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Kombs........Well, you have me totally perplexed at this point. Im looking at the pictures, and have the following comments:
Pic 1: Shows what appears to be either the fill plug or drain plug...its either an Allen Head or Torx Head bolt. Is the picture taken at the right perspective......is this plug on the bottom, top, or side?? If its on the bottom, then it must be the drain plug. The fill plug usually is about half way up so you cant over-fill it.
Pic 2/3: Is this long "tube canal" which has the bolt missing....is it on the bottom of the transfer case? If so, it must be the drain. However, its odd that they would design it to be such a long tube instead of more of a flush mounted drain plug. Very odd in my opinion. Do you have a shop manual, or have searched online for a manual showing where the plugs are? Is it possible they have a 12 mm bolt which you removed, and then you have to unscrew another plug inside that???
Another thought is that the 12mm bolt that you removed does nothing, but just covers up the threads, and that threaded "canal" is used for some type of optional equipment on some models? Or, maybe for a lift point???
Send us some more info, and maybe someone else will chime in with an answer.
The first picture is the drain plug on the bottom of the transfer case. The next two pictures are taken from the passenger side of the vehicle. They are of the same area just slightly different angles. If you were to remove the exhaust pipe in the last two photos you would see the drain plug behind it. There was no bolt in the long tube canal when I jacked up the car. From what I can tell it is a dead end(wouldn’t take fluid either). I removed the 12mm from the hole that is to the left in the picture. There is no inner plug, it’s a very narrow bolt(M8x1.25). I was able to remove one of the top bolts from the service plate and get about 13 ounces of fluid into the T-case before it started to spill out. Drove it to the dealership and had them fill in the remainder. Pretty flummoxed though about not being able to locate the fill hole.
Kombs......Now I follow you. So you found the drain plug, and had no problem draining the fluid. I can see that the small 12 mm bolt that you removed (left of that canal) is a dead end, and just a standard bolt holding the cases together. So, there was no bolt in that "canal tube" to begin with.....so, must be for something optional.
Too bad you did not ask the mechanic to show you exactly where the fill plug is so you will know next time. If you plan on keeping the rig for a good amount of time, I would recommend getting a shop manual. I wish someone with hands-on experience with your model would chime in and comment.....guess they are all on vacation.
Glad you got the fluid in, but Im sure the "stealership" charged you an arm/leg just to add a quart of 75W90.
Have a "crackin good" weekend, mate.
My wife had to drive it or else I would have asked about it. I work third shift so I was working on it after work this morning so that she could drive it down there. They charged less than the normal cost of a normal transfer case service since I had already done 3/4 the work and had the fluid on hand. I’ve had the car for 5 years now and it’s all paid for so i plan on keeping it much longer. Only 110,000 miles and every bit of service of it is up to date. Never had an issue with it so it will be around for a long time. Had 230,000 miles on my Montero Sport that was still going strong that I traded in on this. I will look at getting the service manual but I’ve never needed one before :/ Have a good weekend too! Thanks for the input!
My wife had to drive it or else I would have asked about it. I work third shift so I was working on it after work this morning so that she could drive it down there. They charged less than the normal cost of a normal transfer case service since I had already done 3/4 the work and had the fluid on hand. I’ve had the car for 5 years now and it’s all paid for so i plan on keeping it much longer. Only 110,000 miles and every bit of service of it is up to date. Never had an issue with it so it will be around for a long time. Had 230,000 miles on my Montero Sport that was still going strong that I traded in on this. I will look at getting the service manual but I’ve never needed one before :/ Have a good weekend too! Thanks for the input!
Ok, at least the "stealership" did not totally slam you on it. Since you normally dont need the Shop Manual, you may be able to find one online which is free, or down-loadable for $10. But I prefer having the real copy, something I can put my hands on and not run to the computer with my greasey hands looking for info.
Take care.
They’ve definitely packed a lot of things into the small frame of the outlander that makes things hard to get to at times. At least the rear diff was pretty painless to change the fluid in. My truck is much more friendly to work on. My wife and I both love the Outlander. Hands down the most reliable vehicle I’ve owned and does pretty well on gas. Nice to haul my baby boy around in as well and performs outstanding in the snow. We’ve only put about 4,000 miles on it in the last year.
Ok, at least the "stealership" did not totally slam you on it. Since you normally dont need the Shop Manual, you may be able to find one online which is free, or down-loadable for $10. But I prefer having the real copy, something I can put my hands on and not run to the computer with my greasey hands looking for info.
Take care.
It was $60 total, so about the cost of a tank of gas in my truck.
Ending going with Lucus 75W90 Synthetic gear oil. It didn't cost much more than non-synthetic lube. Transfer case and rear diff use about 1/2 litre each and ended up needing just over 1 bottle for both. I did waste a bit of fluid so if you're careful you might be able to get away with just 1 bottle for both. But I would buy 2 just in case. Just a few tips for the DIY.
Required tools are a 24mm wrench, 17mm wrench, and 3/8 hex, and a suction pump pictured below . There is no room to get a 24mm socket on the rear diff fill plug. You could probably use a large adjustable wrench for that as well. Each of the fill and drain plugs have an aluminum washer on them which immediately fell into the drain pan upon removal. Lastly, I had some concerns on the best way to be able to fill the fluid with the car level. So I jacked the car up to drain the fluids first. Then lower the car to allow more fluid to drain. Then jack backup to reinstall the drain plug. There was enough room for me to get under the car with a creeper to fill both the transfer case and rear diff without the car jacked up. Two other things to note. Remove the fill plugs before draining the fluids. That way if can't get them out you won't be stuck without a car to drive. And ensure the hose on your pump fits into the fill hole. I have to use a smaller hose as the one that came with the pump was just a little too big to fit into the fill hole. Here are a pics of the drain and fill holes I found from other posts that were helpful.
Hey what vehicle or lancer do you have? I have a 2012 SE 2.4L and I'm doing my t case and diff fluid. Mine also take for the diff fill plug a 24mm wrench. I'm pretty sure the hex bit for the diff drain plug is a 10mm.. do you remember if that was the case for you as well? Thanks!
