Hot Transfer Case?

I did a lot of driving in the Jeep yesterday, some off road and probably an hour and a half at highway speed (50-60 MPH mostly). Afterwards, I happened to notice that the tcase (18 with overdrive and AA roller bearing kit) was very hot, enough so that I couldn't keep my hand on it for more that a second of 2.
Normal? Sign of impending doom?

 

Yes, it has an adjustment just like front wheel bearings. Pretty sure it's set up properly, and it's been in there several years.
I'm running regular dinosaur 80w90 + some BG gear oil additive.

 

No noise (well no more than usual LOL)
The whole thing was hot...tcase and OD

 

What was the ambient temperature outside?.................Most gear boxes when worked hard ( climbing hills , lower ratios , high speed Etc) well see a noticeable increase in running temperature above the average , even hot to very hot to the touch.
Engine oil with a motor running water at 190 degrees will see similar temps..............I've seen gear boxes run up and over 200 degrees when all the combinations noted above are met with the ambient temperature being the unknown factor that raises the temp...............if it was colder than normal outside , you should drain the oil and see if you see any metal...........also the smell of the oil / gear lube will tell you if it was eating itself up.

 

I used to drive my Tux on 150 mile trips every couple weeks, mostly at 50-60 mph speeds, 4:27 axles and no OD. Within an hour, it smelled of HOT gear lube, and the trans/TC was too hot to hold my hand on. Even the shift cane was too hot to hold down low.
I did this for years with no adverse effects. I did change gear lube yearly.
-Donny

 

Well I had never noticed it before, but I don't usually drive it for long distances on the highway either. Mostly I flat tow if we're going any long-distance.
We did quite a bit of bouncing around yesterday, and I just stuck my head underneath it to take a quick peek at the recent frame repairs on the Jeep to make sure everything was kosher, and I noticed the transfer case was really hot. For all I know, this is completely normal and is always this way. But I just had never noticed it before. I'm not sure if there's an actual problem, or if I'm tilting at windmills...

 

Not a particularly hot day, probably in the 70s. We were dodging thunderstorms most of the day.

 

I've always had Temperature gauges in the axles and gear boxes of everything I've owned...........part of my early Truck driving days when paying attention to temperatures might save you from spending the night out on the interstate waiting for help............once you get used to seeing what's normal it's easy to spot an oncoming problem.............If you have a blank plug that is swimming in oil in the TC case stick a gauge in it and watch it from the cab.

 

You are running BG which is a good thing.

If you know a place that can anaylze oils, you might pull a sample and have them look at it.

 

My transfer case is setup the same as yours. I Run a lubriplate oil product SPO-244. SPO Series | Lubriplate Lubricants Co.
When it is 110 degrees outside and we are running up the freeway at 65-70 the transfer case gets pretty hot. I have never smelled hot oil. I'm taking the jeep on a 300 mi round trip this weekend, I will try to remember to bring my temp gun along.

 

I'm thinking about a Novak pan on the tcase, I figure the extra capacity will help things stay a little bit cooler plus I can be rid of my leaky stock pan. Does anyone know if it will clear the stock skidplate without mods?

 

About 2" to the drain plug........plus the gasket.

 

Sorry guys,
Mp plans got changed for me last minute on Friday morning. I was supposed to drive the jeep 3hrs over to the coast. Ended up having to take my Toy hauler. Halfway through the trip, the fuel pump went out on my Tahoe. No cell service in either direction for 20 miles. We had a nice night along the trinity river next to hwy 299....
I'll hopefully be able to get some TC temps in a week or so.

 

The tcase and OD get too hot to touch in my cj 6 after a couple hours running at road speed. Don't know if its normal for all of them, but mine does it.