i have a wierd leak and dont know exactly where its coming

question #1----behind my oil pan i was told its the transfer case, theres this like meatal gaurd on the transfer case, almost like a piece of sheet metal or something, on the front side of the case, the leak is coming from in between the sheet and the case, i called a mechanic and he told me it sounded like the front pump o ring,

question #2----- i was taking it off road the other day before i noticed the leak, i tried to take the jeep into a bad spot, and i got stuck, i was in 4 lo, i had my friend get out and check the front to see if it was pulling, when i shifted it jerked like it does in 4 lo, then the front didnt spin at all just the back, then i go to put it in park and it started to grind as if i was pulling it out of 4 lo into another drive, while the main drive gear is in drive, but the transfer case knob was not moving when i shifted into park. i freaked and shut it off, no i had sometimes that same night that when i put it into drive it was like it was in nuetral. after i got the jeep back into my garage i checked the tranny fluid and i actually had none on my dipstick.....so the question is: would the lack of transmission fluid cause the transfer case to act up like that.

another guy on here told me that the transmission fluid and transfer case fluid was the same, but i called autozone to check and i am suspossed to use dextron 3 in my transfer case and atf 3 or 4 in my transmission.

i am confused and i really dont want to get rid of my toy, any help is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!:helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme::helpme:

I believe the "transfer case" your referring to is the transmission. If the leak has red fluid, its the front pump o ring. if its black, its a rear main seal. If i were you, If i did one, I'd do the other also.

Your transfer case linkage is either out of adjustment, or you ran yours without fluid in it long enough to screw it up. IIRC, trans fluid flows between the transmission and transfer case.
If its a 85 like your name states, its dex 3 in both.

88manche said:

I believe the "transfer case" your referring to is the transmission. If the leak has red fluid, its the front pump o ring. if its black, its a rear main seal. If i were you, If i did one, I'd do the other also.

Your transfer case linkage is either out of adjustment, or you ran yours without fluid in it long enough to screw it up. IIRC, trans fluid flows between the transmission and transfer case.
If its a 85 like your name states, its dex 3 in both.

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Some of you really scare me!!! :scared: Fluid DOES NOT flow between the transmission and transfercase!!!! They both do use the same fluid however..... Red is o-ring and Black is rear main. Do yourself a favor and just take it to a professional !!

I couldn't remember whether it did or not.

that dark spot looks like a small opening and the oil is coming from there, this is where im losing my oil! and i was told that the bottom side of the photo on this side of the leak is the transfer case, is this right?

where can i check my transfer case fluid

thats the rear main. trans fer is where the drive shafts hook to there should be a fill plug to check it. the thing in your pic is trans,(bell housing) oil pan(motor) and the starter (the thing that makes the motor start)

85cherokoholic said:

where can i check my transfer case fluid

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Your Tcase has a fill plug remove the bolt stick your finger in there and make sure its level with the plug... if you didnt know where it is odds are you need to change it. theres also a drain plug near the bottom.

That is definitely a nasty rear main seal

Good luck and happy holidays =]

so do you guys think the leak is the rear main or the front pump o ring. so the square pan is part of the transmission?

The square pan is the transmission pan. The one in front of it is the engine oil pan. The area in the photo is where the rear main seal leak shows up. The transfer case is bolted to the back of the transmission and has two drive shafts coming out of it, one to the front, one to the rear. There are seals on the back of the transmission and the front of the transfer case. Both seals ride on the front input shaft for the transfer case. On the back of the transfer case are two plugs, one is to drain, one is to fill. They take an allen hex wrench (big, don't remember the size offhand). Might want to pull the upper plug and see if there is any fluid left. If not you just spent a bunch of cash (new NP242 is about $1200 plus installation). Check your trans fluid with the dipstick under the hood, engine should be running with the trans in park. If there is no fluid in there you probably spent $2000 on a new trans, or need to get to a reputable shop to have what's left rebuilt.

Sounds like you're in a world of hurt.

Mark

it still drives, so im assuming that all i need to do is fix the leak and refill the transmission fluid, then i need to check out the transfer case, i have someone coming by to check it out that knows his off road toys.

i dont get it why put transmission fluid in your tranfer case, i was told i need to put dextron 3 in it??????

Dextron 3 is a type of transmission fluid. Mercon, Dextron, etc, are all types of fluid. There are also synthetic fluids, but unless you've rebuilt and completely cleaned the inside I wouldn't bother with it. The owners manual for your vehicle gives the recommendations for fluid types.

Mark

what transfer case should i have on my jeep, its a 1985, i checked on the net and it said NP 228-J, on my actual transfer case is says a 207-AM1. now im really confused

i found the transfer case, sorry to be such a dork, its actually cleaning looking no leaks but im having issues making sure i actually unplug the fill plug

okay pop quiz which letters is the drain plug and the fill plug: A, B, or O????
hahaha, thanks guys

"A" is the fill plug (highest up), "B" is not a plug, just a boss in the casting, "O" is the drain plug (low point drain). I'm not familiar with that case, but you did say it's an earlier model (1985?) Check out yuccaman's site (http://www.yuccaman.com/jeep/history.html#axles), your jeep either had the NP207 "Command Trac" or the NP228/NP229 "Selec Trac". The selec-trac gives you a full time feature (4wd on dry pavement without tearing the driveline apart), the command trac is the basic 4wd. The "AM" or "J" after the transfer case model number indicates who the case was made for. The early Cherokees were AMC/Jeep (AM), then Chrysler bought them and they became "J".

Mark

wow!!!! incredible you gotta know your stuff, thanks alot man, that sight was actually really helpful. your probably a well experienced mechanic, no doubt about that, thanks again bro.

No worries - I'm not a mechanic, I have done a bit of wrenching to keep my XJ on the road without paying out a bunch of money to the stealership. This site is a gold mine for info - the search engine is your friend. I've been on here probably a year, I'm starting to see the recycling of topics as new folks get into stuff that's been covered. There are links embedded in posts that are very valuable, and I'd recommend that you save them to your favorites folder for quick reference. Yuccaman is one of them, there are online parts sources as well.

Best of luck and Merry Christmas,

Mark

thank very much, you have a merry christmas and a happy new year