Driving on a Empty Tcase
 

So I was driving yesterday and my transfer case just blew up. its on the out put side for the front shaft so I was able to limp it a few miles. but I was wondering if anybody would know if I drove 50 miles with no fluid in there if it'd be fine? I'm going to replace it anyway but would prefer to get it home to work on it.

No it won't be fine if you drive it 50 miles without fluid in it, but since it is already broke and you are going to replace it, I'd say go ahead and try it.

I was also thinking to pack grease in there just to help protect it a little more

What happens when you run an engine without oil? Parts that should move, stop moving. The transfer case is no different. Ive heard of atleast 2 that tried it. One spun around on the highway once it locked up, and another ended up in a ditch. His transfer case split wide open.

:confused1:

Is there some reason you cannot put some fluid in it? It's just transmission fluid. Nothing special. Should be able to get some at any 7-11.

Or are you saying you blew a hole in the case?

If you blew a hole in the case, fluid or not, don't try to drive it. Sorry, I know a tow is not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than driving it 10 miles, causing an accident that kills a few people, and then towing it anyway.

over here it would cost $100-200max to have it flatbed home

by the time you get someone to drive u out there, and with the cost of extra undies & all in case u soil yrself with fear....

I like it when u can just give someone $ and a potentially nasty problems is solved

I also vote for having it towed. If it locks up or something it could cause you to crash, and I doubt it would make it 50 miles with no lubrication!

Depending on the size of the hole, Can you maybe JB Weld the case back together? Maybe use a bunch of those Quick Steel epoxy sticks to patch it, and just bring a ton of Walmart supertech trans fluid and a transfer pump.

That is unless the t-case has internal damage

Find a buddy with a AAA gold membership and have them call - they don't need to be the owner, just present in the vehicle. The first 100 miles of towing are covered and then you don't have to worry.

At the moment your worst case scenario is a t-case replacement. If you drive it and it seizes you might be looking at both a new t-case and a new transmission (beyond the accident factor that has already been noted.)

AAA fixed that. Now the card has to be physically present and the plate has to match the card holder or they won't even load it.

Around here you need the physical person, their drivers license (for proof of identity) and the card. I just checked AAA's website and it still says the benefits go with you regardless of if you're driving a rental or someone else's car.

I may have to call them this afternoon and confirm since I know for a fact I have not specified my XJ's info with them.

Edit - Actually, to be completely honest, around here they don't even verify the card or ID as of 2 years ago.

Wow... That's incredible that they backed off a bit. They are always looking for a way to weasel their way out. I have worked with AAA as a vendor pretty much all my life and they are a crooked bunch for sure. Used to be only the vendors got the shaft because they didn't cross their T and dot their I, then they started in on the customers. Higher rates, reduced coverage, petty reasons not to honor coverage even after the fact. Etc. Think you are covered? might be until you get a call after the fact saying they are not going to cover it and bill you for the tow for some petty reason. I see and hear it from customers all the time as a 3rd party vendor.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/aaa.html

Interesting - I've never had a problem with AAA over the years. I've been on my parents' family plan (AAA plus) since I was a teenager (so 22 years) and just give my Mom cash every year when she asks if I still want AAA (in MA it's silly to not have it since with our outrageous insurance premiums the insurance discount alone is worth the cost.).
I've used the towing benefit several times for myself and a few times when a buddy has gotten stuck (as I'm suggesting to the O.P.) and never have had an issue with them covering the tow. Usually this is in my local area, but I ran into issues a few years back in Maryland (2 tows in as many days). The major downside is the loooooong wait (2-4 hours usually). It seems that every time the tow driver doesn't give a **** and doesn't even check the card/ID. When calling for a friend I've never had to go with them to the destination. I just tip the driver and everyone seems happy. I've never had the tow go more than 20 miles, so I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Edit - I'm wondering if it's maybe that I'm in MA and we have (overly) aggressive politicians and the resulting legislation to go with it.

You have been lucky... The problem starts with the companies policies and dispatchers. Check this complaint review out, this has happened at least 50 times on calls I ran. This is what I mean about petty.

" I have RV plus coverage. Blown radiator, stuck in a little town after dropping my SxS off for recalls. AAA won't cover picking up my trailer because it doesn't have the RV in it... Wth? I got the coverage because they told me anything I pull behind my truck would be covered. Well, apparently that's not the case. Small clause says RV must be on the trailer, yet they will pick up a boat trailer or motorcycle trailer empty, per a supervisors words??? I spoke to about 8 different people, all had different reasons of why my trailer wasn't covered (We don't cover utility trailers, must have living quarters, must be a camper style, etc.). All the people are incompetent! Had my first ticket canceled and didn't know why. Waited 3 hours for nobody to show up. I called the driver, he said they canceled it. Called AAA, the lady canceled the whole ticket when I told her that I was going to leave my trailer and come back for it. "

Now let me share my last and final service call I ever went on for triple A. I was called out by AAA to go out and mount a new tire for a guy pulling a utility trailer. He had already talked to the service center who confirmed that the service call was covered because he had the extra trailer insurance. The tire he had to cover himself which is normal and fair.

So an hour after I got back to the shop I get a call from the AAA service center asking me if the customer's trailer was loaded or not. I asked them why, she said because he is not covered and we are going to bill him for the call out if it was empty and not loaded. I told her that it was loaded (it was empty) but it doesn't matter because from what I understand he had trailer coverage.

"Not if it's empty" she told me.

Know what? They had already decided they were not going to cover that call period. In fact they never did pay me as the vendor for that call. To date they still owe me about 7 grand for calls where they pulled this very same petty crap. They are committing blatant fraud in every sense of the definition.

Take a few and read some of those... I have seen some real rotten stuff come from them over the years...

Yeah, I totally can see them being d-bags when it comes to paying their bills. I've never dealt with anything but a single passenger vehicle and can totally imagine that once you're dealing with motorcycles and trailers and the such that they want to play games.
In the example you cite, it seems absurd to me that whether the trailer is loaded or not should matter - especially if it's not loaded it would seem easier (in theory) to tow since you're not worrying about extra weight.

Yep, that's the problem... They have someone on the payroll who does nothing but dream up little "fine print" petty deceptive hooks like this ridiculous policy to screw vendors and customers over every chance they get. It's bad business.

I noticed that there are also quite a few complaints about direct vendor service. One would think this is the fault of the 3rd party vendor right? Nope... All on triple A... because they treat their vendors so bad the vendors could care less about triple A customers.

Trickle down effect with this one resulting from triple A's own corporate vendor relation policies....

In fact it's time someone gave them a REAL run for their money and compete them right out of business.