Transfer case was warm

[1surfer]

1968 W100

About a week ago I needed 4wd to get out of some rough ground so I locked the hubs and pulled the lever back into 4wd. Got out no problem.

It was a bit harder than usual to push the 4wd lever forward and it went with a bit of a clunk.

Thought I would unlock the hubs when I got home about 5 mins away. I forgot to unlock the hubs.

I put on a bout 30 or 40 miles this last week with the hubs locked but never really went above 45. lever was in 2wd position the entire time.

Yesterday when I got home I noticed some drips coming from the transfer case. Looked like they came for the output shaft seal for the front diff. It has never leaked before and its a brand new seal. The TC tends to "weap" a bit from the end of the power take off and other places but not enough to drip.

The entire transfer case was pretty warm to the touch. Not quite HOT but pretty darn WARM.

Is that normal ? What might cause that ?

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Warm to hot is normal for any gearbox. Caused by friction. Basic physics.

[1surfer]

Warm to hot is normal for any gearbox. Caused by friction. Basic physics.

I thought it might be. Never actually crawled under and touched to after driving.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

I have, some are hot enough to burn u

[1surfer]

I felt the ones that are joined. Just never felt one that was divorced after I had driven it. Seems to work well. The is a chance that I put the pinion yoke seal in backwards.

[marklein]

There are a few reasons that you will get a clunk coming out of 4wd. If your wheels are turned slightly, or your tire pressures are off a bit front to back, or you have a load in the box deflecting the back wheels a bit. This loads the drivetrain front to back and makes it difficult to take out of 4wd. This is true of most 4wds, and there is little you can do about it. Make sure your tires are even front to back, and go in and out of 4wd while going straight. If it fan the front shaft and tcase for a few days, it won't hurt anything. From the late 90's on for about 10 years or so, Dodge trucks ran the front diff and shaft all the time, now they are back to a disconnect on the diff again. Must be about economy. Try running synthetic in that tcase, might be better for it, but it may leak worse too. Won't know till you try it.

[1surfer]

Thanks, I did have big load in the back. Thats what I was doing. Our town has a mulch pule and I had a pretty full load. Everything seems to be working fine.