12-24-13

The saga of the slip-shaft eliminator kit continues.

You may recall that last summer and fall I had a bunch of work done to my jeep. One of the things that I had done was the installation of a slip-shaft eliminator. This is a kit that goes on the output of the transfer case which replaces the old slip-shaft with a CV stile drive shaft. The job was done just before we took off for Quartzsite last December. We towed the jeep behind our motor home.
When we got to Quartzsite I noticed that there were oil spots all over the back of the jeep. Upon crawling under the jeep I noticed that transmission fluid was leaking from the seal on the output of the transfer case.

I called the 4wheel parts store in Santa Rosa where I originally got the work done. I asked Allen, the guy that I had dealt with to see if there was anything that could be done. He set me up with the 4wheel parts store in Phoenix to have the seal replaced. On the appointed day Patti and I drove the 112 miles to Phoenix.
The guys at the store were very nice. They took the jeep right in and about an hour later they had the seal changed and we were on the road back to Quartzsite.

When we got back to Q I looked at the rear of the jeep and saw oil spots. I climbed under the jeep and saw that there was transmission fluid leaking from the output seal again.

I got back on the phone to Allen and told him what was going on. I decided to just keep an eye on the fluid level in the transfer case and get something done about the problem when we got back home.

When we got back to Santa Rosa I took the jeep to 4wheel parts and they changed the seal again for free.

After taking a ride to Boonville and back I noticed that  there was still a leak. Back to 4wheel parts I went. This time they decided that the complete kit needed to be replaced. It took  several weeks to get the new parts and then install them.

About the time the jeep was done I had to have surgery for this aneurism so I couldn’t drive much.

Last weekend I drove the jeep to Boonville and back and guess what. When I got home I noticed oil on the back and when I looked under the jeep I could see transmission fluid leaking from output on the transfer case.

Monday morning found me in the 4wheel parts store talking to Allen. What we decided is, that they were going to remove the “Rugged Ridge” kit and replace it with another one from a different manufacturer.    

This whole thing has been kind of a pain in the neck but I have to say that the guys at 4wheel parts have been really good about getting to the bottom of the problem.

It will not happen until after the holidays but maybe I will get this leak fixed this time.

The saga continues. I’ll let you know how it all works out.