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4wd, is it engaged or not?


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alright heres my situation. I just recently bought a 91 loyale from my friends. When they first got the car everything worked great. They let thier son drive it for a while and he abused it taking it out 4 wheeling a few times and is just relatively a bad driver. The car has 180,000 miles on it and everything still works great besides the lifter noise and when you push the 4wd button the light doesn't come on. Now without letting off the gas driving down the road at about 2000 rpm in second(this is the only time i've tried it) it makes a clank sound from the tranny which i figure is it going in to 4wd but the light doesn't come on. Any suggestions?

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Get it on a loose surface (dirt, gravel) and see if you get spin the rear tires. :)

 

The light comes on in response to a switch on the back of the tranny, being activated by the 4wd transfer mechanism (the shifter fork, I think), so if the light is on you should be in 4wd, but if it is not then it could be switch, wiring, light.. or not being in 4wd.

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if all the heater selectors only blow out of the dash vents inspect the vacuum line from the cansister on the firewall to the intake and make sure it hasnt come loose. this vacuum supplies both the heater controls and the 4wd mechanism. check all the plastic lines along the firewall too. its even possible a mouse has eaten through a line as it has been reported once before with the same problem

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its even possible a mouse has eaten through a line as it has been reported once before with the same problem

 

lol.. I went with my uncle one time to "tow" a car that "wouldn't start" .... we got their and were messin with the car seein' if we could get it going so we didn't have to chain drag a car through phoenix. After a minute of looking around under the hood I discovered a rats nest... and thoroughly chewed up wires going to the coil.

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I saw that episode!

 

Thread hijacked :cool:

 

Yellow shag carpet interior... yeah baby!

 

I had a turbowagon that didnt have a working 4WD light... the 4WD certainly worked as it could spin all 4 tires in the gravel really easy. I think it turned out being a loose wire on the tranny that tells the light to come on.

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You can 'feel' it in 4WD. Instead of pulling from the front it feels like the power is right in the center of the vehicle; as if it's pushing from the rear as much as it's pulling from the front.

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Our '91 Loyale has no known rat nests but the 4wd lights were not coming on after we bought it at 148k, other problems were; it getting stuck in 4wd, not going into 4wd when button was pushed, lights sometimes coming on when car was in 4 (made me long for my 87 GL with dual range) Anyhow, after pulling shifter boot down, I discovered the wires to push button were not making great contact so check that first it would be the easiest fix, I spliced the couple that were causing headache and have been going great since (at least the 4wd has!) 223k and counting. O'yeah get rid of the lifter noise with some oil, she's probably a bit low. Good Luck.

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Check to see if it is in 4WD before you start chasing the indicator circuit. ;) If you need to chase the indicator circuit, I would start at the switch to see if it is making proper contact. The easiset way to do this is probably at the connectors where they come up into your engine compartment.

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first things first make sure the vacuum lines are intact. if the heater blows only out the dash vent then there is your problem right there. if the heater does check out, listen for a click and a PSHHH when you press the button. under the hood in the corner behind the driver side strut there are 2 little black solenoids with green fittings, and 2 lines from it to the side of the tranny. this is what actuates the 4wd. have a buddy hit the button and listen for a click.

 

if there is no click present apply 12 volts to the solenoid and listen for a click. if it clicks suspect the wiring to it. if it doesnt click suspect the solenoid to be shot(not likely)

 

also if the solenoid is working check thew side of the tranny, the diaphragm has a rod out the back of it make sure this is moving. if the solenoids are clicking and the diaphragm is not actuating then the vac line to it is bad or there is a hole in the diaphragm

 

this rod on the side of the tranny is the 4wd. if nothing works you can actuate the 4wd by manually manupulating this rod. the way it works with the vac is vacuum is applied to put it in 4wd, and vacuum is applied from the other side to disengage 4wd

 

if you can manipulate this lever by hand then you should see the 4wd lite. if no lite insoect the plugs on the tranny, or the bulb i the dash

 

hope this is enough information to narrow it down hollar back!

 

oh, i forgot, the motor has to be running for the 4wd to work!

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