Yes, there is, and that's how you're supposed to refill it. The problem is that the top plug is not accessible while the TC is connected to the car. To get at it, you'd have to remove the transfer case, which isn't a viable option for the shade tree mechanic. I'd heard someone quote $700 to have the dealer disconnect the assembly + the cost of refilling it.

I recall some prior threads that speculated that about 200 ml is stuck at the back of the TC assembly, by the propshaft.

Has anyone tried using a syringe with a piece of tubing to suck out as much fluid as they could below the drain plug? Seems like it should be as effective (maybe more) than tilting the car, and a lot safer to boot.

 

HOLY cow..
I have a removed and replaced myTC twice.
I have taken it completely apart, and washed it in the kitchen sink.
I have reassembled it and filled it with the perfect amount of oil.

I have drained it by the plug, which is NOT a drain plug, and not a fill plug , it is somewhere in between.

EVERYBODY's case has about 400ml remaining inside when it is filled to the bottom of the plug hole.

I am the one trying to TELL you guys EXACTLY what amounts are involved with the TC.

YES there is a fill plug on top of the case. I can send you actual photos if you want.. just send me a PM with an email address. The fill plug is not accessible with teh TC in the car. It can only be seen if you remove the TC from the car.

JTIS tells you to drain the TC by removing the rear output housing. I have decided that this is the best way for me to drain it since I am better and faster at removing it. This way gets all but 100ml or so out of the case. They call the fill amount 550. myJTIS tells me to remove the right output shaft and fill it through there. They never refer to the plugs at all.
Also I have found that the bearings in this output pinion housing are very succeptable to wear, and removing the housing allows you to inspect and adjust the play in these bearing. It is these bearings that greadually desintegrate and show up as the steel stuck to the magnetic plug, and make the oil black.
Removing the rear output (pinion housing) gets out way more oil than the other plug ( I hesitate to call it a drain plug because it drains only 1/3 of the oil).

I am not sure how come the message is not clear. there have been 100 pages on this message board about this. It is just not that complicated.

Most of the stories about the TC are withing 50ml of the same numbers, and that is accurate enough. Denis's story has almost double the amount of oil being added. THat is why I am pressing him to explain better.

 

Care to elaborate on removing the pinion? Have you figured out any tricks or shortcuts?

I've never heard of removing the right output shaft for filling. Isn't this the same shaft that you cannot remove without tearing up the inner seal?

 

yes, that is the shaft (linkshaft) that can (low probability but it might) damage that seal. It is the seal that keeps transmission and TC fluid from mixing.
they say to just pull it out a few inches, and fill with a syringe. But pulling it out even that much requires undoing at least part of the front suspension, and disconnection the shaft to the front wheel. I still use the plug (aka the "drain" plug) with a hose and syringe, to refill it..

here is a pic finally remembered my password to my webhost...

 

TO get the rear pinion housing off,
Disconnect driveshaft.. 6 screws
disconnect the roll restrictor (dogbone thing) 2 bolts. - small strong hands needed.
then the hard part is to get the bracket for the dogbone thing off. it is partly held on by 2 of the 4 housing bolts and partly by the heatsheild bolts that are part of it.
These heatsheild bolts are the bear of removing the TC, and Most cars dont ever get them put back on. If they are off already (mine were and still are gone) then you can wiggle the bracket out of the way. If not, well the job is harder.
ONce that bracket is out of the way, you can just undo the 4 bolts for the housing and pull (tap, wiggle, pry) it out. There is a shim there, try to remember how it was positioned.

Once the pinion housing is out, you can clean it up and see if there is any play in the bearing. If there is.. you need to get it set up in a very strong vice, and tighten the big nut inside the flange until the play is just gone, no more than that. As you tighten you are crushing a very strong crush tube inside the housing, between the 2 bearings.

Note that if you unbolt that nut, and remove the flange, which is probably not a terrible idea at that point. you will be undoing the sealant on the splines of the shaft. You will create a new leak path for the oil if you dont re-seal the splines properly.. AMHIK

 

Thanks for the details. A few follow-up questions...

1. Is there enough play / flex in the driveshaft to just move the front section out of the way or does the entire DS have to be removed?

2. Is the O-ring on the pinion assembly a common part or a dealer item?

3. Is the contact points on the gear set by the shim? I'm not sure what you mean by the position of the shim. Is the shim the gasket-like thing laying flat just in front of the pinion gear in the photo?

3. Just in case, are the pinion bearings and the crush sleeve readily available?

Thanks!

 

The joints are CV joints and have some axial movement, yes you can just undo the front of the driveshaft, not the whole thing.

O-ring is reuseable, just clean everything up well. It is just an oring so if you have a specialy store they could match it up. Still no need to replace it.

Yes the shim sets the contact to the gear. I say take note, just to make sure that any corrrosion etc.. matches up to get it as close to the original position as possible. it can go 8 different ways, front and backwards, and rotate around the 4 bolt holes. Yes it is the flat metal thing in front of the gear in the pic.

Bearings are available at big bearing stores. Toronto had them on the shelf. my first set was really damaged... been ok since I have monitored them. the bearing number is marked on them. Need to remove the flange and also the oil seal to get them out. I used a home arbour press to push the races out and new ones in.

 

Thanks for the info! I'm planning on doing this in the spring when my X turns 30K.

 

OK -- Finally figured out how to get the pictures up. Here's the set-up I'm considering for next time. That is unless I end up with a check valve that is