Broken Transfer Case and/or Center Diff (?)

Quoting H05TYL:
Just pull the transfer case out and have a look at it. There's only 5 bolts holding it in (plus dropping the downpipe out of the way). Another 5 bolts will have the plate off the side and you can see if there are any teeth missing or not.



This is totally the place to start. If has to come out anyway if the trans has to come out. Also check the output shaft splines on the trans as those can strip out with repetitive abuse. Same applies to the inside of the t-case splines.

 

Will be dropping the TC and checking the fluid/splines tomorrow if the weather is acceptable. I'm really hoping for a completely destroyed transfer case to be honest with you. lol

 

Drained the transmission/transfer case today.

Transmission looked pretty damn clean, no metal in the fluid.
Transfer case looked milky, but might have just been dirty. The plug had a little metal on it, nothing severe...

We're going to go drain the rear diff and see if MAYBE it had metal in it, but I doubt that's the problem.

Opinions?

 

When you break a center diff it normally breaks into large pieces and stays contained within the diff housing. Its not likely that the fluid would contain metal in that case. Definitely follow HO5TYL's advice first.

 

Yeah for sure, that's the next step.

Weather permitting I'll have that off later today. The rear diff was clean, brand new clean. I really, really, really, really, REALLY hope it's the transfer case.

Anyone wanna wager on one or the other?!

 

[Barnes]

Have you removed the inspection plate on the transfer case yet? You can actually see the gears with the plate off.

 

Nope, it's pouring out today so I probably won't get to it, but as soon as this rain stops the Tcase is coming out completely and I'll post pictures of the inside.

The week before it broke I was in a gravel pull out in the middle of a Y in the road that I have to pass to get to my parent's house. I stopped because I dropped an unlit cigarette and was looking for it. After I gave up, I thought... why not... and reved the piss out of it and dumped the clutch, the car broke loose and I began to slide out, but then traction, and understeer, so I clutch kicked it and that sent the back end out further, I was probably at around a 20 to 30 degree angle to the tarmac when I left the gravel and got back on the road, where the car immediately gained all the traction you'd ever need.

I think that's what killed whatever broke... but it didn't break until 50-60 miles later.

 

Well, after the SNOW melted off of my car I got some work done with a friend and he removed the TC.

Popped it open: Looked brand new.

I now know I need a new transmission... how much am I looking at and could you guys recommend a reliable source? Or should I just buy from a junkyard? Anything particular to look for?

 

Yoo hoo. Anyone home? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

But seriously, I have no idea how much these transmissions cost and am having problems sourcing one locally. Anyone wanna give me a ballpark?

 

Is it common at all to strip the input/output shafts for the transfer case going into the transmission? Because they look stripped, and there's this strange rust dust everywhere. I found a few threads saying this could be due to a worn center diff, and the car was lurching when getting on/off the throttle, sometimes violently. I'll take a picture and post it.

 

 

[jepherz]

Strange, I've seen that on tranny output shafts before. I assume the splines on your output shaft of the tranny mate up to those ones? No idea what could ever cause it though.

 

The car does have nearly 300K miles on it... that's probably PART of the problem. lol

 

[Barnes]

Quoting PETC:
Is it common at all to strip the input/output shafts for the transfer case going into the transmission? Because they look stripped, and there's this strange rust dust everywhere. I found a few threads saying this could be due to a worn center diff, and the car was lurching when getting on/off the throttle, sometimes violently. I'll take a picture and post it.



Andre at Pina Motorsports once told me this is very common. It is probably why they redesigned the transfer cases and they now have 23 splines instead of 22.

 

As soon as I decide to jack the car up again I'll take a look at the output shaft on the transmission...

With any luck it'll be in better shape and a new TCase will fix the problem. However, like I said, I heard that this is a SYMPTOM of a worn center diff, and the wear on the splines is caused by the center diff moving the output shaft in and out due to wear, which eventually grinds down the splines.

Like I said, once I get the car back in the air I'll check the output shaft for wear and play... I really hope I can just replace the transfer case. I am LE BROKE.

I don't know if this forum is at war with any other forum like the MR2 guys are (lol mr2oc) but here's a thread I found with a similar sounding issue over on DSMtuner.

le click

Also, isn't this car NOT a DSM since it was made by Mitsubishi, in Japan, with ZERO involvement from Chrysler et al.?

 

I'm from Washington also, a good place to look for a tranny would be Craigslist. Just post a "WTB" Wanted To Buy ad, there are people all over Washington parting out their DSM's. I've gotten a couple tranny's from Craigslist, you can usually find them for under $300.

 

Just so I'm clear, will the transmission from an Eclipse GS-X, or a Galant VR-4, or an Eagle Talon TSi, etc, etc fit on my 4G63? I'm assuming yes, but I really have no idea, and need to know before I possibly buy one.

 

[Barnes]

Your assumption is correct. Also, I'm still not entirely sure if this problem is due to the center diff wearing. If that is not the case, it is worth knowing that you can easily swap the transmission to transfer case output shaft, and get a new transfer case to fix this problem.

 

I was talking with some guy at a place called "Mitsubishi Graveyard" way the hell over in New Yowk, and he was saying the same thing pretty much. Says he has a bunch of re-manned transfer cases and used but still-good output shafts. All I have to do is get him the parts numbers.

I might try to source them more-locally though... But $170 for the TC, + probably $100 for the output shaft and whatever for shipping sounds less expensive than a new transmission.

 

Double posts go wooo woooooo!