Carrier bearing bolts fell out

[nasty_4g63]

Hey guys, so after leaving a huge meet today I was on my way to get gas and I started to notice it feeling like my clutch was slipping when I would take it above 4k RPMs. So I finally make it to the gas station about five mins after and when I get out I smell the awful smell of gear oil. Being a dsmer every new smell that is not of the norm I instantly check and it was coming out what looked like the transfer case. I then have it towed to my house, get it on jacks, and start looking at my trans and transfer case. As i was sliding out from under my car something caught my eye. It was the o2 sensor for my wideband being pushed by something and bending the the harness for it. I reach my hand under and feel that it was the carrier bearing had came loose.(guess I forgot to lock-tite it ). Finally to my question, since I was unable to start tearing it apart do you think that the gear oil leak is just because of the axle not being in right or that I damaged my tranny? I just want to get another opinion plus I am only 17 so i am freaked out that my tranny I just put in might be bad and working at bestbuy it is going to be hard to replace at under $8 an hour. Thanks guys for the help.

 

[3kgt2nv]

I would also strongly recommend draining the existing fluid from transfer case and look for metal shavings. Also inspect the end of the driveshaft yolk to make sure splines weren't damaged. If no shavings are found in the tcase refill it with the correct fluid in the proper amount. Then reinstall the drive shaft yolk and tighten all the carrier berring bolts and re tighten them with loctite or crush washers.

And take it for a test drive. If vibration is still there it may need some repair of the joints as the vibration may have caused issues due to the difference in angle that the two ends of our driveshaft have.

 

[nasty_4g63]

So the the splines where great i just got it put back together a little bit ago. I do have to get a new rear seal for my t-case but that is no big deal. Thanks for the help 3kgt2nv.

 

[3kgt2nv]

sounds like you dodged a bullet on this one. congrats. get that seal in there asap. tcase doesnt hold much fluid and even a slow leak can make it run dry pretty quick