Well, I finished my van. It was a pain in the ***. I didn't want to call her out (the wifey), but I had to since I needed her to operate the jack while I held the weird space ship shaped transfer case on the 4 inch round spacer plate on my craftsman floor jack. I had her operating my big floor jack as I was slid under the pass. side. My first attempt sucked since I was trying to install the forward drive shaft into the case the same time I was trying to "clock" the flange connection at the transmission and the transfer case. I ended up electing to push the shaft away and just slid/clocked the t.c. forward while turning left and right until the cases meshed. Remember, there is a guide pin/peg looking forward from aft at the 9 O'clock position. Once close enough I started the six O'clock bolt in at about 4 threads and then easily and completely ran the other 4 down. There is 5 ea. total.---------bla bla---------to shorten this up-------added trans fluid to case and to trans.,started,checked for leaks. etc..... All that I have to do now is to go get some fuel injection cleaner. I like STP's the best. It has been setting for 13 months and at 1000 rpm it stumbles, but at 2000 it smooths out. This is the digital gauge van.

VERY IMPORTANT:------The punch line. I burnt up the last original Transfer case-------how?-------I ran it low on Transmission fluid. I didn't know. I assumed that somehow that the transmission's fluid meshed with the transfer cases resevour. IT DOESN"T! On the rear of the t.c. on the pass. side is the 1" drain plug. On the pass. side end is another 1" drain plug--but---it is the adding/inspection plug. It is about one whole inch in height higher than the other one. What Ford says is to inspect your level? Simply have your van on a level surface and then pull the higher plug on the right. Stick your pinky finger into the hole (like checking rear axle grease). If fluid runs out or you can feel it----you are fine. If you are low----add it. WHAT? You say there is hardly any room? YES---you are correct. I used a spray bottle and then graduated to a medium sized turkey baster/plunger.

I NEVER checked the amount before and while I drove in for 3 years and put 40 grand on it (NOW SITTING AT 175 grand) I never suspected to look.

I KNOW BETTER NOW> PLEASE CHECK YOURS! BEFORE ITS TOO LATE---- SEE YA Bozzy

 

Bozz,

I used a transmission jack to lower/raise the TC when I was working on it (thanks Tung!). I also used little pieces of wood on its platform to angle the case tso it would mate up to the transmission.

When I took it off, the van had about 120k miles on it, but the fluid was quite full and pretty clean. You said yours was low on fluid. Do you know if you had a leak?

 

another important point is tightening the TC bolts every 1>2 years with an Inch/Pound rated torque wrench to specs ONLY. do NOT guess with a ratchet

the alum. case is easily stripped, common cause of leaking along with loose bolts
worn wobbly U joints in either driveline will loosen case bolts, take out seals and bearings and increase chain wear

 

No I never checked. I just stupidly assumed that the case would hold the fluid like in an manual tranny on an old truck. If the case would have been designed like this -heck-you could almost run out of fluid because of the cooling property's of the thicker grease, but since we are dealing with unforgiving runny thin transmission fluid something killed me along the way. There was never any dampness like you can have on an leaking axle bearing/wheel cylinder around the rear axle. All that I had which I haven't discovered its origin yet was a broken up plastic race like for an Timken ball bearing. I also had stated that I had major slop but no metal chunks off of the teeth/chain or anything else. The electric clutch looks new and there were no signs of brinneling=where the metal gets hot and takes on an "rainbow effect".

 

Run dedicated gas line dryer in that thing, sitting for that long probably less than a full tank, condensation has been building up everyday, now you got water on the injectors!!

 

Thnx for the service tip bozzzz, my son has one of those awd Aerostars.