were even higher. That fluid is pretty thin even when its cool I would hat to see what it looks like in an environment like that.

 

[the_chief]

what a great thread! I was going to change the fluid in the tcase and diffs this weekend. I guess for the diffs,,, drain, pull cover, clean mating surfaces, regasket close 'em up?

thanks

 

[hippymill]

speaking of power steering fluid, whats the best way to get a total fliud change on the power steering system?

 

[scorpio_vette]

the way i did it was to disconnect the return line from the reservoir and point it into a bucket. then take a VERY BIG funnnel with the biggest opening that you can fit into the reservoir opening and still have it sit good.

fill the funnel and then at the same time have a friend crank it over for a second.
!! !! !! !! !! ! AND I MEAN ONLY A SECOND!! !! !! !! !! !! !

that reservoir will be empty before you can say "holly shit". then fill the reservoir all the way up and just as you start pouring more in the funnel have your friend crank it over again. ONLY FOR A SECOND. i did that several times, and you can usually tell when it's pretty clean. then after that hook everything back up and make sure you THOUROUGHLY bleed the steering system.

!! !! !! !! !! !! ! ONLY CRANK IT UP. DON'T LET IT RUN. IF IT STARTS TO RUN OR YOU RUN OUT OF FLUID. KILL THE IGNITION IMIDIATELY!! !! !! !! !! !! !!

 

[djwright4341]

about your remark of not being a mechanic, don't worry about it. in my opinion that's just a title. i'll agree that at first almost every "new" job on a vehicle seems a little overwhelming at first, but you'll get used to it. there is plenty of information on the net and on various jeep forums. with a little patience and research and common sense you can usually get most things done yourself.

I couldn't agree with you more. My Jeep is the first 4X4 that I've owned and I'm starting to think that I want into the wrong line of work. I have a B.A. in Sociology, but I put my lift on my Jeep myself. Maybe I should have gone to tech school and been a mechanic. Labor at $50/hr!?! Of course I did alot of searching on here and it took me almost all day. Also, books with pictures help for people like me. I have Haynes and Chiltons manuals, and just bought an FSM off eBay. From one newbie to the rest of the newbies: Grab a wrench and have at it!

chief, Yeah that's pretty much it for the diff fluid. Did mine before it got too cold to be laying on the ground under the Jeep. I also tried to clean as much as I could from inside the diff too. No tricks or anything as far as I know. Took me about 10mins/diff.

 

[scorpio_vette]

also tried to clean as much as I could from inside the diff too. No tricks or anything as far as I know

take a can off brake cleaner and spray the crap out of the inside while turning the tires(assuming you have it off the ground. otherwise just do the best you can. it's enough).
and then make sure you dry out all the brake cleaner very good. air compressor works fine. just blow it all out till it's dry.

just be carefull, depending on what angle the stream of brake cleaner hits the parts it usually comes back and cleans out your eyes and that burns worse than any other fluid i've ever had in my eyes.


yes yes yes i know..........wear eye protection. i always tell myself that after it happens. LOL

 

[djwright4341]

take a can off brake cleaner and spray the crap out of the inside while turning the tires

Never thought of that. Oh well. Hopefully in 11000 miles I'll remember to do it next time.

yes yes yes i know..........wear eye protection. i always tell myself that after it happens. LOL

I know the feeling. Seems like all that cussing and rolling around on the ground after it happens would remind us. LOL

 

[d10shun]

I couldn't agree with you more. My Jeep is the first 4X4 that I've owned and I'm starting to think that I want into the wrong line of work. I have a B.A. in Sociology, but I put my lift on my Jeep myself. Maybe I should have gone to tech school and been a mechanic. Labor at $50/hr!?!

I started working on my truck during college because I couldn't afford to repair at a shop. One place wanted $250 to replace ONE hose on my steering box. I finished college and became a teacher. If I had the time, I would go back to a mechanic school just for the knowledge. The money might be good but I can't image working under a hot car in an unairconditioned garage during 110* heat in AZ.

BTW - I have neglected by xcase too and it will be done this weekend.

 

[scorpio_vette]

mechanics pay depends on alot of things. 1) if there is plenty of work comming in 2)can you diagnose and fix it fast enough.

one of the mechanics was working on a vehicle we ended up calling "satansmobile". it was an intermittend electrical problem. diagnostic time for electrical only got paid 3/10's of an hour. he worked on it the entire week with every mechanic helping him on and off and never could find the problem. his paycheck that week.......................3/10's of an hour. i have never seen a person so pissed off in my live. LOL

PS: after 5 months of work we never did figure out what was wrong. in the end we had basically replaced every individual electric component in the car including the wiring harness.

 

[djwright4341]

mechanics pay depends on alot of things. 1) if there is plenty of work comming in 2)can you diagnose and fix it fast enough.

one of the mechanics was working on a vehicle we ended up calling "satansmobile". it was an intermittend electrical problem. diagnostic time for electrical only got paid 3/10's of an hour. he worked on it the entire week with every mechanic helping him on and off and never could find the problem. his paycheck that week.......................3/10's of an hour.

That must be an honest mechanic (as I would be. I'd never make any money at it I guess). Most of them I've been to have no trouble charging for every minute they spend diagnosing a problem. The guy I go to here in Bowling Green apparently has a book that tells him how long it will take to do a procedure and that's what he charges. I needed to change a water pump on the wife's Pontiac. Took me a day and a half to tear the car down to the point where I figured out I wasn't going to be able to do this myself. He quoted me $250 for a 5 hour job, but finished in 3.5 hours and charged me accordingly.

 

[87manche]

I do computer work for a couple different mechanics. They do have software that's pretty accurate for estimating. It even tells what consumable parts should be replaced. Gaskets and o-rings and such.

 

[the_chief]

yeah, mitchell.

I did the t-case drain and fill tonight. I followed most of the reco's you guys threw out, even bought a suction device from napa, great idea! 20 min start to finish. Even eliminated some noise.

I'll do the diffs this weekend, i have some ds play in the rear diff, and the occasional pop. should I inspect anything in particular? (i've never seen the inside of a diff before.)

thanks a bunch

 

[scorpio_vette]

should I inspect anything in particular? (i've never seen the inside of a diff before.)

most likely if there is something seriously wrong inside you'll know it when you see it.

try to get the tires off the ground when your doing the diff, and have the tranny in neutral with the brakes off. that way you can turn the tires and watch the gears move. look for broken gear teeth.

 

[gone postal]

That must be an honest mechanic (as I would be. I'd never make any money at it I guess). Most of them I've been to have no trouble charging for every minute they spend diagnosing a problem. The guy I go to here in Bowling Green apparently has a book that tells him how long it will take to do a procedure and that's what he charges. I needed to change a water pump on the wife's Pontiac. Took me a day and a half to tear the car down to the point where I figured out I wasn't going to be able to do this myself. He quoted me $250 for a 5 hour job, but finished in 3.5 hours and charged me accordingly.

Thats standard practice. That's why if you're good at your job, you can make quite a bit of money b/c you can do 60hrs. worth of work in 40hrs. time. BUT, then there are the times when there are the rusty bolts, stubborn parts, etc that slow you up and then you only get paid 5hrs. for 6hrs. worth of work. I have a few mechanics in my family and they've had both situations - just comes w/ the job.

 

[Calata]

mechanics pay depends on alot of things. 1) if there is plenty of work comming in 2)can you diagnose and fix it fast enough.

one of the mechanics was working on a vehicle we ended up calling "satansmobile". it was an intermittend electrical problem. diagnostic time for electrical only got paid 3/10's of an hour. he worked on it the entire week with every mechanic helping him on and off and never could find the problem. his paycheck that week.......................3/10's of an hour. i have never seen a person so pissed off in my live. LOL

PS: after 5 months of work we never did figure out what was wrong. in the end we had basically replaced every individual electric component in the car including the wiring harness.

Out of curiosity, what was the problem?