What did you say Gear Box?

[Dowser]

Hey all.

 

I'm thinking I should be Concerned so I'll just do some quick research by starting here. 91 XE, 4 Door, Manual.

 

Quick back story. Coming home from work, noticed trail on opposite side of road. Passed it so I slowed down, Pulled a U-Turn, but in the process figured I could just go a little past the shoulder into the grass since I am driving a pathfinder. Turns out the grass was VERY tall and that was a LONG drop. almost rolled. Scared the hell out of me. Since I was entering the ditch on a bit of an angle I know if I pressed my luck and tried to keep turning myself toward the road I would Roll for sure, so I did what I had to and Drove right down to the bottom of the Swamp mudd Ditch in an attempt to turn my vehicle facing up the ditch I just came down. Now with this all in mind, I got her in 4 low and everything is going peachy, I finally get it at the staight up angle which is about 60-70% angle (no Bull Sh!t) then start Trying to get up. back and forth, back and forth, But at high RPM's in 1st cause theres No time to shift in this process, till finally I actually "DO" get out! Was so suprised by this. :bow:

 

At any rate, that's the back story and it wasn't much later when I went into that trail feeling like a champ that I noticed some new noises. When I put it in 4 low the next time on the trail, My rear wheels where in a deep rut. I stepped on the gas and BOOOOM!! goes something underneath. Still in 4 low and only made the noise once, not a constant noise. Something definitely moves though. I could Even feel it in the cab. I started playing around as soon as I got out of the rutt to try and figure out what it was. Couldn't get it to reoccur on flat terrain but under load it seems to do it more often. Noticing a lot more creaking too from under. Sigh. What did I do to my poor boy. MEDIC!!!

 

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

Dowser.

[Simon]

Sounds to me like your hubs slammed when they re-engaged. That's normal with auto hubs if you've been going backwards and forwards, because they disengage every time you switch direction. It makes a hell of a lot more noise the more gas you give it, when they engage, because everything else is spinning faster. If your 4wd hi and lo still work, I'd say you're probably alright.

[Dowser]

So would you strongly advise some Manual Locking hubs? Like the Warn Premiums and such? And by Manual, that does refer to me actually having to get out of the vechicle to turn them into position doesn't it? Ya, I know. retarded question but give me an answer anyway. The less I have to get out the better because I have a no mud on my shoes policy I'd like to keep up and so far its been 0 for mud, 34 for shoes.

 

Dowser

[Pezzy]

And by Manual, that does refer to me actually having to get out of the vechicle to turn them into position doesn't it?

It sure does...

 

and buy some rubber boots!

[Simon]

^^^ What she said.

 

You can lock the hubs prior to hitting a trial, then just use the shift lever to engage/disengage 4wd. No mud on the shoes in that scenario!

[Precise1]

Just remember that if you have manual hubs, engage them and drive in 2hi, the front cv, driveshaft will be spinning so you want to avoid cranking the steering all the way. Other than that, it's the way a lot of people run their trucks.

 

As for the noise/vibration/something moving, have you eyeballed it yet ?

 

B

[unccpathfinder]

sounds like my hubs...they'd slam mostly in snow when they'd finally catch...but it got to where the pass side would grind and i just recently switched over to warns

 

if u go with warns...DO NOT use the studs they send b/c they WILL break...i bought grade 8 bolts from NAPA and used those with some mild locktite and it worked out great...and watch the torque on the smaller bolts...they WILL break

 

havent had a chance to test them out as of yet but they worked great while the truck was jacked up...

[Dowser]

Haven't been able to Eyeball the problem yet. I went Mudding today as it was my day off, and finally .....Got Stuck. It was terrible. Like a Nightmare. I honestly didn't think it would ever happen to me. I went trucking down some ATV trail and found a VERY deep trench. about 5 different ways around it from other ATV's all to small for my big Boy. Couldn't turn around either but just after the trench I eyed a place to turn around. So I naturally figured I'd just go through this Deep trench and turn around on the other side to come back through the trench and home haha... Great Idea. Of course I failed miserably, Once again almost tipped it. This time the only thing that was stopping me from rolling was the fact that the mud just out side the Tire rut I was stuck in was touching the mirror on the passenger side. Being the Dumbass I am to I went alone, with no Winch or even a Rope. So, I Locked al my doors so no one would steal him while I was gone, and ran to the Highway Trying to falg someone down haha I suck. Any way, I wasn't able to Make the Boom happen again. and I did a lot of Forward and reverse in 4 Low today. Perhaps because one of my Rear wheels were off the Ground? That being said I'm still hearing a hell of a lot of Squeaking and creaking while It's on rough Terrain. Bushings? Man they are annoying. If I can get it to BOOM again I'll keep an eye on where I feel it and hear it. Thanks so far for all the replies. It's pretty clear to me that I need a LOT of parts to make this guy Run like I want it to. Until I can come up with some more Info keep the Idea's coming if there are more. I need all the help I can get. Or so my therapist says anyway.

 

Dowser

[88pathoffroad]

Maybe you ran over a piece of wood or a stick or piece of steel that hit the underside of your body and made the noise. I've done that quite a few times, even got a piece of 1/2" rebar (about twelve feet long) wrapped around the driveshaft and into the underbody once on accident. Do you have any idea how hard it is to un-bend rebar under a muddy truck?

[Precise1]

LMAO Dowser... Sorry you got stuck, but your discription had me laughing. Think maybe you are being just a little too agressive ? Yeah, shot bushings could be part of the squeak, but when is the last time you warshed under the beast and lubed things ? How many miles on it ?

 

LOL 88 I can see you wrestling with the bastage... You don't carry a hacksaw ?

 

B

[Earth1]

Broken engine mount could be a possibility if you get a lot of movement. I have a broken one and I can't actually see the break.

[Oliver]

Well I have nothing intelligent to add but your stories are very entertaining. I think I've learned a couple things not to do since I'm new to the whole 4WD thing myself. Sorry to hear about getting stuck. But thanks for telling your tales here. You may have saved me from some future nasty incidents.. Good luck bud.

Oli

[Dowser]

A quick Update on this BOOM issue. As I mentioned before I haven't been able to get it to Make the TERRIBLE boom noise again. no matter What i do to the bloody thing and believe me I've been trying. sly BUT, I have noticed that it doesn't like to be in reverse much. If I drive in reverse for a little bit, (like driving no more then say 50-60 feet) then push the clutch in, i get a SEMI-BOOM!. Yeah that's right Not quite a boom but a potential boom. -thnkboutit- Something in there is not sitting right thats for sure. It is definitely related I'm sure, seeing how when I first heard the original boom, it was after I had it in reverse. Soooo. It does the semi boom in reverse pretty much every time I drive it for about 30-60 feet and Clutch in. The first time it wasn't when I put the clutch in, but when I released the clutch after switching from reverse to 1st 4- low. Maybe a tooth issue? Maybe clutch is somehow involved? At any rate, just an update, keep the idea's rolling. Going to buy a cheapy 1500 lb winch on sale at Canadian Tire today so I can at least save my sorry ass from running for miles to flag someone down. :furious: Tomorrow I cash my paycheck and put the order in for 4 Brand spanking new Rancho 9000x's WOO HOO! That should at least stop the temporary BOOM from my upper control arms Smashing against something or other. I have so many BOOM's I've Numbered them. When I bring a friend along offroading he's like, OMG what the hell was that? Oh that? that was just Boom #4. Harmless for now. If it were BOOM #2 though we'd be in SERIOUS trouble. Cant wait to get a hold of Precise's new skid plates. Do I hear a BOOM #7??? OH BOY!

 

 

Dowser

[Precise1]

Hmm, rated booms !! WOW....

I'm wondering if you don't have a torn motor or tranny mount. You are torqueing or lifting the motor/tranny and when you step on the clutch, it drops back down ? Making a semi boom, or boom #3... Just a guess... Try having someone look under.

 

Careful with that cheapo winch ! While it can help, the force required to recover a vehicle is often several times that much. We dont want you getting hurt if anything fails ! Bad recovery set ups can be very dangerous !!

 

B

[Pezzy]

Going to buy a cheapy 1500 lb winch on sale at Canadian Tire today so I can at least save my sorry ass from running for miles to flag someone down.

How much is it??

Have you seen the Champion 8000lb winch from Princess Auto - it runs about $389. Much better use of your money, and much better rated for your truck!