landcruiser gearbox equaliser tubes

[rockcrawler31]

Hi all

my transcase appears to be filling up from the gearbox and then dumping the overfilled oil out the rear of the car.

I realise that there is an equaliser tube available but from reading posts here it seems to be for vehicles that are winding the oil in the other direction leaving the tcase empty

As it looks to me, if i fit this hose then i'll be constantly having the tcase over full and the gearbox underfilled as the filler point is higher on the gearbox. Does anyone have any feedback on whether these things actually work or is it going to cause dramas.

the vehicle is a 91model 75 series 5 speed

also, is it worth it to buy the hose or easier/cheaper to just go to pirtek locally and get two elbows in the same thread as the filler plug

[mellows40]

G`day mate, yep i can answer this for you.. I swear by them. they do work . prior to fitting one in my Fj40. I had the gasket between the t/case and gearbox blow.. unbe known to me .. 80 k`s down the road t/case ran empty gear box filled to over flowing . end result one seized t/case the damage was extreme both the t/case and gearbox had to be replaced as all gears smashed the outer cases on both blew leaving a hole in the t/case as big as my head... Both were left hanging by the gears leavers swinging in mid air... since fitting and regular oil changes i have not had any trouble since... "knock on wood"

[rockcrawler31]

cheers mate

are your filler bungs at different heights? does that mean that one is always a little overful?

[RAY185]

G`day mate, yep i can answer this for you.. I swear by them. they do work . prior to fitting one in my Fj40. I had the gasket between the t/case and gearbox blow.. unbe known to me .. 80 k`s down the road t/case ran empty gear box filled to over flowing . end result one seized t/case the damage was extreme both the t/case and gearbox had to be replaced as all gears smashed the outer cases on both blew leaving a hole in the t/case as big as my head... Both were left hanging by the gears leavers swinging in mid air... since fitting and regular oil changes i have not had any trouble since... "knock on wood"

Could it be that having fitted a replacement box and transfer with a good seal, that is the reason you have not had trouble? In either case, the equaliser tube works very well for the common issue of transfer case oil going into the gearbox. The other way around I'm not so sure. The gearbox filler is higher than the transfer filler so the oil is happy to run out of the box into the transfer, I can't see the fluid running uphill from the transfer to the box in rockcrawler31's case. I'd be happy to be corrected here if someone has a "pressure theory" that would allow this.

I had a similar problem with gearbox oil going into the transfer at a fast rate. I had just fitted a second hand gearbox and transfer. I ended up dismantling the transfer case and finding 2 of the internal mounting bolts for the transfer case to box were missing allowing oil to pour out of the gearbox through these holes and into the transfer. I put new bolts in and fixed the problem. Not sure what is causing your issue rockcrawler31 but I would say in my opinion that the equaliser tube won't solve it. By all means spend the $50 odd and put the kit on (or make up the kit yourself for cheaper) but you'll probably find the transfer needs to be pulled down to find the leak. I would say you're missing an internal bolt if the transfer case has been apart recently, otherwise probably worn idler shaft seal or similar.

Where is the oil pouring out of the transfer case from? Good idea to check the breather on the transfer case toom it may be blocked.

[rockcrawler31]

G`day mate, yep i can answer this for you.. I swear by them. they do work . prior to fitting one in my Fj40. I had the gasket between the t/case and gearbox blow.. unbe known to me .. 80 k`s down the road t/case ran empty gear box filled to over flowing . end result one seized t/case the damage was extreme both the t/case and gearbox had to be replaced as all gears smashed the outer cases on both blew leaving a hole in the t/case as big as my head... Both were left hanging by the gears leavers swinging in mid air... since fitting and regular oil changes i have not had any trouble since... "knock on wood"

Could it be that having fitted a replacement box and transfer with a good seal, that is the reason you have not had trouble? In either case, the equaliser tube works very well for the common issue of transfer case oil going into the gearbox. The other way around I'm not so sure. The gearbox filler is higher than the transfer filler so the oil is happy to run out of the box into the transfer, I can't see the fluid running uphill from the transfer to the box in rockcrawler31's case. I'd be happy to be corrected here if someone has a "pressure theory" that would allow this.

I had a similar problem with gearbox oil going into the transfer at a fast rate. I had just fitted a second hand gearbox and transfer. I ended up dismantling the transfer case and finding 2 of the internal mounting bolts for the transfer case to box were missing allowing oil to pour out of the gearbox through these holes and into the transfer. I put new bolts in and fixed the problem. Not sure what is causing your issue rockcrawler31 but I would say in my opinion that the equaliser tube won't solve it. By all means spend the $50 odd and put the kit on (or make up the kit yourself for cheaper) but you'll probably find the transfer needs to be pulled down to find the leak. I would say you're missing an internal bolt if the transfer case has been apart recently, otherwise probably worn idler shaft seal or similar.

Where is the oil pouring out of the transfer case from? Good idea to check the breather on the transfer case toom it may be blocked.

Thanks ray

it's been running fine up till now, except for a constant oil wetness near the speedo cable which has been buggered near the screw in section. Then all of a sudden it puked out from either that same spot or from the rear output flange. I can't tell from the amount of oil that has been sprayed around.

what are the opinions on the idea that, regardless of whatever direction the oil is flowing a crossover pipe will have the same effect of levelling the oil between the two boxes. if i fill to the point that the gearbox is marginally lower than it is supposed to be and the transfer is about an inch too high, is it likely to cause any problems?

[trev1]

The correct way to fix your problem is to fix the seals in between the transfer case and the gearbox. The transfer tube works, I wont debate that, but I have had many failures where the transfer case dies and proceeds to fill the gearbox with all the contaminated oil and metal debris, requiring both gearbox and transfer box removal and rebuild.

[mellows40]

Couit be that having fitted a replacement box and transfer with a good seal, that is the reason you have not had trouble? In either case, the equaliser tube works very well for the common issue of transfer case oil going into the gearbox. The other way around I'm not so sure. The gearbox filler is higher than the transfer filler so the oil is happy to run out of the box into the transfer, I can't see the fluid running uphill from the transfer to the box in rockcrawler31's case. I'd be happy to be corrected here if someone has a "pressure theory" that would allow this.

I had a similar problem with gearbox oil going into the transfer at a fast rate. I had just fitted a second hand gearbox and transfer. I ended up dismantling the transfer case and finding 2 of the internal mounting bolts for the transfer case to box were missing allowing oil to pour out of the gearbox through these holes and into the transfer. I put new bolts in and fixed the problem. Not sure what is causing your issue rockcrawler31 but I would say in my opinion that the equaliser tube won't solve it. By all means spend the $50 odd and put the kit on (or make up the kit yourself for cheaper) but you'll probably find the transfer needs to be pulled down to find the leak. I would say you're missing an internal bolt if the transfer case has been apart recently, otherwise probably worn idler shaft seal or similar.

Where is the oil pouring out of the transfer case from? Good idea to check the breather on the transfer case toom it may be blocked.ld




G`day guys,
I belive that the fitment of the equalizer tube has given me a small insurance that if the seal between the gearbox and t/case were ever to blow again the equalizer tube would prevent the lack of oil problem. and yes replacing the busted bits with good componants is the major reson for the lack of probs... $40 and piece of mind... saves $3000 worth of repairs

Cheers Mellows40