RT4WD - Play in the rear driveshaft. Major Leak.

Well, this past Wednesday I was driving the wagon like I normally do and I started to hear the transmission make a slight whine. Kinda like when you go in reverse. I was lucky to pull into a friends apt complex and parked the car. I look under the car and I see transmission fluid steadily pouring out from the lower metal plate cover.

Immediately I thought it was just a CV Shaft seal on either the driver side or passenger side. We jack up the car and find that the rear transfer seal is leaking and there is play between the transfer case and driveshaft. I can move it up and down and side to side and in and out. Not much, but the play is there. Enough to make noise.

I checked the manual and all it says is if there is sign of leakage to replace the seal. Doesn't mention anything about play.

I wanted to ask if anyone here has had any experience with this particular issue regarding the 4WD system.

If anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it. I am in a real pinch because my CRX is also down for the count so I am stuck like chuck til I get one of them fixed.

Thanks Fellas!
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Comments

  • mtbikerTimtbikerTi Band Wagon
    Sounds like you may have some bad bearings. You'll have to pull the transfer case off and replace them. Hopefully everything else is still in good shape in there. I had the same problem on mine, but caught it before the bearings went completely.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    I am assuming you mean this?
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    So far these are the parts I assume need replacing. Anything else?

    #22 91201-P1D-005 OIL SEAL (38X60X11)
    #20 91123-PS5-013 BEARING, TAPER (28X58X20) 320/28x bearing part number
    #09 29352-PH8-910 WASHER, RR. TRANSFER
    #19 91122-PS5-003 BEARING, TAPER (35X62X21)
    #23 91303-PH8-010 O-Ring
  • mtbikerTimtbikerTi Band Wagon
    That's it. It's been a while since I looked at mine, but I think you'll need:
    22. Oil seal. 91201-P1D-005
    19. Bearing. 91122-PS5-003
    20. Bearing. 91123-PS5-013
    23. O-ring. Yours may be fine, but it's cheap and easy to replace. 91303-PH8-010

    #8 looks like a crush sleeve, so you'd need one of those, but I don't remember exactly. Before you order parts I would take apart what you've got to check for damage.

    I may have missed a part so double check...
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Can the rear transfer case be removed with the tranny still mounted to the car?
  • GriftyGrifty Wagonist
    Yes it can be removed without dropping the transmission, I believe one of the multiple service manuals available to download online shows you how to remove it.
  • Jimmy427Jimmy427 Band Wagon
    Make shure you take a look at the gears when you have it apart. For funny wear marks or missing or damaged teeth hate for you to put it back together and have problems.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Word up.
    I will. I've been spending time looking up parts for the CRV transfer case and parts to see if there are things that can mix and match. Found maybe 2-3 parts tops. The rest is totally different.

    Just hoping there isn't any damage to the gears. I'd hate to lose the 4WD. Not so much because of it's use, but because I hate fakin' the funk :(
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    One more question.
    I know this may come across as a dumb question, but where would I take the driveshaft to see if it's balanced and straight? Is there a specific shop type?
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    Yes, a driveshaft shop!

    I'm sure there's more than one local to you.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    Google driveline pasadena texas
  • MattKoMattKo Wagonist
    Bam beat me to it, I was in the process of writing that! Here in Pittsburgh, we have 2 places that specializes in drive line / suspension services.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Ok, another question.
    I found a replacement transmission on ebay and I wanna say it's a hydro transmission but can't tell for sure.

    What would I need to make this work?
    973.jpg

    If the rear transfer case and gears are damaged beyond repair I may just pick up this one and use it as a donor tranny. Still comes out cheaper than buying new parts from honda. Just pricing stuff ahead of time if my situation turns for the worse.
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    Grifty wrote:
    Yes it can be removed without dropping the transmission, I believe one of the multiple service manuals available to download online shows you how to remove it.

    bull shit. dont talk about what you do not know. YOU CAN NOT REMOVE THE TRANSFER CASE WITHOUT PULLING THE TRANSMISSION. anyone that says this is a damn liar. i want video proof of anyone who says they can do it. video fucking proof.


    And now to address your issue. I'm willing to guess that you're transfer case ring and pinion gear are trashed. When mine started making noise it was trying to eat its way out the side....see photos below.

    was it leaking out of this end?

    974.jpg

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    if so, then you are looking at having to replace parts like these....

    975.jpg

    212.jpg
    ^^^see the rubber O ring^^^

    205.jpg

    let me know if you have anymore questions....i dont think you need to re build your transmission at all....
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    503Wagon wrote:


    was it leaking out of this end?

    974.jpg

    211.jpg

    if so, then you are looking at having to replace parts like these....

    975.jpg

    212.jpg
    ^^^see the rubber O ring^^^

    205.jpg

    let me know if you have anymore questions....i dont think you need to re build your transmission at all....

    Yes, that's exactly where it was leaking from. Right where that round metal cup is at behind the square. That whole part had some play. So I will more than likely have to remove the transmission eh?

    I usually fear doing transmission work, but I don't wanna lose the 4wd.

    PS. Thanks for the detailed pics and help on such short notice. I appreciate it.
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    the transfer case and the transmission are completely separate (minus some small passages for fluid to pass through) but to do any work on the transfer case, yes you have to remove the transmission. the transfer case will not come off without removing the oil pan. the oil pan will not come off without removing the transfer case...do you see the issue? haha. best way to do it (and fastest) is to just yank the motor out really quickly and rip the transmission off....its a good reason to crack open the transmission and clean out all the metal shavings that im sure are in there haha.

    rebuilding a transfer case is pretty easy to do. i picked up a bunch of parts from jaker when he was selling off his parts....i'd totally sell you off some of the replacement parts buttt.......i plan on wrecking mine so i will need all the spares i can get. Once you get it out, see if you can find a local bearing place in your area like i did and just take all the bearings down there and see what they can do. i'd post up a WTB and see if you can get your hands on a transfer case.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    503Wagon wrote:
    the transfer case and the transmission are completely separate (minus some small passages for fluid to pass through) but to do any work on the transfer case, yes you have to remove the transmission. the transfer case will not come off without removing the oil pan. the oil pan will not come off without removing the transfer case...do you see the issue? haha. best way to do it (and fastest) is to just yank the motor out really quickly and rip the transmission off....its a good reason to crack open the transmission and clean out all the metal shavings that im sure are in there haha.

    rebuilding a transfer case is pretty easy to do. i picked up a bunch of parts from jaker when he was selling off his parts....i'd totally sell you off some of the replacement parts buttt.......i plan on wrecking mine so i will need all the spares i can get. Once you get it out, see if you can find a local bearing place in your area like i did and just take all the bearings down there and see what they can do. i'd post up a WTB and see if you can get your hands on a transfer case.

    Well, I had planned on buying the whole bearing setup along with new seals and o-rings.. and even the gearset transfer bevel if I had to(#5 in the diagram). IF it's not available then I am gonna have to buy a donor transmission off ebay. I assume the hydro version of these transmissions are the same internally. God I wish CRV transmission parts were compatible :(
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    I can tell you that part is not available. nothing for the transfer case is (according to honda in my area). Somebody on this forum has to have a spare one laying around.....cough BAM cough....just saying.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Just sourced a 4wd transmission and driveshaft complete with viscous coupler!/SCORE!
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    See...how hard was that? I strongly recomend tearin into the transfer case to see what it looks like.
  • driftin90driftin90 Senior Wagonist
    wait a minute.. how did you remove the one from the columbia yard? motor and trans were still in the car. along with the oil pan. i'm sure it was a pain, but you did it. lol
  • GriftyGrifty Wagonist
    Sorry for the mistake buddy, i was just going off this Honda Factory service manual.

    4.png
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  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    the issue with removing the transfer case is that one of the bolts is so long, that it hits the oil pan....i got the one out at colombia because i bent the oil pan haha.

    @grifty - i know the manual says...but i call epic bull shit haha. i tried once, my buddy tried, my other friend tried, and our master tech at work tried....it wasn't happening.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Nice! Some really great info here!
    Thanks so much for all the diagrams and help. This is definitely gonna be something I archive.
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    i'm going to sticky this as Transfer Case info in the quick links section of engine and drive train....feel free to continue to compile info in here.
  • moff3ttmoff3tt Band Wagon
    I dunno. I removed my transfer-case last fall no big deal? I don't have video evidence of it though.

    180.jpg
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    186.jpg

    This is what I found when I finally got my oil pan off:

    187.jpg
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    189.jpg
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    You removed it with the oil pan on?
  • moff3ttmoff3tt Band Wagon
    503Wagon wrote:
    You removed it with the oil pan on?

    Yes sir. However, I already had the oil pan completely loose and stuck on the transfer-case. At the time I didn't realize I needed to drop it to get the oil pan off. Perhaps that extra long bolt that stopped you was not as much of an issue since I had some wiggle room in my oil pan.
  • 503Wagon503Wagon moderator
    Man we tried that several times. I'll try it again when I need to tear into it but even at the junk yar I took the oil pan completely loose ad it still wouldn't come out while it was in the car.
  • JesseCRXJesseCRX Council Member
    Small update.

    Finally got around to having the car checked out.

    Transfer case successfully removed and the gears inside were perfect. From what I can see it looks like bad bearings and seals. Honda no longer makes the bearings but I was able to get a friend of mine to source them, and the seals are still available.

    So he's gonna go ahead and rebuild the whole thing.
    We also did a viscous coupler check and everything is fine. Ujoints are solid too.
  • FakeJDMEF8FakeJDMEF8 Senior Wagonist
    Now ya just need new motor mountzzzz:)))
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