Shortly after buying my Bronco I "tested" 4wd by seeing if the light would come on indicating when in 4 wheel low and high. It ended up being a bad test because I found out half way up a steep incline at an off-road park that I had no 4wd!
I put the vehicle up on jack stands so I could inspect more thoroughly. What I found is that with 4wd engaged and the vehicle in neutral as I hand spun the drive shaft nothing happened in the front of the transfer case. I took the front shaft off and I could then see when I turned the drive shaft that the front output was turning but it would sometimes stop turning.
What this tells me is that there are likely teeth missing in the transfer case. I drained transfer case to see if I could find anything but no signs of metal. Through the drain you could see the chain moving as I turned the shaft. So at some point someone likely drained and refilled the case most likely.
In summary, you should definitely verify visually that 4wd is working don't trust the lights. The lights just tell you what position the transfer case is set to not if it works.
I've already found and ordered a salvaged transfer case. I was able to find them online for about $250. The reason for this is that I can cheaply swap out the transfer case and use that one until I have my current one rebuilt. Otherwise my vehicle would be at a shop or sitting inoperable without the transfer case until its done which I didn't want to do.
I couldn't pin my preferred local transmission shop down on a price to rebuild the transfer case but I will be sure to make an entry later when I have that information.
No comments:
Post a Comment