Chuzie's monster transformation

[chuzie]

Ended up ordering a seal meant for a 1995 Toyota Previa DLX transfer case. National part number 471950. If you end up doing this swap I suggest you order 2 of these as they take a few days to receive and could prove to be a big problem when you need a spare.

The seal came in a day earlier than expected! Last night I pulled the D20 off and tore down the spud shaft assembly to prep for this seal. Just so you know, this seal is going in to prevent transmission fluid from entering the D20 through the spud shaft assembly. A seal is not included with the ZF adapter as it is designed for a manual transmission.


I wanted to reassemble the parts using the same heating / cooling methods as before but I was concerned about the temperature limits of the seal. I called National and found this seal has a tolerance of -40 / +220 degrees F. The transmission does have the ability to reach the upper end of this spectrum but I seriously doubt that temp would ever reach this seal.

Set the oven to 200 degrees F for the adapter housing and threw the shaft/bearing and seal in the freezer.

While they were all "cooking," I laid on a light coat of blue RTV gasket maker where the seal will rest in the adapter just for peace of mind.



I gave the seal about 15 minutes in the freezer. Remember the open end of the seal goes in facing the transmission. I used a spare piece of 2.5" exhaust tube and a mallet to drift the seal in evenly.



I used the depth function of my caliper to verify it was fully seated all the way around. Next I sprayed a coat of silicone lubricant on the seal lips just to make sure it would stay happy for the duration.



From that point, the rest of the assembly / install was as previously described in the write-up.

For some reason, it only took 10 quarts to fill the transmission. I don't recall if I ever drained the torque converter. I think that would account for the other 3.

A few loose ends to include the cooler lines, exhaust, driveshafts, etc had to be buttoned up, but I ended up taking it for a test drive and it all went well. I ran with the D20 empty, only for a couple miles. I parked it with the drain plug removed. I hope I do not see a red mess on my garage floor tomorrow morning. I think this seal will work out just fine.

I need to get in the programming mode and modify the shift points and maybe adjust the linkage on the shifter slightly as it is requiring me to really put some upward force on the column shifter to get it to that sweet spot between park and a sensed computer error. No biggie.

Tomorrow I need to install my aux cooler, center console, twin stick boot and upload the new program. Also need to order a good transmission filter and a shorter Autometer trans temp sender. The one I have is the longer version and bottoms out in the brass 1/8" pipe tee I am using.

8-)