Leaky tranfer case

[Jim-ME]

I too purchased a RM cover and have been very happy with it. I really can't attest too much to it being leak free because the rear seal behind the E brake leaks so much it is hard to tell exactly where the oil drips come from. I do have complete faith the once I fix that issue I will not have a proiblem. I will also add that when I had a couple of the screws fall out Ray treated me exceedingly well. In short I have zero complaints and would recommend one to anyone who asks. It has been my experience that all RM stuff rocks!
Jim

[greenmeanie]

It wasn't cut for any O ring I've ever seen. It would have been cone shaped packing washers.

Using a chamfer as the o-ring groove is not a great practice but if you are having trouble sealing and the countersink was as large as you say it will work. It works on aircraft and military vehicles that I know of. Depending on the size of the countersink a quick reference to AS568 tells me that for a 1/4" stud a size -010 (.070 dia rope), -108 (.103 dia rope), -202 (.139 dia rope) will provide what you need. It is certainly worth a try over throwing a part out.

It does, however, sound like a lack of understanding of Jim's manufacturing.

I have the RM plate on both my series and have found them great. I have seen Jim's plate on a truck, and while simpler, it looked like a good bit of kit.

[jac04]

I just received my Roverdrive finned aluminum transfer case cover. Hopefully, I will get a chance to install it today.
Any tips for installation? I seem to remember talking to Wise Owl a while back and they suggested Permatex #2, but only between the gasket and transfer case.

Also, the cover came with one of those thick, squishy cork gaskets. My experience has been that this type of gasket will move out of position when the fasteners are tightened if you apply a gasket sealer to them. Maybe that is why WO only wanted sealer applied between the gasket and transfer case. I do have a much firmer gasket as supplied by RN that I can use as well.

What has everyone else done for installation?

[TeriAnn]

Well, Terriann, I have sold dozens of those transfer case pans without complaint. The holes aren't "beveled" on either side, they're deburred lightly on either side with a tool called a countersink.

The one I received was deeply deburred with a counter sink. The countersunk hole was wider than a split washer at the plate surface.

If you didn't understand the obvious need for longer studs, I'm sorry. I didn't think that was too tricky. A longer stud, a flat washer and a nylock nut is all you need.

I abandoned the studs well over a decade ago because they stick down more than a bolt and I had broken a couple studs off while traveling off road. I have been using bolts since then. When I received the plate and saw the "deburring" I did contact you and ask what you had in mind and you suggest just longer bolts. I started off with longer bolts & split washers. They they sat inside the "deburred bevel and allowed oil to leak past. I next went to flat head allen screws which better matched the deburr surface. The flat head screws fit the top opening with the top surface of the screw close to flush with the bottom surface. I thought it was a cool design that allowed a recessed screw so rocks could not knock the top off. But there just wasn't enough surface left after deburring where the plate fits against the case to get a good oil seal.

If you had a problem with the pan I sure wish you would have contacted me. You know I'm never far from a computer, and if you remember I had all kinds of time to help you when you bought a set of my axles used and had trouble installing them.

I very much appreciate your advise with the axle installation. It turned out that the outer axle bearing was just a little too worn to slide over the race when in the bearing was in the vertical position so it hung up looking like it was in place. A new bearing & race solved that problem.

I should have contacted you again about not being able to seal the plate with either the longer bolts or the flat head screws but the transfercase was in the final stages of being rebuilt and resealed when I decided not to fiddle with your bottom plate anymore. I didn't have the time to fiddle with it some more to see if I could stop the leaks around the mounting holes so a stock steel cover went on instead (and sealed nicely).

My only defense about not contacting you was that rebuilding the transfercase was just a small part of work getting done on my truck and everything was interrupted by unexpected abdominal surgery. I was only a couple days home from the hospital when this thread came through. Any thoughts about contacting you about a problem I found in the plate shipped to me was lost in the mix. I was reading the forum because I wasn't in any condition to do much else. I'm sorry I caused you any emotional problem. I've always respected you and what you try to do. Providing feedback on a product that I thought was flawed didn't seem important when I unexpectedly found myself in the hospital and I soon forgot about it.

If you still have it, send it back. I'll gladly refund your money and the cost of shipping.

I gave it to someone who is collecting aluminum for recycling. I'll see if I can get it back. Thank you for your generous offer to refund the cost. I would like to get your opinion of the deburring.