Sorry Vettie, my ramps are away for winter and I doubt I'd have time to get 'em out over the weekend when I have light until after Xmas. It has a 1 way spring loaded valve which holds the fluid in while pumping and while taking off the pump then a threaded plug which goes in to keep it from leaking while driving. The pump is your average standard fluid pump. If your decent with mechanical things and plumbing you can make your own but honestly I'd buy it again from Bill even though I know I can make my own version for 1/2 the price.

 

Not sure what has happened to Wild Bill. Hope everything is okay. He was around a couple months ago. Tried to PM him for you but he's out of space...don't see his kit on eBay either.

 

Does anyone know where to buy a 1/2" NPT one-way valve? That's the key to Bill's setup - all of the other parts he mentioned can be bought for under $15. I did a quick Internet search, but didn't come across any suppliers of 1/2" NPT one-way valves. Maybe if we work together, we can identify some valve suppliers and give the X-Type community the flexibility to build their own kits.

 

Here are some. There are a few pages of valves but this looks like one of the best choices as far as temperature rating. You would have to get a 3/8" plug rather then using the original drain plug. http://www.mcmaster.com/#8529t12/=a2c5ob

 

Nice find, kid! Just to be clear, the valve you're suggesting is the "Spring-Loaded Piston Check Valves with Bushing Design", right? That seems like the best design to me too. Wow, Bill wasn't kidding - these suckers are expensive!

By the way, now that I know what these kinds of valves are called, I found a bunch of manufacturers listed here:

http://www.zycon.com/Products/Check-Valves.html

 

I had an epiphany last night that I think is a great solution for all of us. While I'd prefer to buy a check-valve like the one Wild Bill used, I have no idea which one to get. At $70 to $90 a pop, it's impractical to buy a bunch of them and experiment. The 2005+ cars also have less clearance to work with to get at the TC plug, so solutions like Thermo's drain **** valve and "pull the rubber hose out and quickly plug the hole" will be challenging. Here's a simple solution I'm considering, which uses two cheap fittings:

- A 1/2" NPT to 3/8" (or 1/4") NPT reducer like this: http://buyaes.com/catalog/images/125-5.gif
- A 3/8" (or 1/4") NPT cap like this:http://2.imimg.com/data2/XC/AK/MY-/u-250x250.jpg

Here's how my idea would work: Remove the factory plug and drain the fluid. Then screw the reducer in. The male 3/8" side gives you a built-in ridged nipple to connect plastic tubing to. Since 3/8" is the outer diameter, the hole (inner diameter) itself is smaller than 3/8" (probably closer to 1/4"). With the tubing secured, you can either gravity fill through the tubing from above, or use a fluid pump with an inline one-way valve from below. Either way, you should now be able to fill the fluid higher than the plug opening. Fill with the correct amount of fluid. Remove the plastic tubing at the fitting, while quickly placing your finger over the 1/4" hole to stop the backflow while you get the cap into position. Screw the cap on and you're done. The things I like about this approach are:

- no clearance issues on the 2005+ cars

- only 2 pieces to the solution (minimizing the potential for leaks)

- built-in nipple to connect tubing and a pump to

- easy to seal the housing and fill higher than the plug through a 3/8" male nipple. Harder to seal and fill against gravity using the factory 1/2" female hole.

- it should be really easy to plug the ~1/4" hole with your finger as you're getting the cap into position. Not at all easy with a 1/2" hole.

- a ~1/4" hole reduces the amount of fluid that can leak out considerably (to around one quarter to one fifth of the normal rate). This should significantly reduce fluid loss while you're getting the cap in place. You'll lose a bit while getting the cap on, but nothing like what you'd lose trying to plug a 1/2" hole during the switch.

My solution would also work (and get the plug back to nearly the factory clearance) if you used a 1/2" NPT male to 3/8" (or 1/4") NPT female reducer like this. http://www.activeforever.com/images/...ium/C09976.jpg. In this case, you'd use a 3/8" plug instead of a 3/8" cap on the female side. http://www.shop.3gcustomz.com/images/plug.jpg I'm more inclined to try the 3/8" male approach because it gives you a more secure surface to connect tubing to, and should provide a better seal. With the female plug, you'd probably need to use a rubber stopper or something to seal around the hole. My guess is that you could do it either way for less than $7 in parts.

 

Sounds good. Let us know how it works for you. There are cheaper valves available at McMaster but they are longer (clearance issue?) and aren't rated for as high a temp as the one I highlighted.

 

Bill - I'm new to the forum and would like one of your kits. Are you still selling them? Please get in touch. My email is rtreider@verizon.net

Thanks!!

Rob

 

Matt,

The technique and parts that you used are pretty much what I did on my car, with a few significant differences:

1) I used a plastic NPT-to-hose-barb adapter from Home Depot. It was dirt cheap. Under $3 if I recall correctly.

2) The adapter didn't fit into the transfer case because the wrench flats of the adapter wouldn't clear the ribs on the case. My recollection is that there's a rib on the outside of the case *right next to* the drain plug. I think the factory drain plug is a recessed/female 3/8" square drive, so it doesn't have a nut portion to interfere with this rib. Fortunately, the plastic adapter is really easy to cut with a hack-saw, so I eliminated the flats. Of course, that meant that I couldn't unscrew it with a wrench, which became a real problem after it expanded from heat and I couldn't get a grip on it with my oily hands. Eventually, I used a channel-lock pliers on the hose-barb. The ribs of the pliers provided enough grip to turn the fitting out.

3) I used a clear vinyl hose to gravity feed the transfer case from above the engine. This also allowed me to see the level of the fluid within the case as I refilled it. Not that this made any difference in the volume of fluid that I put back in, but it was interesting to see what 400/500/550 ml would do to the fill level.

4) While I was at Home Depot, I also picked up a rubber stopper/cork to put into the hose-barb for after I removed the hose. I wanted the hose off of the fitting before I started turning it to remove it. The stopper certainly made that part of the job a little easier, and it also helped minimize spillage while swapping out the NPT adapter for the original magnetic plug. Now that I think about it, I would not have been able to get a grip on the hose-barb with the pliers if I had the vinyl hose in place.

5) Re: fill volume, I put 550 ml back in, which was apparently over-filled. (When I drained it, the car was level on a lift.) The level corrected itself over time by leaking out of the vent hole on the top of the transfer case. You might see some comments in other TC threads that this is commonplace. No harm done, and it stopped expelling excess fluid after several weeks of normal driving. BTW, this stuff smells something awful when it vents out. I usually only smelled it at stop lights after highway driving. The point here is that 550ml is too much. Now that my TC is apparently at the right level, I'll measure the amount that I drain next time and replace it with that same amount. I'm expecting about 450ml will be a good amount.


I have part numbers for the Home Depot sourced NPT adapter and rubber stopper, but unfortunately that information is at my office, and I won't be back until next week. I'll post an update when I get there.

The biggest take-away for you is that you might not be able to use those brass fittings because of clearance issues. Try it and let folks know. But you might do well to buy a plastic adapter like what I described, just for a fall-back method.

Hope that helps.

 

Jim, thanks for sharing your experience. Did you lose a lot of fluid when you pulled out the plastic barb adapter? That's one of the main reasons I prefer the idea I suggested earlier. Here are some photos of the parts needed. I picked up an NPT 1/2" male to 3/8" male flare coupling, and a 3/8" flare cap for about $6 at Home Depot. I dismissed the female option because it would be hard to get a tube to fit tightly and not leak, plus the plug would be harder to put on.

I'm not planning to try this out until next spring or summer, but this gives you guys an idea of what I was envisioning. If someone else is brave enough to give it a shot in the meantime, let us know how it works! The things I like about this design:

1. Only two parts (fewer points of failure)

2. Under $6 for both

3. The 3/8" male end gives you a natural nipple to tighten a fill tube over

4. Requires very little clearance (finished clearance will be less than 1")

5. Reduces the hole size to about 1/5th of the factory hole size. This means you'll lose fluid at about 20% of the rate you otherwise would when pulling out the tube and screwing on the cap, minimizing the mess and keeping more of the fluid inside the transfer case.

6. The hole is small enough for you to plug with your finger while getting the cap in place

7. Flare end and flare cap should provide a tight seal (though I'd still put tape on the threads as an extra precaution).

As you can see from the pictures, the hex part is barely bigger than the 1/2" threads. I'm not expecting to run into clearance issues when screwing it in to the transfer case, but could easily grind a tiny bit of the ends down if needed.

I'm very optimistic about the potential for this solution, and would welcome suggestions for improving it.

 

Two more points in response:

1) From my recollection of the ribs on the transfer case and the clearance issues with the plastic adapter that I used, I'm still very concerned that you might not even be able to get those brass fittings in there. It's not a question of the length of the fittings, but rather the nut portion of the fittings. It's just too tight in there.

2) I *really like* the idea you put forth of using adapters to make the drain/fill hole smaller. The adapter that I used was a 1/2" NPT to 3/8" hose barb. That inadvertently served much the same purpose as your downsizing, and it kept my fluid loss down to just a few teaspoons during each maneuver to

remove the vinyl hose and replace it with a rubber stopper

and

remove the plastic NPT adapter and replace it with the original drain plug.

I'll fess up that the first time that I tried the drain plug swap, I lost several ounces of fluid. That prompted me to drain and refill the case a second time. The second plug swap went about as well as can be done, hence the teaspoon of lost fluid.

 

One more comment:

The plastic NPT adapter had a male hose adapter on the end, so the vinyl hose would fit OVER the barb, not into it. This served exactly the same purpose as the flared-end fitting that you used. In effect, I agree with your strategy there.

 

Matt, just to be certain, the two parts you list above would replace the factory plug. Correct? This would then allow easy TC oil changes. What kind of oil is used in the TC? I'd like to give this a try in the next couple of weeks.

Mark

 

Is the specific part you are looking at is the 3/8" x 1/2"? The remaining parts are as previously listed by Bill? I may give this a try along with the solution Matt describes. Matt's solution is very inexpensive but I like the elegance of Bill's original solution. I'd be willing to risk a c note to see if I can get this to work. If not, I can fall back to Matt's design.

Mark

 

Mark, yes the two parts above would replace the factory plug. Once you get it on there, future fluid changes should be really easy. I don't think Thermo's or Bill's solution would work for 2005+ cars because the newer cars have even less clearance around the plug than the older models (there's a redesigned fin on the automatic transmission housing that gets in the way). It's why I wanted to find a soluton that required very little clearance.

The only additional work I can see with this design are:

a) possibly having to grind the corners of the hex nut section by 1/16th of an inch to deal with clearance issues when screwing it in, and

b) possibly having to grind off a bit off the bottom of the 1/2" threads so that the portion that's screwed into the case doesn't extend beyond where the factory plug would (I don't know if this would be necessary, but wanted to point it out as potential work). I remember Thermo had to do this on his design.

Since the fitting is brass, it should be soft and easy to use a dremel or angle grinder on. And since only 1/16th of an inch needs to be removed from the hex corners, there should still be plenty of surface area left to use an open end wrench on.

Great to hear you might give this a try soon! If you run into any issues, let us know and we'll try to help you work around them. There are differing opinions on what type of fluid to use. The dealership (and factory repair manual) specifies Castrol SAF-XJ 75w140 for both the rear diff and transfer case, but it's pricey at about $45 a quart. Other people here have used a comparable weight Royal Purple, Mobil 1 or similar gear oil.

 

Great thought Jim. I took pictures of the plug on my transfer case to use as a reference this fall as I figured out a creative solution to this problem. I see what you mean about the clearance. Seems like the nut on the main fitting would have enough room to be screwed in, except right above the hole, where the fit is pretty tight due to the shape of the case. The nut on the cap, on the other hand, shouldn't have any clearance problem since it's almost exactly equal to the size of the drain hole opening.

The good news is that on the specific fitting I picked out, the corners of the hex nut only extend 1/16" beyond the 1/2" threads. Most of the body of the hex nut is flush with the threads. If I run into clearance problems screwing it in, it should be easy to grind down 1/16" on the nut corners and still have plenty of the hex nut body to attach an open end wrench to.

 

FTR my 05 has Bill's kit on it though it is a tight fit for filling. It is a manual tranny car so can't say if it would work on an auto.

 

I plan on taking photos and will be making posts here as to my progress and success/failure.

Mark

 

That would be awesome! Looking forward to figuring this out together for the benefit of the community. Thanks Mark.

 

Earlier in this thread, I said I would post the part number of the plastic NPT adapter that I used. Go to www.homedepot.com and search for "Watts A-387" - it should come back as a 1/2" NPT to 1/2" barb for $1.42. Apparently, I recalled incorrectly re: the size of the barb.

But this is reminding me of the rest of what I did, and why.

I picked up 10 ft of 1/2" clear vinyl tubing in a clearance bin for $2.14, as well as a 1/2" to 1/2" coupling (barbs on both ends) and a rubber stopper that could fit snugly into the tubing. I think it all added up to about $6.

I also had an assortment of small funnels, and one of them fit into the tubing to gravity feed the oil from above the engine. And I had some paint-mixing cups with volume markings that effectively served as a measuring cup.

I had read posts about replacing the stock magnetic drain plug with either a valve-assembly or some other assortment of adapters that might include a magnetic plug that's a little removed from the body of the transfer case. Considering the amount of magnetic sludge - translation: finely ground metal filings in oil - that people were reporting on their drain plugs, and considering what I've seen with my other cars when I've changed transmission and differential fluids, I wanted to use the original drain plug. The idea is to keep the magnet within the case where it can pick up the most metal and get it out of the oil flow. Any relocation of that magnet is going to diminish its effectiveness. I can understand an argument that more frequent oil changes should minimize this concern, but I would still prefer to have the factory magnetic plug in place.

With that said, I went with a removable adapter to connect a hose to - no permanently mounted valve assembly for me. I chose the plastic adapter because it's cheap, but that turned out to be helpful when I found that I had to cut the wrench flats off of the nut portion of the adapter.

The 1/2" barb to 1/2" barb hose coupling allowed me to cut a section of hose apart, slightly above the transfer case, so that I could disconnect and plug the hose when I was done filling. The thought was that this would be make it easier to unscrew the NPT adapter from the transfer case. But when I couldn't get the adapter out of the case due to expansion of the now-warm plastic, I ultimately had to remove the hose and turn the adapter with a channel-lock pliers. I held my thumb against the hose-barb of the NPT adapter to keep fluid from leaking out. In hind-sight, I should have bought a smaller stopper that could fit into the hose barb. That would have made the NPT adapter extraction a little easier.

So, all told, the following parts were needed:

1/2" NPT to 1/2" hose barb adapter (Watts A-387)

a rubber stopper that can fit into the 1/2" hose barb

1/2" inner diameter, clear vinyl tubing, long enough to reach from the top of the engine bay to the transfer case drain hole

a funnel that can fit into the vinyl tubing

a measuring cup to measure 400, 450 or 550 ml of oil (the jury's still out of the correct amount, as far as I'm concerned)

a high-quality, 75W140 GL-5 gear oil without limited slip additives; I used Redline 75W140 NS GL-5 Gear Oil. Hint: buy an extra quart, since you might spill some. At $10-$12 per quart, it's better to have it on hand.


I'm really not looking to butt heads about the one-way valve vs removable adapter approaches, but I said I'd follow through with a part number, and it seemed reasonable to lay out the technique and parts that I used. A big plus is that they're readily available at local hardware stores, and they're cheap.

However you choose to do it, change the transfer case oil in your X-Type. If you've never done it before, it's long overdue.