PSA CHECK YOUR TRANSFER CASE

Fast forward to 6:40… low fluid in his front differential and T Case. Sucks that he didn’t find out until he had some miles on it.

 
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Took delivery last week...I am 300 miles in to the 392 and checked my transfer case level. Took drain plug out and no drip, stuck finger in and dry. Shocker right? Picture shows how much fluid my transfer case took.

Diffs are next tomorrow....weird how low the fluids are from the factory.
 

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I’m at 360 miles only. Checked my front and rear diff fluid level. Both were low. I topped,off with the stock Mopar 75w85 diff oil and used right at 1/2 bottle.

Im think I might change the diff fluid around 3-4K miles and go with 75w140 for the rear as Dana Spicer says to use on the data sheet.
 
What does it do to the diffs and T Case if the fluids are a little low?
 
RMAG said:
What does it do to the diffs and T Case if the fluids are a little low?
Click to expand...
Watch the video posted in post 101
 
RMAG said:
What does it do to the diffs and T Case if the fluids are a little low?
Click to expand...
In all reality, despite clickbait videos, running a "little" low will result in nothing. I'm sure there is an engineering spec with some safety factor for this, but if it calls for 2 quarts and you are running with 1.8, you'll never notice. At the very extreme limits of performance (like towing uphill for miles on a 110 degree day), the fluid temperature might be elevated, but probably not outside the range of what the fluid can handle.

At some point though, if you get low enough, that temperature can exceed what the fluid can do, and it begins to break down (some fluids smell burned when this happens). Once the performance of the fluid is exceeded, you are accelerating wear on whatever parts it was supposed to protect.

The other aspect of being too low is that the fluid may not reach areas that it should. Whereas the engine pumps oil around all the needed places, the diffs rely on the oil level to be sufficient for the ring gear to sling the gear lube around to keep everything coated, and cool. Some transfer cases have a design that causes the fluid to be circulated to some critical parts (this sometimes affects the flat towing procedures, as dragging some 4x4s with the transfer case disengaged can cause damage due to the fluid not circulating). Not enough fluid, and those parts wear and eventually fail.

Where to draw the line? I like to keep mine up to spec, but at 90% capacity it's probably not caused any damage. 75%... maybe. 50% most likely.
 
guruman said:
In all reality, despite clickbait videos, running a "little" low will result in nothing. I'm sure there is an engineering spec with some safety factor for this, but if it calls for 2 quarts and you are running with 1.8, you'll never notice. At the very extreme limits of performance (like towing uphill for miles on a 110 degree day), the fluid temperature might be elevated, but probably not outside the range of what the fluid can handle.

At some point though, if you get low enough, that temperature can exceed what the fluid can do, and it begins to break down (some fluids smell burned when this happens). Once the performance of the fluid is exceeded, you are accelerating wear on whatever parts it was supposed to protect.

The other aspect of being too low is that the fluid may not reach areas that it should. Whereas the engine pumps oil around all the needed places, the diffs rely on the oil level to be sufficient for the ring gear to sling the gear lube around to keep everything coated, and cool. Some transfer cases have a design that causes the fluid to be circulated to some critical parts (this sometimes affects the flat towing procedures, as dragging some 4x4s with the transfer case disengaged can cause damage due to the fluid not circulating). Not enough fluid, and those parts wear and eventually fail.

Where to draw the line? I like to keep mine up to spec, but at 90% capacity it's probably not caused any damage. 75%... maybe. 50% most likely.
Click to expand...
Or read 4 paragraphs as opposed to watching “click bait”.
 
FWIW I checked my '24 delivered 1/22/24. Front diff about 8 oz low, rear about 12 oz low. The transfer case was full though. Opened the plug, started dribbling out.
 
Robr651 said:
Do yourself a favor and check the level of fluid in your transfer case. I was poking around under the 392 today and decided to pull the fill plug on the transfer case…. Lo and behold the case was 1/2 quart low. I had the same issue with my TRX and if you pay attention on the TRX forum it’s a known issue. 392 takes Mopar ATF 4 which you can grab at your dealer or on Amazon. I’ll probably be checking the level on my diffs next weekend. Those were also low on my TRX.
Click to expand...
Pulled the plug 10 seconds later a little drizzle of fluid started to make its way out. Stuck my finger in the hole it’s full. I’m lucky guess. I did ask my dealer to check all fluids b4 I picked the Jeep up as it was a 4 hour drive. They said they would diffs also. They are a family owned dealership in Sedona az . All fluids full. As far as trans have you watched the video on how to check it OMG insane warm not to warm on a lift guy in the Jeep shifting gears guy under lift checking level b4 it gets too hot crazy.
 
2026 MOAB 392. XFER case and both diffs full. Replaced XFER case fluid anyway. Gonna let the diffs go to 20K and will change then.
 
My 26 MOAB T-Case was low, I put in about 6 Oz. I am at 1700 miles now, time to change the diff and t-case fluids
 

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