help! Emptied transfer case on VUE AWD

[purplesuit]

Hi, I emptied the transfer case on my VUE AWD. It had a large hex (allen wrench) plug. A little less than a quart of smelly fluid drained out. It smells vaguely edible but my cat jumped away after smelling it. The flud is brownish with blackish clouds in it (the clouds settle out after a while). The transfer case has a rubber tube going into it that ends near the radiator overflow tank.

One option is to pour the old fluid back in and drive it to the dealer. If I want new fluid, what kind do I have to get?

Thanks,
Eric

[ssicarman]

First welcome to the board.

What you likely emptied is the power take off rather than a transfer case. Next is WHY??? The filler plug has a special sealant on it and needs it to seal properly. Also the fluid is a special fluid that as far as I know is a Saturn only fluid and is quite expensive. If this is your only source of transport then put the old fluid back in, put the plug in and then get new fluid and the fill plug or sealant for it if it's availible. If you have another car use it to get what you need. You may want to phine first to see if they have the neccesary parts.

[purplesuit]

Thanks for the welcome and the quick reply!

Well, I never changed the oil in any car before and that plug was just sitting there waiting to be unscrewed. When only a quart of fluid came out that didn't smell like oil I took a better look and saw the real oil drain plug.

I noticed that the wrong plug had a blob of grease inside it, I figured that might be to seal it. Most of the grease is still there after I screwed the plug back in. The reason I thought this was a "transfer case" is it is where the front axles and rear drive shaft all connect.

I have an SC2 which I am driving in the meantime.

[ssicarman]

In a way it is a transfer case but is a power take off of the front axles to the rear of the car. It's a direct geared connection. More of a case of me being picky on terminology. One thing that I just though of is be care of the fluid on your hands. If it's anything like most of the newer speciality fluids in the Vue it comes with more warnings about skin contact and so on than you can shake a stick at.

[purplesuit]

Went by the dealer and got a quart of Versatrak fluid. It comes with a pointy nozzle for pouring it into the fill/breather tube.

The parts guy hadn't heard of the grease sealant for the plug so he sold me a tube of teflon thread sealant instead.

I'll work on this tomorrow morning.