Happy Labor Day! I'm spending mine laboring under my D1... yay!

My t-case has had a couple of leaks. One appears to be coming from the input seal which requires dropping the case, and I'm not able to do that at the moment. So instead I decided to drain and refill the case with 85W-140 in order to slow the leaks as suggested in another thread.

This morning I removed the fill plug, stuck my middle finger all the way in to check the current level, and didn't feel any oil level at all. Pulled the drain plug and nothing came out. My first thought was: Man, I got to this just in time! But if the case had been dry, I would have had a much bigger problem by now.

So I began pumping in the fresh oil with the drain plug removed to see if it would come out the other end okay before capping it and filling the case... and still nothing was coming out of the drain... and the case was topping off after maybe 3/4 of a quart, which is obviously a good thing because at least there was oil still in the case... but what the heck.

Then I discovered the reason: there's a black cap of some sort up inside the drain hole just above the plug. It's not soft and spongy like RTV Black (which was used by the previous owner to seal the bottom plate), it feels like hard plastic or even metal and it's perfectly flat at the bottom.

The problem of course is that I can't properly drain the case, and now (presumably) there's two different weights of oil in there which isn't going to help the leaking too much. Photo is attached. What the heck is this and how do I get it out?

 

I bought 3 quarts of 85W-140 at the parts store yesterday... or so I thought. Turns out I picked up a quart of 85W-90 by mistake, and that's the quart I've inadvertently pumped into the case. So at least it's the same or a similar weight to the old oil in the case, but then it definitely won't slow the leaking now. Ugh.

 

The only way to find out what's blocking the drain hole is to remove the cover from above it and poke around. Looks like somebody RTV'd the **** out of that cover too...... I have my fingers crossed it's not an important piece broken and laying on the bottom.

 

Well, that'll be a fun mess... removing the cover and draining the case that way. But the cover can definitely use a cleanup of all the RTV. Whatever is clogging the hole looks to be small enough to fit right inside it. It's actually "dished" perfectly in the hole. My fingers are crossed too. I haven't engaged the low range for a while, but I haven't noticed any problems with the case other than the leaks. Thanks again.

 

Mine did this, its a magnet and probly the end threads from original drain bolt , you cannot access that at all from the cover plate, I went to drill it and it crumbled and came out then the threads unscrewed easy with easy out

Actually thinkin about it it may have crumbled when I tried to center punch it to drill it, either way expect oil fast, I am sure its mentioned in my super long build thread

Also try blowing out all the breathers , rears and tc they clog and cause leaks due to pressure

 

Yep, it's the magnet off the end of the plug. Looks like it came loose. I looked up the plug on AB and found this. I'll go ahead and order one with a new washer because there's a small leak coming from the old one now.

A related thread mentions a breather line that terminates into a banjo bolt which can also become clogged. I looked for a breather line on the case yesterday but couldn't find one. I'll have to look it up in the RAVE manual.

Thanks for your help!

 

I had no idear what it was. Good thing it isn't a part of the gear-train. No, instead it's a magnet...... hopefully it did something while plugging up the hole.

 

I'll second that. I'm glad it's not something important that's broken inside the case. Then again, who knows what I'll find on the other end of the magnet. Not too impressed with this bolt design though. Clearly I'm not the only one who's had a magnet break off and get lodged up in the drain hole. I'll just stick the tube from the bottle pump inside the case to siphon out as much as possible so I'm not suddenly bathed in oil when I dislodge the magnet... Good times!

 

Good times for sure. When you achieve no drips your going to be one of very few who've accomplished that task....... might set a record.

 

That'll be the day. At this point, no drips coming from my Disco would only mean it's empty. See the quote beneath my signature?