Not moving when 4hi or 4lo is engaged

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Cavd40

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Hey guys, new to the forum here. Ive done a bit of research around and havent been able to find exectly whats happened to me so I thought i would ask here.
So this morning I thought i would go on a fairly easy trail just to give my new tyres a test run. So i was stationary put it into 4low and started to climb up a hill. Lost traction then heard a bang. Quickly put it in neutral rolled it back down the hill and took it out of 4wd. Car drove fine in 2wd but when i put it in either high range or low range it just jammed up, would not move at all and when it did it made a god awful noise so i stopped.
First thing i checked was the front cv which i did notice the front left did have play in it so that has deffinatly jumped out. My main question is would the jamming in 4hi and 4lo be caused by the cv or is there a chance i have done the diff or transfer? But like i said in 2wd it drives like normal so im a bit stuck for what it may be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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Sorry a bit about the car.
Its a 2010 thai built d40 st. Auto 2.5lt td. 2inch suspension lift with 2inch suspension blocks and 285/75r15 bfs

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Doesn't sound promising. It isn't likely to be the cv if it drives ok in 2wd, the front cv's and diff are always turning over in the d40, even when in 2wd. Definitely sounds like transfer chain to me. The resistance could be that the chain has slipped off either one of the gears and is pulling tight.

A fairly easy test would be to remove the front drive shaft and try it in 4wd then. If there is still resistance, it is in the transfer case.
 
Yeah i know that there is always movement in the front cvs and diff even when its in 2wd thats why i was confused as to what it may be. Either way the front cv has jumped but i will try that to test the transfer case. Is the chain replaceable or is it a whole new transfer case?

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You could probably change the chain, but it really depends what is damaged. It may need new gears too. Unfortunately, until you do some more diagnosing and start pulling stuff apart it is going to be hard to guess what has happened.
 
Sounds like great fun. I will be getting a front cv next week because it needs to get done either way and i guess just go from there. From your knowledge would continual driving in 2wd cause any more damage. Its my only car and i travel about 140k a day so im a bit stressed about causing more damage.

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I just watched a video of the inside of the transfer case working from what i could see the chains would be turning all the time weather there in 4wd or not. Im just trying to get my head around how it would seize up when 4wd is engaged.

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That's what I was thinking too. It could be something in the drive gear from the main gearbox to the transfer case. Worst case, either completely remove the front driveshaft or at least remove the front diff end and tie it up out of the way somewhere securely so the front end isn't turning the transfer case over.

If you can do the 4wd test at the same time, that will tell you if it is gearbox/transfer or front end that is the problem...
 
Anothet thing that my mechanic thought of is that i may have actually snapped the imput end of the cv shaft inside the diff so thats another thing to look forward to.

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If the transfer chain snaps there won't be any drive to the front wheels at all. The chain will be lying in the transfer case so if it's not making noise in 2WD mode the chain won't be touching the gear on the main shaft. That also means that engaging 4WD is pointless, because the output shaft won't be engaged and driven by the motor.

However, if the chain wraps around the output shaft gear and jams in there, engaging the 4WD pawls will make the front drive shaft turn the gear inside the transfer case over (the front drive shaft is engaged by two pins that hold the gear in place, the gear has the chain and that's how power is normally transferred).

You'd need to get all the wheels off the ground to do a test and that's the safest way, even if you suspect no drive to the front. Once up on a hoist (in 4WD) try turning the REAR shaft by hand. The front shaft should turn as well, since in 4WD they are fairly tightly connected.

If it's a CV, it might have snapped the spider off and that might make some noise but unless it jams in somewhere it's unlikely to inhibit movement.

What could inhibit motion is the front diff - it's a pretty sore point for some here, the front diff is rather weak and suffers badly when a wheel is lifted and spins and suddenly gains traction.

Good luck with it. A hoist is the first place I'd go, and try turning everything over by hand first to see where a problem might lie. Turning the rear shaft with no front shaft movement = busted transfer case. If the front shaft moves and no movement of the front wheels - busted diff/CVs. Turn over one of the front wheels. If other wheel turns CVs and diff ok. If nothing turns, try other front wheel. If other wheel doesn't turn but drive shaft does then CV on first wheel is busted.
 
Thanks for all the info guys i really appreciate it. I will keep you posted to what happened

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Like old tony says, I'd be getting it up with all 4 wheels off the ground and seeing what moves and doesn't. Safest way to do it, as there is no strain on the components then. Once you work out what the true symptoms are then you can try to get a proper diagnosis.

Sorry, I'm not much use for actual diagnosis though.
 
Found this inside the diff lol might have something to do with it not working in 4wd. Needless to say diffs been replaced and all is well again.
f63bd38a670d5d3a74e2da37243dc02d.jpg


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Any idea how that happened? It's not unusual for that to occur when wheelspinning one of the front wheels (with the other wheel on the ground, and a back wheel also spinning) and gaining sudden traction with the spinning front wheel. The energy in the rotation (momentum) is suddenly transferred along the front axle and anything in there can let go - we've seen pictures here of snapped axles, cracked diffs, broken gears, and the spider gear in the CV joint is also susceptible to failure.
 
Well it did happen when i lost traction of the front left then it grabbed traction so im assuming the sudden grab of traction must have done it. But suprisingly the cv was fine just a bit of diff gear welded to it from the heat but we cleaned all that up off it

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Proves again two things: one, the front diff is underspecced for the vehicle, and for any serious offroading, the Navara needs a front diff lock.

Doesn't matter if it's an auto, air or electric. Each has their advantages.

* If you haven't bought yourself a compressor for tyre inflation (beach/rough road) then an ARB air locker system would be the clever choice

* If you have a compressor already, the Harrop E-locker would be a good choice

* If you can't afford the above, auto lockers DO work and could save this sort of problem.

At the 2013 Muster (held at Janowen Hills, Qld) we watched several cars trying a very, very steep climb just behind our camping area. Car 1 spun his wheels to the top, throwing dirt everywhere and bouncing around like mad. Car 2 did the same thing. Then car 3, a fully locked car, crawled its way up the hill like a boss - it was amazing to watch.
 
I have been looking down the auto locker for some time now. Just seems a bit better bang for your buck. If i had the cash i would be going down the elocker path but id probably struggle to get that one past the mrs lol

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Since auto lockers have been brought up. A while ago there was a bulk buy of auto lockers by forum members. Following that i expected to hear all sorts of wondrous stories of experiences with them but pretty much nothing. How is everyone finding them? The good, the bad.
 
hey mate, I have an auto locker in the front of my series 1 d22 and I love it but when not in 4wd my diff and cv's don't turn so it doesn't affect the day to day driving, if I was in your shoes I would be looking into the affects of an auto locker on your fuel economy and tyre ware before making your decision
cheers doug
 

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