New 4runner owner. New problem.

Hi guys! This duplicates my "New Member" post. I hope that's okay.

I am a new owner of a 1995 3.0 V6 autotrans 4runner (250K miles). We are addressing a number of issues. (Oh? Really??) New to Toyotas, too. (Oh no!)

It ran very poorly when purchased. We had to trailer it home. We happen to have a 4x4 pickup in the shop being built as a crawler and it has the same engine.

After some diagnostics, we stole the EGR vacuum modulator off the pickup. The one on the 4Runner was visibly broken. FIXED! Runs great!

But, the transfer case is making a noise. Seems to be the rear output bearing. Hummm. Questions:

1) can the bearing be replaced with the case in the vehicle?

2) If not - Can the case be removed without pulling the transmission?

3) Once I pull the case, do I need to "split" it to replace the bearing.

4) I can get a used Tcase with only 120K miles for $180.00. Should I just buy it?

5) How can I be sure the used Tcase is the same as my original short of having mine out and sitting side-by-side with the replacement?

Thanx, in advance - Fishguy, out.

 

Welcome, unfortunately I cannot answer your question but hopefully a few of the more experienced people in here will comment. Good luck.

 

Our 4Runners have chain drive t-case and the back of it is different from the gear driven earlier ones. If your really looking to buy a case you really should be looking at a gear driven t-case from the 80's and then your on your way to building a Marlin Crawler 4.70:1 low ratio box. But this will require an adapter for the Auto-trans which I am not sure works with the same adapter for the R150F five speed. You can split the t-case from the transmission as they do not share the same gear oil. As for the bearing take a look at the FSM and you will have your answer on how much teardown is needed.

 

Wow! Thanx a lot. However, I just want to fix the noisy bearing. This isn't the crawler project. Therefore:

1) Do I need to take the Tcase out to replace the bearing? And,

2) If so, do I need to remove the transmission, also?

Thank you, in advance.

 

I just put mine back together last month. It would probably be easier to take off the transfer case with the transmission off and out, but in theory it could be taken off by itself. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture while I had the rear cover off, but the front and rear output shafts are very similar.

Here is the rear output with the prop shaft removed.

The hardest part of this was getting that indented nut off. Took everything I had to give it to get it off, pounding the indent up, 3ft breaker bar with a hammer, and a propane torch to expand it a touch.

To be clear, this bearing picture is of the front output, but I believe they are the same as far as the bearing and surrounding parts are concerned.

This is the transfer case split open. The bearing on the left is for the front output. As you can see, it is pressed onto the shaft.

While I think you can gain access to the rear bearing without taking it apart, I don't think there is anyway you could get it off without doing a pretty involved teardown of the transfer case.

So to answer you original questions:

1) I don't think that's possible.

2) In theory the transfer case doesn't need to be off to split it open, but that would be more headache than it's worth. Just take it off.

3) It would seem so. Aside from those locked nuts inside the output assemblies, it's really not that bad opening it up. Getting that bearing out of the shaft might be another story.

4) Depends on the condition and how much your time is worth. It would certainly be easier than opening up the transfer case and getting to that bearing.

5) Make sure it is off of a Toyota with the same engine and transmission as yours. If you want more than that, take a bunch of and pictures measurements on all the places it interfaces with the truck and compare with the new TC. That would be the front and rear prop shafts, the transmission, shifter, and mounts.

Best of luck! Let us know how it goes.

 

Thank you VERY MUCH!

Two questions still remain:

1) Does the TC come out without removing the transmission?

2) Is your 4runner a 1995, like mine?

Thanx, again.

 

The transmission and transfer case are all bolted together and come out together.
Mine is a 94 with the V6. I do have the manual so it will look a little different, but everything to do with the transfer case is the same.

 

Thanks, again. Very good photos! We have decided to drop the trans and TC together, just like you did. It seems more straight-foward than trying to disconnect them in the car.

 

1995 4 Runner Transfer case output bearing follow up -

I did a lot of research and I am glad I did! Initially, we thought the transfer case rear output baring was bad. I started a thread here and received a number of heplful responses. However,:

1) My transmission turned out to be an A340H. This baby is something special. The transmission and transfer case are, essentially, one unit. Ya, I know, they can be separated but it is a lot of work. Plus,

2) It is probably best to remove the trans and TC together in order to replace the output bearing. (I am still not sure if the case needs to be “split” or not to do so). That method enables one to replace other oil seals more easily, also. So,

3) Before dropping the trans, we did some “on the ground” recognizance and, luckily, found Wolff Auto in Lolo, Montana (406) 823-0668. Donny said, “F the transfer case. I have a good A340H for $200.00. Just replace the whole thing.” He went on to say:

4) The A340H is actually a very strong trans. In fact, he has a pile of them because no one ever needs one. Hummmm...

5) Donny suggested, dropping the drive shaft and inspecting the shaft nut. He has seen cases where bearing wear will cause a loose of torque and actually create a gap at the nut. Re-torquing the nut will cure the vibration, he said.. I did not find that suggestion in ANY of my research. Another forum mentioned it 15 years ago but not since.

6) See attached image. Sure enough re-torquing the nut stopped the vibration. That loose nut turned one full turn before it torqued to 90 ft/lbs.

7) Donny said he sees this on rear end input bearing nuts, also.

8) Ya, ya, I know, looseness of that nut is a sure sign of bearing wear and it will probably totally fail in the future. If that is the case, shouldn’t that nut be re-torqued occasionally – say, every 50K miles or so?

Submitted for your consideration – September 5, 2020

 

I looked in the FSM and the rear transfer case output bearing is a ball bearing. Ball bearings are pretty robust.

If it were my vehicle I would drive it around and warm up the transfer case oil and then drain it into a clean container, it should be less than a quart. If a bearing is failing the oil will be full of small ferrous metal flakes. If the drain plug does not have a magnet on it I would put a shop magnet in a plastic bag and swirl it around the oil to collect any particles. The bag just makes it easy to keep the magnet clean, otherwise it is hard to get all of the particles off of the magnet. If all you find are a few small ferrous slivers and some very small shiny particles suspended in the oil, I would not be concerned, the oil may have 250K miles on it. Refill and drive it for a few hundred miles and drain and inspect the oil again. If the oil is clean I would say the transfer case is good to go.

As far as the loss of torque of the nut. I am not sure about the auto transmission transfer case but the manual transmission transfer case has a seal in the housing and one in the flange. Maybe the PO removed the nut to change one of the seals and did not torque it properly?

 

The A340H shares ATF with the transmission. Hard to believe but true. The transfer case is more like an electric controlled auto-trans than a traditional Tcase. It holds 1.1 quarts of ATF. 0.8 comes out when drained.

Donny reports that this works almost every time to eliminate transfer case vibration at the rear output and also on rear diff bearing nuts. And, almost every nut with 250K on it has some play.

Of course, if the bearing is bad, its bad and should be replaced. However, my vibration is gone. Worth trying, I thought.