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Unsure if 4WD is working.

eck

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For your situation, I am guessing it fixed itself?

When I had it on jack stands, there was a time where the front wheels spun. out of hundreds of times trying to shift into 4hi/4lo, it worked once. Not sure what I did to trigger that, or what I am doing wrong for it not to engage...

I feel maybe it just didnt fully engage when you were on the sand. And maybe my 4wd didnt fully engage when I was in the river crossing.

Still doesnt explain why there is no power to the front wheels EACH TIME I shift into 4WD (on jack stands)
Yep it resolved itself and fortunately hasn't come back. My best guess is that the front axle disconnect didn't entirely engage, and since I was in 4H I didn't have all of the traction control stuff turned off. So it sensed the wheel speed wasn't right and freaked out. And I'm guessing I got the transfer case clutch overheat code since it (the tcase) was engaged and driving the front diff but it was all spinning freely up there with the FAD loose. A lot speculation there and I could easily be wrong, but it fits.
 

ToolMan514

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Wow, that certainly sounds like 4WD is not engaging. If you put it in 4HI and try to do a U-turn (or hard turn) in a parking lot, how does it react? It should be very difficult with wheel bind and squeeling. If it turns the same as in 2HI, it's off to the dealer. When you had the rig on stands, did you only look at the wheels turning, or did you look under at the front drive shaft too?
 
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Wow, that certainly sounds like 4WD is not engaging. If you put it in 4HI and try to do a U-turn (or hard turn) in a parking lot, how does it react? It should be very difficult with wheel bind and squeeling. If it turns the same as in 2HI, it's off to the dealer. When you had the rig on stands, did you only look at the wheels turning, or did you look under at the front drive shaft too?
I was noob enough to just look at the wheels spinning. and when I did some circles in 4HI and 4LO, I heard clicking? So I assumed something was working? (this was before I jacked it up)

I feel that there is a bit more stiffness from the steering wheel when in 4WD, but It can all be in my head. It was not a crazy difference when 4hi/low was "engaged" vs 2hi. Environment: Dry Pavement

Does it matter if the wheels are on the ground for 4wd to engage? no right?
 

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txj2go

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On jackstands you can look to see if the front driveshaft is turning when the tires aren't turning. You can also try it in 4LO. If it is a FAD problem you would be disconnected in 4HI as well as 4LO.
 

bigbaozi

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I was noob enough to just look at the wheels spinning. and when I did some circles in 4HI and 4LO, I heard clicking? So I assumed something was working? (this was before I jacked it up)

I feel that there is a bit more stiffness from the steering wheel when in 4WD, but It can all be in my head. It was not a crazy difference when 4hi/low was "engaged" vs 2hi. Environment: Dry Pavement

Does it matter if the wheels are on the ground for 4wd to engage? no right?
I wouldn't even worry about 4L until you can figure out 4H. Go find a gravel or dirt road somewhere, make a tight U turn. Shift into 4H while in D and moving, give it a moment to sort itself out, then make a tight U turn again. It will be night and day.

I'm not sure if the jack stands is a good test or not, never tried it. And yeah, you can probably get away with it on pavement, but it's not good for your transfer case.

I doubt your transfer case is the problem, because if that wasn't engaging I think you'd be hearing all kinds of fun noises when you tried to shift it.
 
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migyb

migyb

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I wouldn't even worry about 4L until you can figure out 4H. Go find a gravel or dirt road somewhere, make a tight U turn. Shift into 4H while in D and moving, give it a moment to sort itself out, then make a tight U turn again. It will be night and day.

I'm not sure if the jack stands is a good test or not, never tried it. And yeah, you can probably get away with it on pavement, but it's not good for your transfer case.

I doubt your transfer case is the problem, because if that wasn't engaging I think you'd be hearing all kinds of fun noises when you tried to shift it.
Dealership called to say they couldn't find any issues with the 4hi/4lo. They said it felt "fine"when they took it out for a spin on the road. I understand driving in 4lo would change the feel as its driving in higher torque, but that doesn't mean they know for sure that there is power to the front wheels. And in 4hi, I don't think you would feel a difference from 2hi (on dry pavement)..

They said they would check again and keep it overnight. How should I proceed if they tell me they can't find anything? I have videos to show that there is no power to my front wheels in 4lo/4hi. Any questions I should ask?
 

jessedacri

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Dealership called to say they couldn't find any issues with the 4hi/4lo. They said it felt "fine"when they took it out for a spin on the road. I understand driving in 4lo would change the feel as its driving in higher torque, but that doesn't mean they know for sure that there is power to the front wheels. And in 4hi, I don't think you would feel a difference from 2hi (on dry pavement)..

They said they would check again and keep it overnight. How should I proceed if they tell me they can't find anything? I have videos to show that there is no power to my front wheels in 4lo/4hi. Any questions I should ask?

It would help if you shared the video here so we can take a look. Ask the dealer to confirm drive to all wheels on a lift if possible.
 

bigbaozi

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Dealership called to say they couldn't find any issues with the 4hi/4lo. They said it felt "fine"when they took it out for a spin on the road. I understand driving in 4lo would change the feel as its driving in higher torque, but that doesn't mean they know for sure that there is power to the front wheels. And in 4hi, I don't think you would feel a difference from 2hi (on dry pavement)..

They said they would check again and keep it overnight. How should I proceed if they tell me they can't find anything? I have videos to show that there is no power to my front wheels in 4lo/4hi. Any questions I should ask?
You may not notice 4H much on the throttle, but you will in the handling. Try a tight turn (again, soft surface).

Ask the tech to walk you through it, they should be willing to do that to avoid a repeat visit. Lift may not be a good test for some reason. Or they may find the issue walking you through it.
 

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migyb

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It would help if you shared the video here so we can take a look. Ask the dealer to confirm drive to all wheels on a lift if possible.
so here’s a video of my dad trying to pull me out. My wheels should be turning like my dad’s xterra where all 4 are spinning. Was in 4wd, and yet only rear was spinning. I thought maybe, reverse only worked in rwd?? But I doubt it
 

eck

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so here’s a video of my dad trying to pull me out. My wheels should be turning like my dad’s xterra where all 4 are spinning. Was in 4wd, and yet only rear was spinning. I thought maybe, reverse only worked in rwd?? But I doubt it
You have open diffs in the front, so it's quite possible only the front passenger wheel is spinning but you can't see it in the video.
 

jessedacri

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so here’s a video of my dad trying to pull me out. My wheels should be turning like my dad’s xterra where all 4 are spinning. Was in 4wd, and yet only rear was spinning. I thought maybe, reverse only worked in rwd?? But I doubt it
Yeah it's tough to say for sure from that video, the front passenger tire could be spinning with the open diff. At the same time, that situation doesn't look terribly muddy and a jeep in 4WD should be able to move in that situation, but sitting behind a computer screen watching a video I can't say for sure your full situation.

If they say its working and give the Jeep back, I would take it out on a trail and do some tests yourself, and record it thoroughly. In 2WD with Traction Control off you should be able to essentially do a burnout very easily on dirt or gravel. It should be much harder to break traction in 4H doing the same thing.


:edit: I just re-read your initial post, you said you had the Jeep on 4 jack stands and the front didn't spin in 4H or 4L? If that's true, take a video of that, and/or tell the dealer what you tried. It should absolutely spin all four wheels when they're in the air with 4H or 4L engaged. If that's not a big red flag to them that something is malfunctioning, go to a different dealer.
 
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migyb

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Yeah it's tough to say for sure from that video, the front passenger tire could be spinning with the open diff. At the same time, that situation doesn't look terribly muddy and a jeep in 4WD should be able to move in that situation, but sitting behind a computer screen watching a video I can't say for sure your full situation.

If they say its working and give the Jeep back, I would take it out on a trail and do some tests yourself, and record it thoroughly. In 2WD with Traction Control off you should be able to essentially do a burnout very easily on dirt or gravel. It should be much harder to break traction in 4H doing the same thing.


:edit: I just re-read your initial post, you said you had the Jeep on 4 jack stands and the front didn't spin in 4H or 4L? If that's true, take a video of that, and/or tell the dealer what you tried. It should absolutely spin all four wheels when they're in the air with 4H or 4L engaged. If that's not a big red flag to them that something is malfunctioning, go to a different dealer.

I will post a video of me testing out the driving modes on a gravel/dirt road. On 4hi/4low I still have my rear wheels spinning. In the videos, the front wheels just don't look like they are getting any power..

And yes I told them that -I will show them the video tomorrow morning when I pick up the jeep. The service advisor couldn't prove to me over the phone when asked how he knew my front wheels was getting power by driving it on flat/dry pavement. He proceeded to tell me that it was incorrect to jack it up on 4 stands to test 4wd as it can vibrate to a point of falling off. Made sense, but cmon... He said they could not hoist it and try the same thing as there is risk of the jeep rolling off.

Thanks for all the advice so far guys!


What is their sure fire way of testing to see my front wheels get power in 4wd?
 
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migyb

migyb

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Yeah it's tough to say for sure from that video, the front passenger tire could be spinning with the open diff. At the same time, that situation doesn't look terribly muddy and a jeep in 4WD should be able to move in that situation, but sitting behind a computer screen watching a video I can't say for sure your full situation.

If they say its working and give the Jeep back, I would take it out on a trail and do some tests yourself, and record it thoroughly. In 2WD with Traction Control off you should be able to essentially do a burnout very easily on dirt or gravel. It should be much harder to break traction in 4H doing the same thing.


:edit: I just re-read your initial post, you said you had the Jeep on 4 jack stands and the front didn't spin in 4H or 4L? If that's true, take a video of that, and/or tell the dealer what you tried. It should absolutely spin all four wheels when they're in the air with 4H or 4L engaged. If that's not a big red flag to them that something is malfunctioning, go to a different dealer.
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