I have a 2016 F150 with 86,000 miles. It just started leaking Transfer Case Fluid badly. I suspected a leak at the gasket. I cleaned the area with brake fluid and noticed severe corrosion on the magnesium housing everywhere a steel bolt was present. The corrosion had eaten a hole through the case, and was leaking fluid steadily. Has anyone else seen this issue?

This is the main leak

It is beginning to leak here as well

All bolt area locations are corroded badly.

Hole for main leak

Additional areas of corrosion

 

Damn thats bad, I cant say I've seen that before.

 

That is hard to believe. Pictures don't lie.
Can we ask where this vehicle is driven to have reached such a state of decay?

If where you use the truck , the roads are covered with "Magnesium Chloride" instead of rock salt in the winter,, that could explain some of it.
I have seen where that particular road treatment ruined differential housings, air tanks and brake shoes on the trucks that were dispensing that stuff. It was cheaper than rock salt so that was why it was used.
Maybe you might get lucky and find a trans shop that has an old unit lying around and they might be willing to part with it.

 

I have seen leaks like this before, drain the oil completely and clean it with brake clean. When it is dry cover the area with JB weld or silicone and let it dry before refilling. Sometimes if there is enough metal you can use a center punch and peen the hole closed.

 

We had an older F550 with a 7.3 where the oil pan developed a hole due to rust, very common !
cleaned the pan really good, applied JB Weld and it held up for several years until the truck was sold and still did not leak.
The quality of the result is dependent on the quality of the job. Don't know if you have enough material to do a quality job. Always worth a try.

 

Hey Everyone,
New here because yep its happening to me and I am pissed. This is fords fault the manufacturer messed up and used non coated steel screws on an aluminum housing and this causes corrosion. This is not normal wear and tear due to driving in the winter where salt/deicer is applied to the road.
Look we need to get on ford about this. I believe this is a safety hazard as it directly effects proper function of the vehicle and could cause catastrophic failure. Please see the article that was put out by the SAE back in 1993! about how steel reacts with aluminum.
If this is happening to you or some one you know please we need to get together and start reporting this problem to the NHTSA so that Ford needs to a recall. I have already made a formal complaint to ford(obviously with no reply) and as well to the NHTSA.
Below are the links I mentioned above, again thank you all and please please lets spread the word.
NHTSA, report this problem if its happening to you:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/report-a-safety-problem#vehicle

Some science behind Steel and Aluminum:
https://www.sae.org/publications/tec...e%20corrosion.