On the road! But I have a few questions...

[taylorhayis]

I got the water pump in, brakes fixed, fog lights wired up, battery mounted, thermostat installed, coolant changed, brake fluid and power steering filled (they were bone dry!) And I have been driving my new friend to work!

 

But I am having a couple little issues - thought I'd run them past you guys.

 

1. When I first start driving when the car is cold, I get some serious belt squeal when accelerating, or compression braking. Serpentine belt loose?

2. When driving near a wall (like in an alley) with the window open, I can hear a faint metal on metal sound. My first thought is disk brakes? Sounds a bit like a metal fan rubbing something... Doesnt change frequency with acceleration, only with vehicle speed. Cant hear it at high speed.

3. Same as #2, but when close to a wall I hear ticking, not bad ticking... but ticking.

4. 4wd light doesnt turn off when in 2wd. weirds me out, and I am always making sure I'm in 2wd. Is the switch for that light in the case or on the lever? It flickers while driving in 2wd, and stays solid when in 4wd, so I'm guessing a busted switch.

5. Hub locks. I have them on the front - when do I use them?! How are they different from diff lockers?

6. My 4wd stick says 2WH, 4WH, N, 4WL - but I can only get it to move between 2WH and 4WH. Any idea why?

 

Thanks friends!! Here are a few pics.

 

With my 33" tyres that the truck came with!! Right on!

 

 

broken coolant bypass thingo

 

 

fixed coolant bypass thingo...

 

 

Road tyres

 

 

 

[RedPath88]

1: Check belt tensions, may be that they need replaced. Never used it myself but a can of belt dressing may also help reduce squeal... but checking tension comes first. Also make sure that the idler pulley (if there is one) is moving freely.

 

2: Does it stop when pressing the brakes? If so it may be that one or more are dragging I had a rear drum drag once, it gets VERY hot when driving and is something to identify and correct if it is.

b: Does it do it when you are not in motion but the engine is running? Check the fan shroud and see if it is rubbing. Check all moving parts... don't get your sleeve caught in anything!

 

3: Lifter tick? If it was a VG I would say the hydraulic lifters are draining, but it's not. Someone will correct me if I am wrong but I would *guess* that the Z's are not hydraulic and "may" need adjusted. *purely and uneducated guess there*

 

4: Are you sure your not still in 4HI? (See #6 for more info) If it is in two wheel drive then the switch could be sticking, it should be in the transfercase.

 

5: When you need/may need 4wd, otherwise leave them unlocked. Leaving them locked when 4WD is not in use just increases ware on the front drive components.

Hubs (Manual or Auto locking) connect and disconnect the wheel from the axle. Unlocked they spin freely like a 2WD front end, locked they are physically connected to the CV shafts/axles and thus the front diff, Front driveline and transfercase.

 

6: Push down Actually this is a common question and problem for people new to Nissan. Please See this thread Guys don't kill me, a 4x4 turning on question, HELP I can't go 4hi, only down

[taylorhayis]

1: Check belt tensions, may be that they need replaced. Never used it myself but a can of belt dressing may also help reduce squeal... but checking tension comes first. Also make sure that the idler pulley (if there is one) is moving freely.

 

Yea. The free pulley bracket is bent, and when I tried to loosen tension on it I broke the bolt off... The pulley looks straight enough, but the whole assembly is pretty bad! Should have guessed that was suspect. Time to fab another bracket!!

 

2: Does it stop when pressing the brakes? If so it may be that one or more are dragging I had a rear drum drag once, it gets VERY hot when driving and is something to identify and correct if it is.

b: Does it do it when you are not in motion but the engine is running? Check the fan shroud and see if it is rubbing. Check all moving parts... don't get your sleeve caught in anything!

 

I'll check on that - I'll feel behind it after driving a bit and see if one of the drums is too hot. It only does it when in motion - I have no fan shroud, and I cant see it rubbing on anything in there... So I reckon its brakes. Good call.

 

 

4: Are you sure your not still in 4HI? (See #6 for more info) If it is in two wheel drive then the switch could be sticking, it should be in the transfercase.

5: When you need/may need 4wd, otherwise leave them unlocked. Leaving them locked when 4WD is not in use just increases ware on the front drive components.

Hubs (Manual or Auto locking) connect and disconnect the wheel from the axle. Unlocked they spin freely like a 2WD front end, locked they are physically connected to the CV shafts/axles and thus the front diff, Front driveline and transfercase.

6: Push down Actually this is a common question and problem for people new to Nissan. Please See this thread Guys don't kill me, a 4x4 turning on question, HELP I can't go 4hi, only down

 

Legend!! That explanation of locking hubs is so much better than what wikipedia offered me. Makes perfect sense. So 4wd hi with the hubs unlocked is basically the same as 2wd, just more moving parts that don't need to be moving! I'm a dumbass - that's hilarious that its a push down!!! Never would have tried that. That thread you linked is pure gold - the rage is hilarious - thanks.

 

I'll be in Oregon around xmas probably, and I'd love to shout you a beer - you are most helpful mate!!

[Slartibartfast]

Looks like Redpath pretty well covered it.

 

One bit to throw in about #4, though. I've had the 4x light on my '95 stay on with the lever in 2H, and it turned out that the transfer case had stuck in 4H, and stayed there for a while before disengaging. My understanding is that the shifter pushes the engagement sleeve bit into 4H and a spring makes it pop back into 2H when you shift out, probably so that it won't disengage under load and damage something, and the mechanism can hang up sometimes. I changed the fluid in my transfer case and haven't had a problem with it since.

[taylorhayis]

Looks like Redpath pretty well covered it.

 

One bit to throw in about #4, though. I've had the 4x light on my '95 stay on with the lever in 2H, and it turned out that the transfer case had stuck in 4H, and stayed there for a while before disengaging. My understanding is that the shifter pushes the engagement sleeve bit into 4H and a spring makes it pop back into 2H when you shift out, probably so that it won't disengage under load and damage something, and the mechanism can hang up sometimes. I changed the fluid in my transfer case and haven't had a problem with it since.

 

Good to know! Cheers. I probably should change those soon...