I'm after a bit of advice, please.

I just had my 2008 Range Rover 4.4 petrol AJV8 NA in for a service. I had no issues with it. 208K km.

Everything done and wallet is a little lighter, however, I was told the "transfer case is leaking at the front differential".

I was told it was a slow leak and it could wait until the next service, but they recommended it be done.

Now parts are not a whole lot, but it's 8 hours work to take out the transfer case, strip it down and rebuild with new seals, gaskets, etc. I haggled and got about $350 off the quote. (Hey, it's a start.) But that still means it's expensive.

Now, was discussing it with my father and he pointed out - no symptoms and no oily mess on the driveway. "Just leave it. Many cars have leaks."

My thoughts were, if it had to be done, there wasn't any point in waiting. It's not going to cure itself, and nasty things could happen if the leak got bigger.

So, ignore, or get it done?

IMHO, if it doesn't leave a stain on the drive overnight then it's not worth doing....

Also. can't see 8 hours in it, it's only 5 hours to swap a gearbox... Pete
__________________________________________________
2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I agree with Pete. ______________________________
Vogue tdv8 08MY poverty pack - wow

Thank you. Much appreciated. I've asked for advice in a few places, and you're both with the unanimous majority. Will now try to just relax and enjoy the car...

I had a leak in my 422 that tuned out to be a crack / porosity in the casing.
Cut a long story short I had the casing welded and it didn't work. In the end I bought a casing from RRPhil and swapped all the gears over and put new seals in it and all was OK after that.
It took me about 3 hours to get the transfer box out.

Interesting. Thanks.

get them to top it up, drive it for a month and see how much it uses. if it hasn't gone down much then just keep topping it up every so often. I bet it is just damp round the output shaft, which will slowly get worse as it wears but TBH i would keep an eye on it for a month or so and see if it gets worse. But its definitely not 8hrs labour to get the transfer box out, it just drops off the back of the gearbox and i think a cradle needs moving. But with a ramp and the right tools a garage should do it super fast. There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Where do you fill it up? Does it have a dipstick? I don't remember seeing one in the engine bay. Thx

IIRC the transfer box is much like the main box and has a filler level plug on one side.

I use a big plastic oil syringe when doing these jobs as it's easier than trying to tilt and squirt one of those pesky and badly designed 1ltr bottles. Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

yep filler plug is on the box so it is a lie on the ground job.... There is nothing that can't be fixed with a hammer😜😜
FFRR 4.4 SDV8 Autobiography Santorini Black.
KIA E-Niro 4+
2021 Discovery 5 D300 MHEV commercial

Filler at the top of the back side, drain at the bottom of the bottom at the backside.

RAVE advises 0.9 litre as fill requirement, this is not a fill til it dribbles job, so you may need to drain and refill. You have to buy the oil in 1 litre cans anyway, so might as well change the lot.

The oil is hard to find other than at main dealers! .
Experience is the only genuine knowledge, but as time passes, I have forgotten more than I can remember
Volvo V70 P2 2006 2.4 Petrol 170bhp Estate SE
MG Midget Mk1 1962

Previous: L322 Range Rover TDV8 3.6 2008; L322 Range Rover TD6 3.0 2002; P38A Range Rover V8 1999

Very helpful. Thank you all.

Did you sort this?

Yes, sort of.

I took it to a local well-known indie mechanic for a second opinion and found out the following:

The small amount of oil I had seen on the ground was oil that had been spilled onto various bits during the oil change. The clue was it was coming from the wrong place. (This oil was found close to the front wheels, centre of car. The transfer case is actually a lot farther back. It's under where the gear shift is in the car.)

The seal in question between the transfer case and the front differential was fine. I was told that this is not normally a problem with this model.

The mechanic observed that there was VERY SMALL seepage of oil from the transfer case from both the join between the two halves of the transfer case casing and where control wires enter the casing. He said both were EXTREMELY small and nothing to worry about.

I was further told that "replacing the seals" is not a "routine" fix from the workshop manual. It seems that the official procedure is "problem with transfer case - remove and replace".

This mechanic is VERY FUSSY about everything being just right. He simply noted down to check the transfer case oil level at the next service and was confident that a check every 5000 km was more than sufficient.

Wealy, I hope that helps.

Good advice that