I've searched for some related problems about this but couldn't find anything. Sorry if this has been covered.

I've got an '04 Heritage F-150 4x4 4.6L. I put a 3" body lift on it w/ 315's almost 2 years ago and haven't really had any problems w/ the powertrain even though the 3:31's are trying their hardest to turn these tires.

About a month ago I noticed a leak in the driveway. Crawled up under it and cleaned everything off. Narrowed it down to the rear diff. At first I though it was the housing leaking. Dropped the driveshaft and found the "nut" holding the pinion seal was horribly loose. Tightened it up and cleaned it all up again, and it stopped.

Now I've got a leak at the other end. The transfer case is leaking. The top seems to be dry from what I can see and feel. The bottom of the casing is saturated and where the driveshaft goes into the housing is wet.

Any ideas of what it could be? I usually do all my on work and repairs. Not ASE certified by any means, but I do pretty well on my own. Just don't want to dive to deep into this before I have any idea of what it could be.

Thanks guys.

 

Oh well, thanks for looking anyway. If anyone did? Pinpointed it to the tail shaft or extension housing. Easy fix. Apparently a common problem in some of my research. It's a pretty bad leak, although the fluid level is still full somehow.

 

Was it the transfer case fluid that was leaking out? I pulled my drive shaft last weekend, and was surprised to find some transfer case fluid dripping out. I'm no expert in this area either, but I assummed if we need to grease that output shaft area that there wuldn't be any other fluid in that area.

Also, was it the bushing at the back of the bellhousing? I have a good bit of something on the underside of my bed just above that. Looks like something was slung from the yoke as it was spinning...

 

I recently found that my transfer case is leaking at the back. Looks like the tailshaft gasket. Not the rear seal. What was your leak from? If it was the gasket, what did you have to do? I am worried about opening the transfer case up.

 

I recently had the tail shaft (same problem as you mention with the leak) seal replaced. My truck was not even 2 years old. They are also going to replace the CD player (does not eject CDs properly). Good thing I had that ESP from FORD. It cost me $50 to get everything done.

But it started the same way, I look at the transfer case then rear differential. They looked black. Where the drive shaft comes in (towards the transfer case) the housing was wet. I looked and It did not look right. For the rear, they checked and apparently no leaks. Anyway, they were not surprised and even though my truck has a 6" lift, they did not create a problem for the warranty.

The guy said that I played too hard (hmm, let's say I used my 4*4) and what may have happen is that the drive shaft pinched the seal when the rear axle was angled a little bit too much. I had the left tire completely down and the right in (see the gallery)

 

I finally pulled the tailshaft off, cleaned off the surfaces, and put silicone on it. I also replaced the rear seal. The leak is gone. The seal cost $12 from Autozone, and I already had the silicone. It was real easy to do.

 

Sorry, Idon't get into this forum very often. The tailhouse extension leak was probably caused by excessive vibration from the loose pinion nut. CHeck you rear diff out. Remove the cover and look inside. This happend to my dads dodge 1500 and the rear end gave out not 2000 miles later. Check for cracks and metal in the bottom of the carrier. If nothing else, you can clean it out good and sleep well at night knowing its ok. You don't need a gasket either, permatex (black silicone) will work just fine as a thin layer

 

I agree, the vibration from the driveshaft probably caused the transfer case leak. I can definitely tell the leak is coming mostly from the seal between the extension housing and transfer case itself. It's also hitting or leaking from the output shaft and slinging it up. I'm replacing the gasket (black silicon) on the ext. housing and the output shaft bushing. Should take care of it. Shouldn't be too difficult. A shop would charge about 1.5 hrs + parts/supplies=$190.

Wish I could post a picture. I use Mitchell's at work, but can't post the pic from it.

 

When you play in the shìt you get mud and or dirty water all over. It gets on the slip yoke. When the slip yoke is extended it gets covered and when it compressed it drags all this crap back towards the t-case and it attacks the seal. Once the seal is compromised more crap gets in there and attacks the bushing. Examine the slip yoke carefully looking for scratches.

JMC

 

Thanks for the Great picks