The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 1965 Rockwell T221 transfer case

Breaking into my K10s transfer case. Ran through the google and you tube machines for initial thoughts. Anyone here have any more depth in knowledge or maybe a step by step reference? Thinking I need to look inside while I have a clean frame and make sure things are ok.

I'm no expert, but had one years ago. I know they leak and have a habit of eating upper shaft bearings because it doesn't get a lot of oil. I would just pull the covers and take a look. If everything looks OK, reseal, and fill it with a good synthetic oil that will cling to the bearings and gears. and call it good. I don't know for sure of any special procedures, but shouldn't be any harder than rebuilding a manual trans, its all gears.

Just my thoughts on it.

They say if the domed end caps are not busted, that's good. I would hesitate to open it up. If you know the history of who had it first, that helps in my opinion. Forest service, utility, railroad, loggers, I.E. big 4x4 user. Otherwise transfer case's don't get 500 miles on them. These have big gears and big bearings. I have one also. I don't want to make it leak by "looking inside". But I would have to take it out to look, you don't.

You may hardly use it. It may be just fine. If not, fix it then, it's all removable from under.

There are videos and how-to's for it. It's kind of straight forward old fashioned American gear train, bearings and seals. There are rebuild kits for it. ($300)

I don't know if you have ever run it. If you have and it works, Leave it alone. I have tried mine and it seems to engage and etc. Change oil and.......

You can fill it and run it in "no load" mode to get oil to long-time-dry-bearings. Then drain and refill. Not dangerous, only install the input drive shaft. It won't go anywhere. Listen for noises. (gears were noisy in those days). Low speed of course. Test for heat. (but I don't know if your motor and transmission is in?)

Most folks put a pipe street elbow in the filler hole so as to "overfill". It seems like the design was not optimum for oiling everything. Overfilling to a higher level won't hurt it at all. Do that for sure.

>>>>>>>Rebuild Manual<<<<<<<


Filler Elbow

Thanks for the responses. Both highlight the decision point. It aint broke and works fine so leave it alone or while you have easy access take a peak and prep to reseal and gasket. I will think more on it ovef the next few days. Thanks for the manual. I was looking for that in complete form.
Have used the transfer case and it works fine. No noises or bothersome situations. My initial thought was to address the weeping oil at the 3 shafts.

Doug, have you seen this ?http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/toyota-land-cruiser/86600-sm420-rockwell-t221.html

It should be possible to replace the lip seals at the input and output shafts by simply removing the yokes, without any further disassembly. Once the yoke is removed, just use a sheet metal screw and a pry bar to lever the seals out. Be careful where you put the screw so you don't deface a part number and your friendly NAPA store can probably cross-reference numbers to get the right replacement seals.
Jerry

Hi. I can confirm the above having done it....I got all the yoke seals from rockauto.com, no issues there. Was able to pull the seals using a seal removal tool. I was also able to replace the input shaft bearing while in the vehicle as well. What was said about oil level is very important too. The top bearings rely on splash oiling - there are what look like little cups on the inside of the case that divert the splashed oil to the bearings as it runs down the sides of the case. If the oil level gets too low, the upper bearing (which spins all the time) starves and that can cause catastrophic failure. There is another version of the overhaul manual on the internet somewhere that includes part numbers, etc. It shows a "high oil level kit" which is simply a street elbow and plug that screws into the fill hole. The elbow facing up allows you to keep the level high, as stated above. I haven't done that yet, but plan to. Aside from the seals, the other places that leak are the bearing caps. These typically have shim stacks underneath them. I took one apart and re-assembled with Hylomar Blue sealant in between each shim, which stopped the leak. I would think the black permatex (the gooey stuff, not silicone) would work there too. I've changed my oil a few times since I've owned the truck, and I check it regularly and keep it high. I've been using plain old warren 80w-90 from agri-supply. I only run a few thousand miles a year, with a few 100+ mile highway trips. So far, no problems. I think the key is keeping the oil full. Good luck with yours.

Thanks Jerry and Bo. Have been sculking around 4x4pirate and a few other places.
Thanks Maxwoof. Good info. Ordered seals and gaskets yesterday and have the case on my bench. Once I got the cake off, it looks cool. Anyone know what color that is? I will throw some pictures up once I clean it some more.

the best thing for them is a brg and seal kit. as long as the brgs and shim properly they will last forever. the problem gets to to much end play in the shafts and those end caps get a hole worn in them and it starts to leak and then the problems start. I do have some end caps and yokes for one.
brg kit for those are not expensive
if you pm me your email i have about 8 or 9 sheets of parts list and expanded pictures
ron

I got ya Bartamos.

New question. I am looking for the bushing kit for the driver side mount. Found the bushings for the passenger side, but have not yet found the vendor with the otherside. Anyone have a lead before I try to make something fit.

Just curious -- are they unserviceable? Or do they just appear so? I'm wondering if just soaking them in some silicon brake fluid would rehab them sufficiently (if you can't find replacements ...)

I'm still amazed at the condition of that unit, considering what the rest of the truck looked like ....

Those rubber pucks look very similar to the old flathead Ford motor mounts that "Trans-Dapt", Hurst, and several other conversion motor mount makers used to repurpose for use with their products. Try a site like Mac's Antique Parts in the 32-48 Ford section and search for "Front Motor Mounts".
Jerry

They don't look that bad to me from my house. But, as you said you can find high durometer rubber and make some. They do not need to be round.

Anybody checked Steele Rubber for the mounts?🛠

Checking.

Opened up the case and inspected this weekend. All looked good happy to report. Tore it down anyways to get at one shaft that had some end play. 3 hrs later all was on the bench for cleaning. Maybe not required since things were in pretty good shape, but we were having fun and I was learning. Appears the input shaft bearing had been replaced at some point. the numbers of those bearings were not consistent with the parts guide. The shop manual the the PDF guide provided previous were put to good use. Was able to crosscheck everything coming out. Thanks for the help. New stuff is on the way and after cleaning all will go back together for the next 50 years.

What's the PN and vendor of mounting bushings you found?

believe that they are the same for either end of the t/c. the uppers are all shown as the same and the lowers are different than the top but are all the same. the bushings are all the same
check if you like as it is vert close in the back of the assembly manual
ron

Bushing kit the same - i was going to check that when the kit arrives. Was thinking if not the same i might be able to modify. But if the same problem solved. The kit is listed in lmc or truck shop. I forget which one but was only hint of transfer case parts i found in the typical vendor list.
Did not check pn in assembly manual. Did not think of that. Will look tonight since i struggled to get the tc out. The manual might have helped there too.

Maybe this or
This

I use classic parts. Their catalog does not get me those. Interesting.

By the way - Ordered oil seals, shims, and bearing kit from Torqueking.after talking with Roy, the guy who picked up the phone. Things arrived and all went back together today. Some challenges working the bearings off and on, but at the end of the day, all was in order. Shop manual was a big help. Will be some time before the transfer case gets a work out.