4x4 = noise in front case

[Firesong]

On the way home the roads were terrible.
That's when I put it into 4x4 and
had a noise pop up. Not a happy noise.
Not a grinding but more of a whine/growl
I just replaced the gear oil in the front a couple
of weeks ago. I will have to check that again.

It would make the noise when in 4x4 and also
when in 2 wheel drive with the hubs still ingaged
(didn't back up to release) had to check that
out. Anyone come across this before? from 5 km/hr and
up.

I don't do much 4x4 except for a couple minutes backing
the boat up etc etc until now. I guess last winter I
had it on for more. Just made me shake my head.
What now.

James

[jessef]

When did you put/use it in 4x4 ?

What conditions/roads ?

Did it happen only after you changed the diff fluid ?

What color/smell was the old fluid ?

What type of diff fluid did you put in ?

Can't put forth even a guess without those answers.

[Firesong]

Manual Tranny
Accidently dropped the fluid inititally a few weeks ago.
- after realizing it wasn't the right plug to remove :)
It was nice and synthetic looking and looking pretty pristine.
No smell or anything.
Replaced with gear oil - (quaker possibly) synthetic mm 80/90? Can't remember.
It was expensive though

Driving home today. An inch of snow on a highway making
for slippery footing. (literally spinning from a standstill to get moving
without gunning anything) Stopped, put into 4High and the noise
started up immediately. Sounded slightly left of middle in the front
end. No clunks, or grinding. Just a weird noise.
Would a CV in need of grease do something like that?

Over the summer I have used 4x4 to pull the boat out of the
lake etc. Nothing where I needed to leave it in 4x4 and drive
down the road.

Whatcha figure?
James

[jessef]

Can't really armchair diagnose it

you can get the howling with too little fluid in there

could be diff gears , cv's , wheel bearings

The front end is identical to 80-90's toyota pickup/4runners

take it to a shop and see what they say

a howling noise from the diff is usually an indicator that he gears/pinion are not aligned properly. Carrier or pinion bearings go over time as well.

[Firesong]

I replaced the oil.
Not sure how but it was super low?
I was pretty damn sure I had filled it up.
Oil smelt bad.
Anyway, full replacement and went for a
drive. No noise so hopefully nothing was
damaged.

James

[jessef]

If it was low and you didn't drive it too long, then it should be good.

Diff gears love the smelly fluid. Smells worse than cod liver oil.

Best way to fill it up is use a tube that will fit into the diff bolt hole (upper one where you fill it up). One end in and one end one the cone shaped cap of the fluid bottle. Squeeze until it's all out and repeat until fluid starts coming out of the diff hole. Wipe with a rag and stick your finger inside to make sure it's topped up. Sometimes when squeezing the bottle some fluid can come out and appear that it's full when it's not. Hence the finger check.

[Firesong]

Just a followup
I did a 1300 km trip in a day. Don't ask.
And combined with some horrible snow.
A missed a 30 car pileup/ditchup including
a semi hauling a 30 ft trailer which literally was bent or
something by luck.
(I ended up deciding to have a sleep at 11pm and slept
at a rest stop) I used the 4x4 at a little less than highway
speeds for 40 km or so and no smells, noises or complaints.

<sigh>
I guess that means that for the time being it's holding
together ok.

I ended up buying a tube for the gear oil bottles. It's
kinda neat from CT. Only 5$ I made sure that I
filled it to overfilling. Then cleaned up the mess.
No mistaking the filled up line.

James
p.s. no more spending money on the deli.

[jessef]

p.s. no more spending money on the deli.

That's impossible

[Luna-Sea]

Hey don't diffs sometimes howl a bit sometimes when they are cold,
thought I read that somewhere.
Or maybee it's just my dog that howls when cold....
(fine once she warms up)

Right on! (no money fix I hope!)

[Firesong]

This was something more than a howl. Definitely REAL low
I got the smell on my coverals. My wife washed them with some
jackets... mistake
now on the 3rd washing of the jackets (with baking soda)
to get the smell out of the jackets.
It's horrible
J