Need Help: Drivetrain Whine, Slipping in tight turns

[tom4bren]

"They said that it is very unlikely for it to affect anything"

I wouldn't have expected them to reply with anything less since they are potentially liable for some very expensive tranny work.

[bentcipher]

Alright, so changing gear oil didn't really do much. The truck feels livelier but still has the whine and shuddering in turns.

After doing some probing I noticed two things I didn't quite take into account before... not sure if that helps:
1. The whine comes through the gear shifter and can almost be felt if I have my hand resting on the shifter. Transfer Case maybe?


2. The shuddering is not constant... it's more timed, occuring as the turn is made almost as if something is turning and everytime it passes a particular spot it shudders - yeah, I know, sounds like pinion gear related.. crap

P.S.
Etl: I did pull the fuse - no change.
Tom: the tranny shop I thought was pretty unbiased but if you have another specialist I'd be willing to talk to them!

[tom4bren]

"if you have another specialist I'd be willing to talk to them!"

Not really - just hate the thought of dragging a vehicle across the ground, it's bound to cause problems.

"the Vx was towed about a month ago ... which was done by a mistake"

BTW, how do you accidentally tow a vehicle?

Have you checked your CV boots? CV troubles usually sound more like clicking & you mentioned whine/vibration (but anything is possible).

Tom

[bentcipher]

Tom,

I know what you're saying. When I first learned that they "dragged" it up the flatbed I was seriously considering injuring the tow truck driver. I still think something could easily snap using that method - but whether I can prove it as a viable cause is a different story.

The truck was towed by mistake while in the hotel parking lot. Luckily the hotel profusely apologized and had it brought back at no cost.

Oh and I just did the boots like 3 months ago - easy peasy works great!

[tom4bren]

"easy peasy"

If that translates to 'fingertips to armpits' in grease ... OK

[bentcipher]

Hehe... nah, it wasn't that bad. Got the independent4x kit which in my opinion is the only way to do it right (except if you're lifted)

Had plenty of time and beer.... it was a good day

Got a small update: Took the truck to the local AAMCO, the guy kept saying that the only thing it may need is a full service on the front diffy with a nice positrac additive... Anyone did this?

Personally I'm not buying it - if the problem is with the fluid then it would shudder constantly when in turn instead of once every revolution (?). I also think that it would exhibit these symptoms when in 4lo, which it doesn't.

Out of desperation, I'm willing to try anything before driving to a dealer 50 miles away. I can try the K&W LSD additive in the front axle... can this be done safely? If so, should it be added on top of the Mobil 1 oil already in there or bled a bit first? Workshop Manual states that too much gear oil may produce a leak but no other adverse symptoms.

Also, K&W instructions call for adding the additive first, oil second. How critical is this?

[bentcipher]

Ok, so I took the truck to another shop that normally does my alignment and such... luckily, one of the guys was familiar with 4x4s so we took a quick spin to see if he could help pinpoint what the problem is...

According to him, my pinion gear is going out at the very least. He said no fluid change is going to help that. It feels like it's slipping because pinion gear is going bad and the whine is coming from (clutch disks) locked in and not releasing. He told me to get this thing into a shop that works on these or the dealer pronto.

Later, when we pulled back up to the shop and I brought up the fact that the truck was recently dragged on a flatbed both him and their service manager's eyes widened and they promptly confirmed that there is a 99% probability that this is the cause of my issue. They said that dragging the vehicle on the bed is one of the worst things you could do to your driveline and what's worse... they knew that this particular wrecker simply dry-drags the vehicles onto the flatbed.

I remember having that suspicion after the tow truck driver gave me that story because I didn't smell any wd40 anywhere on or around the truck when he brought it back... and purposely took some pictures at the time just in case. Guess what, a reviewed the pics, again, and I don't see any wd40 or oily residue on my tires, on the inside of my rims, on the rims, on the cladding, or inner wheel wells.

Oh yeah... and I almost forgot - I'm not covered by a powertrain warranty as I am a second owner of the vehicle so if the tow service gets out of this, looks like I'll be getting very familiar with the insides of my front axle.