My son's girlfriend has an 04' AWD. The tranny has a cracked case. The prices she's gotten to have it repaired/replaced would choke a horse. I'm a diesel mechanic by trade and work on everything from pickups, big rigs, to earth moving equipment. I'm thinking about doing the swap for her since she can't afford to have it done. Any special tools that I'll need or any surprises that may linger?

 

Basic hand and AIR tools...and some sort of RIG to support the engine while the Subframe is removed. There is no way around it....The PTU MUST be removed from the car, as there is NO WAY to pull the trans with it in place. The rest is Nuts and Bolts swap. While the cradle is down...Do yourself a favor and "Spring" for two motor mounts....They are a trouble spot, and a Bear to change with the car assembled at a later date.

Thats an odd one.....Are you sure the crack is Trans and NOT PTU???

 

you know I haven't seen it. It has been sitting at a tranny shop for a couple months. I'm just going off of what they are telling her. I should probably go look at it. What is the PTU? She says it drives but makes a nasty clicking/clunking noise when she drives it.

 

Power transfer unit.....A fancy name for Transfer case.

Go take a look for yourself.....That noise is usually mistaken for a bad CV axle. The R/s axle comes off PTU..l/s axle comes from trans....Although its tuff to isolate which side is making noise. You also want to know if it makes noise Predominantly on turns, or straight ahead.

 

OK,so I crawled under the pacifica and as you figured it is a cracked up PTU. At least I'm assuming it is. The PTU is what the rear and front drive shafts are connected to right? So, what causes this. Looks like a sketchy design.

 

I'm looking on ebay for one of these. I can find all kinds of transmissions but don't see one of the PTU's. Are they called anything else? What is a carrier assy?

 

Yep....The L/f Drive axle comes from the side of the TRANS....R/f and Rear Shafts come from PTU...

The Most common cause for this is Mismatched Tires....It is IMPERATIVE that all Four Tires be The same Manufacturer, same tread design, Same size ....(Keep in mind that as a tire wears out..its rolling circumference changes...And results in a DIFFERENT SIZED TIRE)....And last but not least.....Inflated to the same Pressure all the way around the car, as a low tire will also change rolling circumference.....

You said you work on diesels and pickups......Think for a moment , and it will make sense.....

A 4WD Pick up truck blows a differential..... if the front axle is 3:23, What would happen if you replaced the rear axle with 3:73?? The transfer case would probably Mash itself up within 50 miles. Same Idea here.....

Now...Its actually called a POWER TRANSFER UNIT...which is just a fancy name for transfer case.... As far as I know, The carrier assembly would be the bearing and bracket that supports the center of the driveshaft, or the Pumpkin in the rear diff....Ive never heard a PTU be refferred to as a carrier before, so make sure you see a picture of what it is youre buying ...before you buy it.

 

thanks. I did manage to find a few on ebay titled transfer cases. Looks like I can get one shipped to me for around $500. thanks for the help.