railman87

Spiders and pinion gear were gone. Found a used one at the junk yard and now things are pretty good. More work than I expected installing the front differential. Thanks for all the reply's.

looked everything over and decided to pull the drain plug. All sorts of metal teeth and parts laying in the differential. I guess I will be going to the junkyard to find a used one. Thanks for all the advice. Railman87

Switched to manual locking hubs, and they do engage.

Yeah, that is what I am thinking. Unfortunately, the drive train is quiet. I was expecting gears grinding or missing teeth on the ring gear type of sounds, but nothing. I still think I am missing something on the diagnosis.

I bought a well used 1993 Pathy this summer. I replaced all ball joints, wheel bearings, and switched to manual hubs. While I had the Pathfinder on the jack stands, I locked the hubs in and turned the front wheels to verify that everything was connected. axle shafts rotated and the front driveline to the transfer case rotated, so I thought everything was good. Last night, we had our first snow and decided to lock in the hubs and give everything a good workout. Instead, I ended up getting stuck and had to be pulled out. When I got the Pathfinder in the garage, I put it up on all 4 jack stands and started to investigate. Front driveline to the front differential was turning, but the front axles did not move. With the hubs locked in and the vehicle in neutral, when I rotate the wheels by hand, everything rotates (front axles, and front driveline). Is there something else that I need to do to engage the 4X4, other than moving the floor lever to 4-HI or 4-LO? I had a late 80's model jeep that had a vacuum actuator that engaged the front differential. Is there something similar on the Pathfinder that I am not aware of? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Railman87