2001 Wrangler 32RH transmission leak

[Clarythedrill]

To all,

I have been dealing with an ongoing transmission leak. At first i thought that the pan was not sealing and leaking from there, but that is not it. Today I removed the transfer case to replace that seal at the back of the transmission. I noted that there was not a gasket there, but I am getting one before putting back together. I then noticed that there may be another leak, which looks to be between the transmission and the extension, or whatever that six inch or so thing is that is between the transmission and the transfer case. It is sorta square and is held on by I think 6 bolts.

My question is, is there a seal and/or gasket between the transmission and this extension that can be replaced? I do believe there is a leak there. If there is anything to replace, how hard is it to remove this extension? Are there clips and such to remove on the shaft before the extension can slide off? I have googled 32RH diagram, but the ones that come up really do not explain what it takes to remove the extension and if there is anything in there that could be wore out and leaking. Thanks for any help.

EDIT: the extension is called the ADAPTER EXTENSION, and I am putting a new seal in it, but what is on the other side of this extension and can it leak?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

There is no gasket between the transmission and extension nor is there a gasket between the extension and the transfer case. That area has no ATF in it since there is a seal on the transmission's output shaft and a seal on the transfer case's input shaft. My bet is the output shaft seal is leaking which is easily replaced without removing anything other than the seal.

Is the transfer case the same one that has always been connected to that 32RH, or has there ever been a swap from a manual transmission to the existing 32RH? If either has been swapped there's a good chance an extended output shaft seal is needed for the 32RH since a transfer case configured for a manual transmission is too short to seal a 32RH's output shaft.

 

[Clarythedrill]

Jerry,

Thanks for the info. I am not the original owner, so I will assume all is stock. I cleaned the transmission really well and there is a gasket between the transmission and the extension. I found a diagram that shows a blow up of the 32RH and it shows that there should be a gasket between the transfer case and extension, and the transmission and extension. I also found a youtube video and the guy was replacing the transfer case to extension seal and he had a new gasket to put on also.

So, the only seals to hold in fluid is the seal that the torque converter goes through and the seal that the transfer case goes through?

EDIT: when I removed the seal that the TF case goes through, a good deal of transmission fluid came out, so there is fluid in the extension. Should there not be? Is there a seal between the extension and the transmission?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Jerry,

Thanks for the info. I am not the original owner, so I will assume all is stock. I cleaned the transmission really well and there is a gasket between the transmission and the extension. I found a diagram that shows a blow up of the 32RH and it shows that there should be a gasket between the transfer case and extension, and the transmission and extension. I also found a youtube video and the guy was replacing the transfer case to extension seal and he had a new gasket to put on also.

So, the only seals to hold in fluid is the seal that the torque converter goes through and the seal that the transfer case goes through?

Yes, there are only those two seals. Those gaskets on the ends of the extension aren't needed or used to keep ATF from leaking out since there should be no ATF inside that area.

 

[Clarythedrill]

Jerry,

I edited my second post, but when i removed the seal that the TF case goes through, a good deal of fluid came out. If there is no fluid in the extension, why is there a seal there?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Jerry,

I edited my second post, but when i removed the seal that the TF case goes through, a good deal of fluid came out. If there is no fluid in the extension, why is there a seal there?

If there's ATF inside the extension, as above, you have a leaking seal either at the transmission output shaft or the transfer case input shaft. Most likely the 32RH output shaft seal is leaking. There should be no ATF inside the extension.

The 32RH output shaft seal is easy to replace, I don't know if the 231 input shaft seal is easy to replace or not.

 

[Clarythedrill]

Jerry,

Thank you, I am tracking now. So, where is the 32RH output shaft seal located? Is it located between the extension and transmission? Is so, can I replace it if i remove the extension or is it more complicated than that? I put a new seal on the extension where the TF case goes into it, so that should be good now if it was leaking.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Jerry,

Thank you, I am tracking now. So, where is the 32RH output shaft seal located? Is it located between the extension and transmission? Is so, can I replace it if i remove the extension or is it more complicated than that? I put a new seal on the extension where the TF case goes into it, so that should be good now if it was leaking.

The seal is around the 32RH's output shaft opening, on the outside of the transmission. It's easily accessed and replaced once you unbolt the extension. No special tools are needed to replace it, I pulled my old seal out with a pair of needle nose pliers. SKF would be one good brand for a replacement seal.

 

[Clarythedrill]

Jerry,

Thank you again. I went out and looked at my setup again, and it is an NP 231 TF case. It has a shaft coming out the back (with a seal) that is splined on the inside of the shaft which is hollow, and you can see into the TF case. When I put it back on it will slide over a splined shaft and through the new seal on the extension. Since the shafts are not fluid tight, and the end of the TC shaft is open PAST the seal, what keeps oil from moving from the TF case into the extension?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Again, the transfer case has seals sealing both the input and output shafts. The rubber boot at the rear you mentioned is not a seal.

 

[Clarythedrill]

Jerry,

I am talking about the end that bolts onto the transmission extension, not the end that the drive shaft slides into. the shaft is hollow with internal splines. I can look through this shaft and into the transfer case. This shaft slides over the solid shaft with external splines and through the seal on the end of the transmission extension. Since fluid can run through this hollow shaft, and is not completely sealed by the splines, fluid can go into the extension. Tomorrow I will unbolt the extension and take a look at the seal between the extension and the transmission and see what it is looking like. Since i will be in there, I am going to change it, along with the seal in the transfer case that seals the input shaft in the transfer case.