Goofy 4wd Problem

[The Dude Abides]

So i noticed kinda some weird things when going in and out of 4wd today and now i share them with you. IM also looking into others imput on how there 4wd systems operate. So when i push in the button (single range) the light comes on and a second latter i feel the engine bog down alittle bit as it engauges the rear wheels. Ive noticed that it pulls to the left more when 4wd is engauged. It also seems to wanter more when 4wd is engauged then not. Like the old set of tires i had in just kinda seems to wanter from side to side but when i shift it back into 2wd mode this goes away. When i shift from 4wd to 2wd some times it SLAMS out of gear. Now some other things of interest. The car is old and does have a rear wheel bearing issue. Just curious how your systems operate and if these symptons are somewhat normal.

 

Thanks Ben

[backcountrycrui]

All of the single range ones that I have had drove pretty much like normal.

 

No pulling to one side, no real bogging down. Generally they disengaged

 

smoothly, unless the drivetrain was bound up, then they would disengage

 

kind of rough. Maybe check all the tires, air and tread. If you really want to

 

see if it is a tire issue, try rotating them. Often times if it is tires, the

 

problem will move with the tire. IE it will pull all the time on the front.

 

Also check for obstructions causing the rear drivetrain to bind. Bailing wire,

 

blackberrie canes (yes I had that one) etc.

 

Hope it helps

Mike

[The Dude Abides]

Bump to the top.

[WoodsWagon]

Why bump it? You got your answer, it's a tire size issue. There's a difference in size between the front and back tires, so the drivetrain gets wound up by the different speeds of the front and rear axle. That causes the engine to bog because the wheels are fighting against each other, and the bang when it shifts out of 4wd is all that tension being released. The wandering is caused by the front wheels forcing one of the back wheels to skid to release the tension.

 

YOU HAVE MISMATCHED TIRE SIZES. End of story.

[The Dude Abides]

That would be all well and good 91Loyale but heres the thing, there all the same size. Same wheel, same air pressure, same everything. Soooooo yea kinda puts a kabosh in that.

[cubastreet]

Do you drive while it has a known wheel bearing issue?

Do you drive real fast because you can feel the reaper breathing down the back of your neck?

[The Dude Abides]

Yes i drive it while it has the known wheel bearing issue, but this problem has just started happening. Ive had the wheel bearing problem for months. As far as fast, its a 98hp motor new its not going very fast. I rairly take it above 45mph.

[mudduck]

Everything sounds normal to me. Mine will bang occaitionaly when going into 2wd because it gets a little bound up. It has done it with new tires or missmatched tires. Its normal. If it goes into 4wd when you push the button and goes into 2wd when you push the button again, its working.

[WoodsWagon]

What's the rear diff tag say on it? What transmission do you have? Think someone could have swapped the wrong ratio transmission or rear diff in at some point?

 

Are all the tires the same brand and model? Different brands, while they list the same size on the sidewall can be different diameters, up to a half inch in some cases.

[The Dude Abides]

Not likely a change in tranny or rear diff. My brother knew the previous owner (a doctor) and my brother was the owner after that. As far as tires go they are all the same make and model. The tranny is 5speed single range and the rear diff is 3.9

[robm]

Regarding your tires: Are they all the same age, or are some newer than others? When were they last rotated, and how long were they on the same axle before they did get rotated?

 

Tire size differential is the most likely problem. Uneven wear between fronts and rears will cause this.

[The Dude Abides]

If there is one thing i havent done is rotate the tires. And I just remembered, 1 tire is different then the rest. But its not much older then the others and tread depth is the same.

[The Dude Abides]

Ok i like finishing off threads. I kinda figured out my problem. I check my tires every few months for air pressure but its been so dam cold i havent done it since the snow started flying. Both passanger side front and back tires were down to 10psi:eek:. The driver side front was down to 25 on front and 18 on the rear. No wonder its beel pulling so badly. I still get the occasional bang out of 4wd and it still seems to bind up a bit but im no where near having the problems i was having. That just goes to show ya that you need to keep up with these things. The thing is the tires didnt even look that down on air. I was just going buy a visual until the weather warmed up. Sure showed me. Thanks all for your replys.

[ruparts]

Not likely a change in tranny or rear diff. My brother knew the previous owner (a doctor) and my brother was the owner after that. As far as tires go they are all the same make and model. The tranny is 5speed single range and the rear diff is 3.9

 

hi, I thought all the SR awd trans had a 3.7 drive ratio, except the xt6 , it had 3.9 ratio.

is that not right?

[The Dude Abides]

Im not sure about that but mine is a 3.9

[MilesFox]

hi, I thought all the SR awd trans had a 3.7 drive ratio, except the xt6 , it had 3.9 ratio.

is that not right?

 

3.7 is typical of TURBO 5spds, which a lot of them are s/r. Some 3at automatics were 3.7, in turbo models, and some n/a 86 and earlier(correct me if i am wrong, but i had an 86 gl sedan with a 3.7 3at)