hi folks,

i'm a new member and a proud new owner of a 1995 RAM 1500 4WD with the 5.9L engine with 187,000 miles on it. i purchased the truck about a week ago and i've already sunk some $$ into it: new muffler and tail pipe, new radiator, transmission pan and gasket and a new water pump.

while the truck was lifted, we discovered that the transfer case was leaking in the middle where the two halves meet. i've circled the leaks in my attached photo.

i was quoted 5 hours of labor from one mechanic. i'm going to get a second quote tomorrow. from my research, i see that it's quite common for one or both seals in the transfer case to go bad. looks like it's going to be necessary to pull the transfer case. if that is the case, i'll go ahead and have both seals replaced (i hope it's just the seals - i don't see any cracks).

while i'd love this to be a DIY project, i'm a novice mechanic at best. i'm an engineer but i just don't have enough experience and auto tools to pull this one off. i have a few questions:

1) does the quoted amount of labor seem reasonable?

2) the leak appears to be slow. is this a serious problem that needs immediate attention? the first mechanic seemed to think it was rather minor.

3) i bought the truck to serve as a work truck for doing projects around the house. i will use it to pull a small 5' x 8' utility trailer to transport lumber and tools from time to time. the truck is not my daily driver and i'll probably only put about 2k - 3k miles on it per year. not sure if it's relevant but i'll probably only use 4wd on the off chance we get a decent snow (happens maybe once per year).

i can't stand the idea of having a leak anywhere but i just spent about 50% of what i paid for the truck for the other repairs. it'd be great if i could hold out a few months to recover.

this forum is a wealth of information. thanks in advance for the help,

kevin

 

I thought it was leaking in the center as well, but it's most likely running from the ends. That just happens to be the lowest point.

5 hours sounds about right. It's a pain to get those suckers out. Not as bad as the tranny though.

 

Annihilator is right. It probably isn't leaking from the transfer case but the seal in between the tranny and transfer case. Is it tranny fluid that is leaking? This thread has a ton on info in it including a link to a DIY.

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...e-leaking.html

 

thanks, guys. yes, it appears to be leaking in the front where the transmission and transfer case meet. it looks like the fluid is ATF because it has a pink tint.

i looked at sheriff's DIY tutorial and i'm afraid it's above my skill level. i can see why it would take 4 to 5 hours of labor.

the transmission and engine on this truck are really smooth. i'd like to keep it that way. what are the repercussions for driving around with this leak?

i'm trying to decide if i should bite the bullet now and replace the seals or wait a month or two to recover from all the work i paid for on friday.

thanks again!

kevin

 

Both the tranny and the t-case use ATF+4, transmission fluid.
Since you might have to top off your trans.
It is more than likely the seal between the trans and the t-case, mine has started doing this too.
I have checked my t-case level several times and its fine. Trans level however, was low.
Just keep checking your trans fluid level.

 

this forum is awesome. i just got a pretty decent estimate from my trusted mechanic - i think i'll get the seals replaced this week.