Transfer case failure

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danielmid

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So insurance claim and a rebuilt front diff? Probably time to regear if you had that in your plans?
 

crazy jerry

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surely you remember hitting something ? chunk of wood. old piece of exh pipe. those are common road debris i see
 

Dodge 1500 4X4

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20230204_102125-jpg.513792

Looks like the cover has a big dent in it for the ring gear to hit it. WOW
 

Gr8bawana

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UPDATE:
I found a transfer case and got it shipped from Colorado to New Mexico. For a little backstory, my mechanic is a good friend, and he looked at it in his day off in my driveway. Don't go bashing him. He admitted his oversight, and even offered to pay the restocking fee when I ship the transfer case back.
Anyway, my mechanic put the truck on the lift, and discovered the transfer case is fine. Yes, it needed a service, but the noise was caused by the front differential losing fluid.
Once he got the driveshaft off, he noticed the pinion bearings were completely seized, and then noticed the puncture in the front differential cover. Apparently, I had hit something hard enough to put an inch long gash in it, draining the fluid from the pumpkin. He said it should've been a noticeable impact, but I don't remember hitting anything. He did recommend I file a claim with my insurance, since it was a road hazard that caused it. So that's in progress.View attachment 513792
But while the truck is getting repaired, he's going to change all the fluids.
Hmm...where is HEMIMANN with his 32 years of knowledge about low quality oils and moisture mixing with the fluid being the cause for the t-case failure?
It was obviously nothing of the sort.
 
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Goosewhole

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surely you remember hitting something ? chunk of wood. old piece of exh pipe. those are common road debris i see
Yeah, you'd think so. That's exactly what my mechanic said is that it would've been very noticeable. But I don't remember hitting anything. And I'm not careless with my truck. I don't horse beat it, I don't take that mini Titanic places it shouldn't go. Aside from overlooking the tranny and transfer case fluid change intervals, I take care of her.
 

GsRAM

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That's the thing. I don't have a single spot on my concrete where I park, so it all, and I mean ALL managed to drain out before I got home. I do watch out for spots, but there was nothing.
In that case you just got very unlucky then. That stinks. I'd think if it came out that fast it would have blown back on the undercarriage and would have dripped off some, but perhaps not. That's just bad luck and sometimes there's nothing that can be done to prevent it.
 

JohnCA

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Time to get some diff protection, the front cover is easy to damage. Maple offroad makes a 3/8 steel guard bolts right up
20220613_120218.jpg
 
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In that case you just got very unlucky then. That stinks. I'd think if it came out that fast it would have blown back on the undercarriage and would have dripped off some, but perhaps not. That's just bad luck and sometimes there's nothing that can be done to prevent it.
If it happened where I suspect it might have, it had about 20 miles to drain, blow out, and dissipate enough to not drip.
 

GsRAM

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If it happened where I suspect it might have, it had about 20 miles to drain, blow out, and dissipate enough to not drip.
The perfect storm of crap scenario then. Stinks man. Insurance will pay for that kind of direct an accidental damage though as you said, so that's good
 

olyelr

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Whoever hit something to do that to the diff cover without a doubt absolutely knows exactly when it happened. It would have been a hell of a jolt. Wouldnt have gone unnoticed.

Do you by chance purchase the truck used? Maybe you bought it that way…
 
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Goosewhole

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Whoever hit something to do that to the diff cover without a doubt absolutely knows exactly when it happened. It would have been a hell of a jolt. Wouldnt have gone unnoticed.

Do you by chance purchase the truck used? Maybe you bought it that way…
So I've been the only one to drive the truck lately. Yeah, you'd think that would be a memorable jolt, but I don't remember hitting anything. I did buy the truck used, but I've had it three years.
 

olyelr

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So I've been the only one to drive the truck lately. Yeah, you'd think that would be a memorable jolt, but I don't remember hitting anything. I did buy the truck used, but I've had it three years.
Im willing to bet you bought it that way.
 

crazy jerry

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no way the spiders could last 3yr with out oil. they would be severly damaged quikly
 
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JW2 Innovations

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You might want to look at one of these:

Better price than many out there, and very heavy duty.

This one fits my truck at 16 lbs.
 

Brent 1955

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Thanks for the heads up on availability.

Do you have the specific transfer case Model you can share?
Most all transfer cases are back ordered because of one part. The centrifugal clutch at the top of the housing inside. When mine went out the only one available was in Anchorage Alaska. I found a used one at a junkyard that only had 20.000 miles on it.SO I bought it and replaced it. Kept the old one and when the part comes available, I will rebuild my old one. Good luck.
 

Brent 1955

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Hey, stuff happens, I was just wondering as that could have contributed to the T cases demise... or I could have just been some kind of internal defect or abuse by the prior owner. Sometimes it's hard to tell.

I service the transmission (drop pan, change filters and refill, not a power flush), transfer case and both diffs every 5 years or 30k miles, whichever comes first.

My truck has 15k miles on it, but I did all of that and drained and flushed the radiator and overflow tank last year just before the 5 yr mark. It was due based on time for me, but I'm more particular than most. Hope they can get you back going soon
You mustn't use your truck much when it takes you 5 years to put 30,000miles on it.
 

GsRAM

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You mustn't use your truck much when it takes you 5 years to put 30,000miles on it.
Correct. I have a Toyota rav4 as a daily driver. I bought my 2500 for pulling a travel trailer which I sold last year. Pre pandemic I still switched it up and drove the ram 2 days per week to work or so.

My employers office shut down for 2 years during the pandemic so it was used even less then. Now I work a hybrid schedule so I've been driving it to work once per week now, weekends if I need to pick up something at lowes or whatever.

I think last I saw when I drove it this week it had 17,300 and some miles on it. I have a garage to park it in and it's very well. maintained and cleaned regularly. I'm hoping to keep it for many years to come.

I have no desire for a new truck I love my 17 and the iconic ram big rig inspired front end and cross hairs grille. It's the best and the most favorite truck I've ever owned.
 

stevenP

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Interesting read on all this. My 22 had a NTSB notice out on their website, about low diff oils from the factory. So I checked mine at roughly 7k miles. Ended up both diffs were very low. I used around 3 quarts between the two, to top them off for the factory recommended fill levels.

So I rarely use 4WD, and accordingly never shift my transfer case. Is that a thing or not?
 
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