front end grind

[evillecutter]

its still drivable now and im afraid if i start taking stuff apart (or trying to) in my garage and i get stuck i wont have any way of getting it somewhere else to finish my botched job - gonna bring it to a driveline specialty place in the nearby town of chandler this weekend when i have time and see what they have to say - when i called them the guy on the phone said they do a lot of 4x4's as well as industrial drivetrains and even a few monster trucks - even actually said they had an "isuzu guy" but of course he was busy on like 3 other jobs so i didnt get to talk to him but he is supposed to call me back to day if he has time - im keeping my fingers crossed that they might actually have someone that wont freak out at the vehicross but im fairly confident about this place so im keeping my hopes up (plus i think the proton runs better on good vibes) - will report back if they figure anything out - and thanks again i know helping me with this stuff is probably getting old but i really appreciate it

[Scott Larson]

Oh heck, helping people in need never gets old, unless of course you're not learning as you go...Obtain the knowledge, pass it along to others in need and hope they do the same, one of lifes simpler philosophies! Best of luck with your drivetrain issues...

[evillecutter]

bad news its the transfer case - any idea what the model # is for our transfer case? i remember reading i think its made by borg warner

[Scott Larson]

Sorry to hear that, the transfer case is not a cheap fix, although it's cheaper to repair then replace, it all comes down to your comfort level in terms of your abilities. I'm sure you can source one in serviceable condition for a reasonable price on-line or maybe even locally. What did your driveline specialty shop say about a replacement or rebuild? It is a Borg Warner and replacement parts are readily available but I can't say offhand what the model number is. If you crack it open and diagnose what needs replacing, your friendly neighborhood CarQuest can supply you with the needed parts. They seem to be a better choice then Napa, at least around these parts when it comes to foreign car parts...

[evillecutter]

the guys at two different shops said it shouldnt be a problem to fix but they both said they would need the model # before they start looking for and ordering parts for the inside of it - neither one of them wanted to crack it open without knowing if they could get the parts first - tried the search (even in the archives) and found nothing

...man you shoulda seen some of the rigs in these shops... one place does mostly large commercial trucks and super heavy duty 4x4's - they were doing rear differential work on a monster truck i think it was called sir crush a lot or something - pretty cool - kinda softened the blow of knowing my vx is not going to be a cheap fix (my $6k vx is up to about $9k with all the crap that has went wrong with it in the past 6 months) ...this car hasnt even really given me a chance to enjoy it yet

if noone responds with a model # i might start a new thread just on transfer case and associated info for people to add to as they find it seeing as there doesnt seem to be one on the site already

[Scott Larson]

Now why didn't they just read the build tag on the transfer case? It's there for just that purpose. It's a shiny metal tag attached to the case. Unless someone before has removed it...

[evillecutter]

it started again and is getting worse - now the noise happens about half of the time that i am driving and sounds especially terrible when i turn - should i keep driving until something explodes or park it until i can save up to have the diff and transfer case serviced? any suggestions on which one would be better to start with?

[VX KAT]

Any chance this could be a TOD issue when the 4 tires aren't all matched closely in size, tread pattern, tread remaining, air pressure?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=17436

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...t=flashing+tod

or the mode switch?
.

[evillecutter]

Any chance this could be a TOD issue when the 4 tires aren't all matched closely in size, tread pattern, tread remaining, air pressure?

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=17436

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...t=flashing+tod

or the mode switch?
.

i appreciate you looking into this for me kat - the tod seems to be working fine i have never had a check tod light and the blocks light up accordingly when i encounter rough or slippery terrain - i have 4 brand new falken ziex tires on it and check my tires almost daily hoping that it might be the cause but unfortunately im sure its not

i brought it to a driveline specialty place last month that works on all types of different drivelines big and small and they were afraid to even look at it until i either had a spare transfer case or all the necessary parts in case they needed them - i was kind of stunned seeing as that was the reason i ws bringing it to them so they could find the parts for me - when they listened to it they said something about the "lobes' inside the tcase but i have no idea what they are talking about and seeing as i am most likely not going to be doing this work myself i didnt keep asking questions after that because they seemed busy on other jobs

[VX KAT]

or the mode switch?
.

What about the mode switch?...I seem to recall reading that in one of those posts about the TOD/tire issue.
I know there's been alot of posts over the years about the mode switch....but I didn't search on it to get more info.

[Triathlete]

The usual symptoms for the mode switch are hard shifting and the gear indicator lights on the dash doing crazy stuff. Doesn't sound like his problems...but you never know.

[evillecutter]

grinds worse in 4lo - used to be just in 4lo that it would grind but now its getting worse in tod mode than it ever has been - shifts fine and fluids have been drained and replaced in both diffs (rear with lsd additive) - have not drained the tcase but the fluid was never low (since ive owned it) and looks bright red - im thinking it might have something to do with the "hard drop after letting off brakes" issue that i have read about on a few archived posts but noone ever said whether or not it was fixed and what caused it to begin with

its almost a metal binding or grinding sound with the occasional pop thrown in - loud enough that i can hear it over the new muffler - maybe the cv going to the tcase? i dont know where to start...

[MSHardeman]

I just skimmed through all of the posts in this thread, so forgive me if I go over something that has already been discussed.

I see in one of the posts that you got under the VX and checked the play in the front half shafts, but you didn't say (that I could see) if the CV boots were intact or not. Are/were they? How long have you had the VX and do you know if the CV boots were replaced, or not, before you bought it? The original boots are black, and would probably be a little dried out due to the age of the VX.

Do the popping and grinding sounds "feel" (sound) like they are coming from right under the front seats? Can you actually feel a grinding/vibration in the floor board under your feet?

I ask all of that because those were the same sensations that I was getting when my driver side inner CV outer race was going out. I know that's a confusing statement, but what I am ultimately talking about is what everyone calls the "green cup" on the front axle. If you get under the VX and look at the axle housing, the part that doesn't move and is bolted to the frame, you will see what looks like a big green cylinder sticking out of the axle housing. The inner CV boot should be wrapped around the end of this. That cylinder is actually the outer race for the inner CV joint. My inner CV boot split and I didn't catch it for a while until I started getting some strange grinding noises and vibrations that seemed to be coming from right under my seat when I was driving. It ended up that the green cup had gotten some junk in it and the CV joint was going bad. I think the fact that the axle is hard bolted to the frame the grinding sounds and feelings were traveling through the frame and I felt/heard them under my seat.

That's all I have for now, and I really hope that it isn't your green cup because it's a bit of an involved process to either replace it or rebuild it because it is actually the end of the drive axle that is inside the axle housing.

[evillecutter]

the cvs look good i have not changed them but they feel solid and there are no rips in the boots (they are black prob original) - the green cup seems fine too and i have no play in either axles - the only vibration comes from the steering wheel but i know it is not power steering issues because i have no leaks and when i sit still i can turn the steering wheel and there is no vibration and no sound -when you are driving it sounds like its coming from the front but if you are outside the vx is sounds like its coming from the middle or rear - maybe something wrong with the u joints or the cv that goes to the tcase? ive greased the 3 points on the driveshaft that i could - ive never had differential problems before what would those sound like?

its almost like i have two different problems going on here but they seem related - the on/off grinding and the binding of something causing the car to drop when i let off the brake after i brake hard enough (not unusually hard) it looks like the rear end has to come off to get to the rear diff to service it and the transfer case doesnt look any easier but i still dont know which one would be better to start with or if i should start with either

[Triathlete]

Have you checked the links on the rear suspension? If they have become worn out ( the joints that connect to the rear axle housing and the joints on the frame end) it could allow your axle housing to rotate (it doesn't take much) which could cause the ujoints to bind. Just thinking out loud here.