Transfer cae plug

The transfer case has two plugs to check/drain the fluid. The bottom one is the drain, the upper one is the fill/check. Fluid should be just below the fill/check plug, which is the one they would have removed to check your fluid level. I can't image any quick lube place would be so moronic as to actually write on the receipt that THEY overtightened a plug, it may have been their way of saying it was overtightened by the previous fluid check.

But there are a lot of grade-A morons working for those places.

Because the transfer case casing is made of aluminum, the plugs shouldn't be overtorqued; torque spec for tcase plugs is 30 ft lbs.

They basically are saying your transfer case is now broken....

You 'might' be able to fix it by drilling it out and tapping in a larger bolt. They sell slightly oversized self threading bolts to 'try' and fix oil pans when this happens, I don't know if they have the same for the t-case. In the oil pan case, lots of times it has to be replaced.

Mike

If it's never been loosened before, it may have just been tight from the factory and they could not get it off with a small hand wrench. There may be nothing wrong at all. I'm seriously surprised that they even touched it. It's usually difficult enough getting those guys to put oil back in the motor, let alone actually CHECKING other fluids!! You might just try to loosen, without dumping oil, and retighten it to check for good threads. If it's just been a day or two, call and ask the guy who did it what happened. It's easier than guesswork.

good luck,

tw

You need to call them and see what this means. I can only speculate. Did they overtighten the plug? Did they find it overtightened? Are the threads now damaged? Because these plugs are steel, and the case is aluminum, differential expansion rates can make them appear to tighten over time, "all by themselves". This used to happen with spark plugs in aluminum head engines, until people figured out how to handle them.

Saludos,

Earle

Thomas Waldron proclaimed:

Yeah, I kinda have to wonder what they filled the transfer case with, given they are somewhat fussy about fluids and kinda expensive to replace.

Even dealerships have been known to screw up the fluids. A 29.95 quick lube is no bargain at any price.

All Skippy Lube places employ asshole morons exclusively. To find undereducted, sociopathic employees who will damage your car with cheerful glee must be difficult for management, but somehow they manage to come through.

Rule #1: NEVER, EVER GO TO A QUICKIE-SKIPPY-LUBE PLACE FOR SERVICE.

Not to denegrate, but just not having it done at all would have been preferable. You cannot imagine the horror stories that come out of these place.

Chances are, THEY overtightened your expensive transfer case drain plug. This means that they stripped out all of the threads and used one of four things to seal it back up:

1. Duct tape.
2. JB Weld.
3. Bubble Gum.
4. Snot.

Or, all of the above if the damage is severe enough. (I've seen this on a transmission drain plug, I swear it.)

My recommendations:

1. NEVER, EVER GO TO A QUICKIE-SKIPPY-LUBE PLACE FOR SERVICE.
2. Crawl underneath and examine the damage. Look for sealants around the drain plugs, leaking lubricant, duct tape, things like that. If you find anything hinky, head for a good mechanic and have the damage assessed. SOMETIMES you can have it drilled out, tapped and put in an oversize drain plug made for such rookie-moves. If you're unfamiliar with this type of repair, pay the mechanic to do it.

Finally:

1. NEVER, EVER GO TO A QUICKIE-SKIPPY-LUBE PLACE FOR SERVICE.