Hey, I'm fairly new on this board...

1993 4x4 pickup

I bought this truck about a year ago. I've only driven it for maybe 4 months out of that year because it was sitting waiting for an engine, etc...

Anyways, the front wheel drive has never worked. When I bought it, the guy said it was just the front right cv axle needed to be replaced. New to working on 4x4's I didn't think much of it. I could tell that the cv was shot..the boot ripped to heck and it slides in and out real easy...etc.

The "switching" works. When I put into 4wd, I can hear the "click" and the 4wd lights on the dash come on. It's just when I hit the gas, the truck won't move...just sits there until I put the 4wd in neutral and drive like normal with the rear wheels.

Well, after working on other stuff in the truck, I'm ready to start tackling this problem. I got under the truck just now and turned the front driveshaft by hand without the engine and the transmission in neutral. When spinning the front shaft, I saw both the cv's spinning...

Forgot to mention that when taking a real sharp turn I get the real bad clanking noise from the front that I've heard that other people have when their cv goes bad.

So, my concern is that maybe the problem is in the transmission or the transfer case? I don't know. If the cv's were bad, would that keep the 4wd from working?

I don't know, I'm a noob at this and need some help! Thanks guys!

 

it sounds like your transfer case. The front CV's will still turn if you snap one and you can actually make it pretty far with it just spinning loosely. since you can drive it in 2wd fine it's not your tranny since the transfer case is after the tranny. keep us posted.

EDIT: is the truck moving when you're spinning the front driveshaft by hand?

 

Manual hubs or ADD plates?

Sounds like manual hubs that aren't locked in...

 

Another question.....

....after about driving a week with a "grinding" noise, that I'm thinking might be the transfer case, my speedo started going nuts. Since the speedo is in the x-case (I think, anyways), could that be related? I think the transfer case might be bone dry or low on oil, I dunno.

Like I said, I drive fine in 2wd except for a grinding noise when I go really slow, almost to a stop...that kinda sounds like bad brakes, but it's not, because I'm not touching the brake pedal. The noise kinda sounds like the front axle area, not back by the xfer case, but I dunno.

I'm just wondering if it's safe to drive like this until I can rip out the dang xfer case and mess with that next.

 

To summarize our PM's and get some more input...

Vehicle has manual hubs. Originally, they were set to "free", but even with the hubs set to "locked" and the truck on the ground, the CV's still turn when the driveshaft is rotated by hand.

Both CV's have torn boots. The previous owner said at least one was shot.

My guess is a totally blown apart CV and/or bad hubs.

 

i would say at least one of your cv shafts has gone out on you. crawl under and grab the cv, wiggle it and look at both boots. if the joint is done you will see it move around inside the boot.

as for the tcase, open the fill plug, dip your finger in and check the fluid level. for that matter, might as well check the diffs at the same time. you probably should change the fluids in them while you are at it, check both diff breathers for being stuck or clogged.

lee

 

someone may have already told you to do this, but have you tried jacking up the front, locking the hubs, turning your tires, and seeing if your cv's rotate. That will let you know your hubs are actually locking.