Grinding in sharp turns with 4WD

[lee_cha_nin]

Hi all,

 

I have 2001 part time 4wd Pahfinder, bougjt it 2 months ago. Today I experienced 2 things while driving:

 

1. On the intersection, I did left turn (the road is uphill) and the SUV started to "dance" as I accelerated (it was rainy day). Is it so common with these SUVs, it would never happen with my little Protege (I did it so many times at the same intersection)?

 

2. After 1) I decided to engage 4H for the first time and I felt the traction was better. But then I had to slow down, turn into another street and, while turning, I heard something like grinding noise (front wheels). Before turning I almost stopped the vehicle (1-3 mph). And the grinding noise was like 3-5 "grindings" for the whole turn, not like when your CV joints are gone.

 

Any reasons to worry ?

 

Nick

[RedPath88]

First... Welcome to the NPORA Forums

 

Now two things...

One don't use 4WD on pavement.. even if it is wet. that is not considered a low traction surface. It will end up causing "wind up" in the transfer case and can damage it

 

And two, never turn sharply (to steering lock) while 4WD is engaged, it can damaged your front CV joints and possibly lead to other damage.

 

The "dancing" IMO was likely caused by you being in 4WD (if I read that you were correctly) and the grinding was probably the CV's being forced to work at the extreme angle (steering cranked all the way)

 

Something to remember about 4x4's is that "4WD" is not the same as "AWD" (All Wheel Drive) they are two different systems, meant for two different general uses.

 

EDIT: Hmm just noticed that this was an R50... If things are different that what I described above someone please chime in

Edited September 18, 2006 by RedPath88

[giancarlo93]

Welcome to NPORA!

[94extreme]

yo,

 

dancing=slipping? if so tires, etc.. maybe the truck has more trq. then prelude or whatever. hard to tell..

 

if not then maybe all the rear links need checking as them (bushings) being worn out this is somewhat of a common issue whith r50s of that age..

[lee_cha_nin]

Thanks guys.

 

RedPath88, I was not driving 4WD when turning and slipping. I turned 4H after the vehicle had slipped. Then problems under 2) were noticed.

 

So what about pavement that is covered by ice/snow wet/rotten leaves? No 4H even then?

 

Nick

[94extreme]

ice/snow definitely but don't get cocky.. traction sucks bad regardless.. wet leaves.. no.. just wet pavent.. i don't think i have ever used it.. now a gravel road.. yeah, plenty of times..

[cdhicks99]

[Slick]

hello and welcome

 

first off.. a pathy is an SUV. therefore. don't drive it like the protoge. higher CoG and handling is completely different.

secondly, only use 4wd in cases such as snow, ice, sand, loose gravel when traction is needed to get where you have to go.

cornering at full lock is pretty hard to do..... as stated above.. this is not a car..

you should learn to drive your pathy without 4wd where it i safe to do so so you can get the feel of how she reacts..... use 4wd only as necessary.

wet leaves? those are the most fun to drive on..... in 2wd. lay ff the tall skinny and you will find you have a great vehicle.

 

were you shifting on the fly into 4wd? that will cause your nasty grinding noise.

 

as stated. not a race car.

 

Edited September 18, 2006 by Slick

[SC88Pathy]

By "dancing" did you mean the rear end swung out? If so that's because Pathfinders are rear wheel drive and have completely different characteristics than a front wheel drive protege. If you accelerate too hard in the wet while turning your rear end will slide, and if you accelerate way too much you could end up spinning out. This will be further amplified if you have the factory limited slip differential (did R50's come with an LSD? I'm not sure) Once you get used to this it can be a lot of fun, but until then be very carefull when accelerating on wet pavement.

 

As stated in previous posts don't engage 4WD on the pavement unless it's snowy/icy.

 

And welcome to the NPORA! Hopefully we can answer any other questions you might have!

[QuismO]

in situation 1...probably rear wheels slipping on wet surface due to too much gassing. i can break the rear wheels loose on a turn on dry pavement...and i have the vg33, i can only imagine the vq35's capabilities.

 

in situation 2...listen to the others, wet pavement is not a condition to use 4wd...there is still too much traction between the tires and the road. and what caused the grinding noise is what many call "binding", which happens during the turn because the front tires are traversing on different turning radii. for example, for a left turn, the right tire is traversing on a larger radius than the left tire, requiring the right tire to rotate faster--which it can't since the drivetrain is locked an the axle links both right and left sides...this causes binding in the drivetrain.

Edited September 18, 2006 by QuismO

[navygz19]

Welcome to NPORA!

shouldn't this be moved to The Garage?

[lee_cha_nin]

Well, thanks guys. Looks like I have to learn to drive it.

Driving the Protege is totally different.

 

Yes, SC88Pathy, that's what happened when I said "dancing".

 

Could it be that the tire pressure is not correct? I set mine to 26 PSI, bat that looks rather low comparing to my Protege (32 psi). Is 26 PSI factory recommended pressure?

 

Nick

[lee_cha_nin]

And just one more thing - I did engage the 4WD when I drove ~50 km/h on the wet pavement, then the intersection came and I had to turn there. That's when the noise started (from the front wheels), not sure exactly where (tires or gears)

 

Nick

[zonianbrat]

I think like Quismo said you experienced the binding. I would say go find some dirt-gravel and engage 4wd and test things out but dont fully lock the steering. If in fact you are still noticing "grinding" then maybe your cv's are done. If you do not notice any more problems then have a little fun.

[94extreme]

26psi is factory setting.. most run their tires in the 30s though.