~Ben~ Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 So I came home today, and our trailer had been left near the end of our driveway, blocking the entrance. Rather than getting out and moving it, I just went ahead and tried goin through our ditch like I normally do (pretty wide ditch). Never had any problems with the ditch before, normally I can manage it in 2 wheel easily. But we had a big downpour yesterday so the grounds a lot wetter than normal. So I started on through it and couldnt make it up the other side. Put it in 4 high and then 4 low and still nothing. I was pretty confused, I am on stock tires and the ground was soft but I mean after doing this a million times I couldn't figure out why all of a sudden I'd get stuck here. So after getting out and watching someone else try it, I realized that my front wheels weren't even spinning. At the angle I'm sitting at it wouldn't take much more than a little bit of pull from those front tires to get me moving. But since they aren't even spinning in 4wd, my back wheels are the only ones spinning and stock tires caked with mud just don't do much of anything. I've got someone that'll come and pull me out if I need it, and the car's already in my yard so its not that big of a deal. But I'm still a bit pissed at getting stuck where I am, because in a 4wd vehicle the ditch shouldn't even be a problem. So is there any reason why my 4wd wouldn't engage where I am? I'd like to think that its not broken and that for whatever reason it just doesn't want to engage... But what exactly is the reason then why its not engaging and is there any way to make it engage? Kinda funny looking though, getting stuck in your own front yard lol. I'll get pictures if anyone wants em, though I am a bit embarassed about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 If you have auto hubs and the front wheels haven't moved then they won't engage, try going in reverse then see if they spin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ditch Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I feel your pain with getting stuck in embarassing spots. With regards to 4wd not engaging, unless you've installed manual hubs the hubs on your Pathfinder are automatic. This means that the wheels need to rotate in order to lock on to the front differential when engaging the 4wd. Pulling the lever in the cab only engages the 4wd transmission and the front differential. If the tires can't rotate the automatic hubs can't engage with the differential and therefore none of the engine power will get to the front wheels. I think I've described this right but I may have used some of the wrong terms. I'm certain someone will be along shortly to correct me. In short, switch into 4wd before you get stuck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 Yeah just read up about it and that's definitely my problem. So I guess I'm happy then that's it not a problem with my 4wd, although I am left with the fact I have to get someone to pull me out of my own ditch In the future I'll make sure to just have 4wd on beforehand... Normally though I can go through that ditch in 2wd and if I can't then I can at least back it up and engage 4wd. Wasn't expecting this to happen. Its a bit embarrassing, but its through no fault of my pathfinder. Purely my mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey.T Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Try and roll it backwards with it in 4L... hell let it idle in 4L and push backwards at the drivers door. You will know the instant the hubs ingage..... at that point you get back in the seat... Also try applying a little brake if only 1 wheel is moving If you have to get a tug.... dont worry it wont be the last time you will need one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 Well I'm out, got a friend to pull me on out. Was afraid that maybe my 4wd might be broken, so I came out and tried to engage it. Went back in the same way again, and again it was stuck. Front wheels not spinning. So apparently my 4wd is now broken... Which definitely sucks. I checked out the CV joints cause I know that could cause the problem. They look fine though. Past that I don't have any idea what else could be the culprit. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I find it an awful thought that when you really need 4wd that you can't engage it. It defeats its own purpose! Manual hubs will never leave you stranded like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxl90rx7 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 same thing happened to me, it ended up being one of my hubs was stripped out. Due to the open front diff, both wheels will not move if one hub is not locking. Manual hubs are teh way to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Look at the CV's and see if they are spinning while a friend drives the truck forward ssslllloooowwwly in 4wd. If the cv's ARE spinning with the tire you have a hub problem. If neither cv spins while driving forward while in 4wd then first I'd check my front driveshaft and see if anything broke loose. If not MayBe your 4wd shifter is a little screwed up. How does it "feel" when you shift it? If not that I'd start worrying about my front diff gears. The drain plug will tell you whether that's the problem if you pull it and see lots of metal crap. Most likely you're having a hub problem on one side. Since your front diff is open only one hub has to go bad for it to seem like the front isn't pulling. Just in case you're not sure what a CV is. You're going to be looking at the rubber accordion looking things connecting to your front wheels. In 2wd they're suppose to stay still, in 4wd they'll rotate with the wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Look at the CV's and see if they are spinning while a friend drives the truck forward ssslllloooowwwly in 4wd. I aint going near that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted January 3, 2007 Author Share Posted January 3, 2007 Yeah I was thinkin about that today... I want to inspect the CV's to see if they're spinning but without a lift (the ones they use in autoshops and all) it makes it virtually impossible to check them out since the car has to be moving (or at least trying to move) while I'm looking at it. The only real possible way I can think of to do it would be to get stuck on purpose so that I can check out the wheels spinning without any fear of the car running me over. Not so sure I want to go get stuck in my ditch again though.... Wouldn't there be a way to just see if somethings disconnected/broken between the CV joint while the car is stopped? I mean there's gotta be an exact reason why they aren't turning. The other thing I've been thinking about is how long has my car not had 4wd... From what I've been told now about feeling it engage and everything, and I can't really remember that feeling at all. I'm pretty certain that the last time I got stuck I might not have even had 4wd working then. Because I remember I finally managed to get myself out of the muck after a good while and then having to go up 2 kinda steep hills and I had trouble with them actually. And actually the first time I got stuck was the same sort of position, where I was headin uphill and my backtires got stuck in some mud. Front wheels were up out of it and everything. I can't remember my front wheels spinning honestly, so I guess it would be possible I've never had 4wd? By the way, I did have my left CV boot replaced a while ago (had a crack in it). Is it possible that something happened when I got it replaced? or that the crack in the boot wound up causing my front wheels to no longer spin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxl90rx7 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I would check your hubs before anything else, they are prone to breaking and are not hard to take apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 Nope. The crack in the boot or the replacement of that boot could not have anything to do with your problem. The only thing that boot does is hold grease in. If you have a broken cv you would know it. It would sound real ugly coming from the frontend. When I suggested having a friend drive slowly I'm talking about the truck barely moving. Think .05mph... You can even test it out with your friend driving your truck in reverse since 4wd works in both directions. Now that you told us that the boot was replaced, tell us how qualified the mechanic was to do the job. I bet your mechanic put the hub back together wrong. I don't know how it could've been put back together wrong tho, unless he just plane left out the clutch. Drop a few $$$ on some Warn Manual hubs or even Mile Markers. It's a good investment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 Well the guys that replaced it are my grandfather and uncle. They've been around cars their entire lives, and always know pretty much everything about anything... At least its always seemed that way. They've been fixing cars for my mom's side of my family forever. And they own their own garage where they work on cars for a living. I pretty much trust them, I really don't believe it was put back together wrong... although its always a possibility. Putting it in reverse and checkin out the CV's sounds like a good idea. Could probably do that pretty easily. If the CV's move, then its a problem outside the CV's right? And if they don't move then it would be a problem inside the CV's, with something else not engaging to make them move? CV definitely isn't broken though, I checked it out and while I don't have the most extensive knowledge about cars I feel pretty confident I'd have known if something right there was broken. And it doesn't make any noise or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 If the CV's move, then its a problem outside the CV's right? And if they don't move then it would be a problem inside the CV's, with something else not engaging to make them move? If the cv's are moving with the truck while it's rolling then the problem is almost definitely one of your hubs. Sorry if I came off as dissing your families mechanic skills. All the mechanics I know of are all human and all humans are bound to screw up from time to time. If your cv's are spinning when the truck is in 4wd and moving, I'd say grab an allen wrench and take off the hub from the side that did not get a new boot. Then take off the side that did get the new boot and compare what you have from side to side. That'll only take a few minutes. Don't be scared to take the hubs off. It's really simple, no springs are gonna pop out at you or anything. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Ben~ Posted January 4, 2007 Author Share Posted January 4, 2007 So I had someone move the car backwards in 4wd while I checked out the CV's. Turns out my passenger side one turns, my driver's side one doesn't. So now I've narrowed that down; I know the problem is on the driver's side and I know it doesn't have to do with the connection to the hub. Sooo... any ideas on what the problem could be now? I'm willing to test things out, as I'd kinda like to fix this problem or at least identify the exact problem on my own. The driver's side (the side where the CV doesn't turn) IS the side where I had the boot replaced. So I'm expecting that has something to do with the problem, although I don't know what. Thanks for the help so far, though . Hopefully I'll have the pathy back in 4wd soon and I'll show that ditch who's boss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 I don't want to offend anyone... so I will anyway. Instead of pissfarting around like you are doing just check the bloody thing properly. It isn't rocket science! Engage 4wd in your driveway or anywhere else you please. (Please, if you are engaging 4wd on a hard traction surface ie. concrete or bitumen, do not try to turn the steering wheel). After driving forward and reverse (in a strat line) enought times (convincing yourself that if it was going to ever engage 4wd, it would have done so by now) stop the car with the engine still running, DO NOT DISENGAGE 4WD, engage the hand brake so the car can not move, elight the vehicle and retreive a jack. Now that you have the jack in hand, place it under the front of your still running Pathfinder. There is a crossmember under there so place it in the centre and jack away untill both of the front wheels are off of the ground. Now try turning the drivers wheel be hand. Now run around to the passenger side and do the same thing. Now remove your car from the jack, disengage 4wd and turn the motor off. Post up your results on this site for further discussion. Please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxl90rx7 Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 (edited) Id bet money its a bad hub.. how often do CV joints just break like that? It only takes 5 minutes to take your hub apart here is what mine looked like, the tabs had broken off: Edited January 5, 2007 by gxl90rx7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 my CV blew apart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 just take it to v6, he'll fix it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vsicks Pathy Posted January 5, 2007 Share Posted January 5, 2007 just take it to v6, he'll fix it Yes I would. I'd fix it good and proper.lol Manual hubs on each end of a live axle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdpathy Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 It sounds like the guy who put the cv's back together didn't install the hub correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) so I just finished replacing my drive axle and reassembling my auto hubs. Of course, I needed to test that I didn't frell something up so I pulled out into the street and pointed up the hill, let it idle in gear and put just enough tension on the parking brake to let her slowly creep forward (a lame old man with a walker would be faster). Once stable, I got out and walked to the front of the truck (had my windows open just in case my door-lock ghost came back at a bad time). I crouched in front of the truck and the axles were not moving. I jumped in and popped it into 4wd, got out and looked again... both axles going nicely. Backed up to release the hubs (just to make sure they would) and all is good. Now... all I need is some damned snow rather than this 70 degree weather. Edited January 7, 2007 by k9sar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrailChaser Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) Two different cv's where broken on the trail this weekend. One on a xterra and one on a R50. Both where VERY noticeable. Look for the video of the Xterra soon in the video section. He was pretty much flopped and I was pulling him trying to get his front tire to grab when POP!!! :o Needless to say we ended up winching him out backwards. Edited January 7, 2007 by TrailChaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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