Transfer Case Life Spand and questions

Hey guys.
How is the life span of a transfer case?
I'm looking to buy a used one and I'm not sure if thats a good idea.
What I'm trying to say is, do they take a shit pretty often?
Also, I've seen some transfer cases with electrical motors ? Is that for like a push button engagement vs a stick?
And is there any wiring on it other than what looks like two wires for an indicator?

Thanks

 

the t-case is typically a life-of-the-truck part... although as with everything else thats not always the case-but toyota t-cases are pretty durable as far as these things go.... do they crap out often?
search bar (top of page below the alert's) will give you user info if you type something like (for example) ''t-case broken''....

yes i believe the electric motor is for the push button 4x4 usually on the side of the stick by shifter on 1st gen's ...
mine had 2 connectors coming into it one for ADD and one for the speedo as well as the 1 for the button....

 

You just never know .

You can pull one out pressure wash it make it look pretty .

Pull one out covered in mud and sticks .

You have the chance either makes it a week or forever .

 

^^^ pretty much the case...IMO if you can part with the $$$ it's best to go new/reman... may actually save you money in the long run- my philosophy is that it costs $80-100 for 1 standard tow- that means that any savings on cheap parts become deficit's and cost you $$$ the first time they break away from home...

 

What's wrong with yours?

 

Thanks guys.
Nothing is wrong with mine. I'm buying used parts for a 4x4 conversion lol!
Kinda sucks buying used but trying to stay in a budget.

 

It is so much easier to buy the complete donor vehicle I learned this long ago just doing a auto to 5 speed swap.

So many little things one never thinks of.

Nice to have it all near at hand and not need to hit every yard within 200 miles that says they have what you need

 

I would much rather go this route but I can't do that where I live. I just have to be careful and get everything. Or at least try.
Do you remember how the transfer case attaches ?

 

99% of conversions, it's cheaper and more reliable to just buy a 4wd truck than convert a 2wd.

Classic mustang owners fall into this all the time. Buy a 6cy and want to convert it to an 8. By the time you have that 8 in with all the parts that need to be changed you should have just bought a different vehicle. But instead they strip the 6, find out how much it would cost, and then try to sell a stripped out car for a fraction of what they could have gotten selling it as a driver.

 

Ha good one. I never knew that about mustangs. Totally get how thas like their conversion.

I appreciate your insight. Have you seen how hard it is to find a double cab 4x4 with low mileage. It's better to buy a new Tacoma from the lot but I'm a student. And I also enjoy things like this. I learn a lot from doing "stupid" shit. And I'm budgeting under 1k. Think I can stick pretty close.
If I wanted practicality I would buy a 4wd but it's more of a challenge to me.

 

I understand your position .

Myself it depends where you are I think $1000.00 is really on the low side

Well the case bolts to the transmission and to the cross member via the transmission mount

 

I've noticed, which is why I've got an extended cab Even beat to hell ones around here are 10k+ But I could sell my 02 taco, buy a newer 4 door dakota, and still have half of my money left!

The mustang thing, pretty much every person looking to buy a classic on a budget thinks about doing the swap. I know I did, until I started researching the actual costs. And even completed I have a car that isn't worth the exact same car with factory v8. It makes the initial purchase of what I actually want a lot more attractive.

I've never done this swap obviously, but off the top of my head you likely need a tcase, front axle, front suspension, steering assembly, shifter and whatever misc parts. It's more than 1k unless you get a donor and sell off the rest of the truck when you're done. Personally it's not something I would undertake if the truck was my DD unless I lived within walking distance of everything.

 

i had a dakota (still have) that i bought 2 yr's old and paid $10k for with 83,000 miles... now? just shy of 153k it's worth 3000 at most ...my 3yr's older tacoma with 246k and i've ben offered 3x by random people and one friend $10k ... only i like it too much to sell!

 

Well if I play the waiting game I can do it for around that much. Of course there are a lot of factors but its doable. I've got a few parts already.

Yeah. I wish I woulda bought one back in the day haha.