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Have I broken my 4 wheel drive?

3K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  Steveo32 
#1 · (Edited)
I recently purchased a 1997 sportage karmann sport and yesterday decided that I would try out my 4 wheel drive to make sure it worked ok as the weather is starting to get bad here in scotland but all did not go well!:(
From a standstill I engaged 4H no problem and the light on the dask lit up. I started to move slowly forward (I was on tarmac but going slowly and only for a very short distance, just wanted to test that all worked ok) and could hear a worrying clunking/grinding noise then all seemed fine.....until, I turned left after about 15 feet and the steering seemed to go stiff and the car started to jerk. I looked out of the drivers window and could see the rear wheel 'skipping'??. I then turned 90 degrees right, felt and heard a loud clunk/bang and then all went quiet. The 4 wheel drive light stayed on and the car drives fine. I took it out of 4H backed up to disengage the hubs then drove to a nearby field. Into the field I engaged 4H and had a bit of a drive around and all seemed fine with no knocks or bangs.
My question is could the hubs have been siezed due to lack of use by the previous owner and the clunk was them freeing off or have I broken something from driving on dry tarmac? Is there a way I can check if the front hubs are still engaging when I select 4H?
 
#2 · (Edited)
no one??
All I really need to know is the best way to check if my hubs are engaging when I select 4wd. I have done a search but there seems to be differing answers on how to check them. I know I need to jack up the front but what should I be looking for when I turn the wheel when 4H is engaged?
Any help would be appreciated as we have just had the first snowfall today and I need to make sure everything is working fine before it starts to come down heavy!!
Also should I check anything else that could have been damaged?
 
#4 ·
I have used the search function but 4x4 and 4WD are too short to search for and if I search for hubs I get plenty of posts about people with broken hubs and how to change to Warn manual lockers but cant find anything that tells me what I should be looking for with the car jacked up and in 4H if I spin the wheels. Should both front wheels spin at the same time/not at all/different speeds??? I just cant find a post that tells me what should be happening with both front wheels jacked off the ground and 4H engaged when you try to spin them so that I know for definate if they are working or not.
I am quite happy to change the hubs IF they are broken but would like to know for certain first that it is a problem with the hubs.
 
#5 ·
If you jack up the front end, with the car in 4x4 mode with the hubs locked in and you spin one wheel the other should also spin, dosn't matter which direction. If you spin one wheel and the other wheel doesn't turn then either one or both of the hubs are not engaging, or the front diff is shot!!

The 4x4 light on the dash is triggered by the 4x4 shift lever, and only inducates that the 4x4 mode has been selected, and by no means would indicate if the system was working correctly or not, only that the lever was engaged.

You should only use the 4x4 mode when driving on surfaces that require it, a genral rule of thumb is, if you can scuff the surface with the toe of your boot you should be ok! NEVER drive in 4x4 mode on dry pavement, there is no diff between the front and rear wheels, and by turning on dry pavement you run the risk of hand granading the front diff or hubs.

The sporty is known to have loud clunks and bumps when shifting into and out off 4wd mode, but there should not be any grinding.

The fastest and most fun way to see if all four wheels turn at the same time while in 4x4 mode, is to drive into a muddy field and do doughnuts, you should produce four rooster tails, one from each wheel!

Try this thread on another forum for more info.
4x4Wire.com's TrailTalk Forums: READ FIRST IF YOUR 4WD DOES NOT WORK

In fact the forum that thread is on 4x4 wire's forum is a way better site than this one could ever be when it comes to the 4x4 aspect! try reposting the same question there if you continue to have trouble, or need some more clarification!
 
#6 ·
Thanks very much for the reply very helpfull info!
Would I be right in thinking that if I jack one side up with 4 wheel drive engaged and try to spin the wheel i shouldnt be able to turn it with the other front wheel on the ground once the hub is engaged?
I jacked one side up at a time today with 4 wheel drive engaged and both wheels turned freely with the opposite side front wheel on the ground and the drive shafts coming from each wheel did not turn. This to me would indicate that the hubs are not locking rather than a diff problem would I be right in this assumption?
 
#7 ·
What type of hubs are you running? Early models had cam locking units, followed by vaccuum unit's these were replaced (in Canada at least) by the cam units as a recall. If you have the vacuum units, simple to tell look for vaccuum lines going to the hubs in the wheel well, check for cracks, if there are leaks the hubs won't engage, they also need a source for the vaccuum so I'm assuming you will need to have the engine running when you engage them (not 100% sure on this)!
 
#10 ·
The Sportage has part time 4wd, this means you are not suppose to drive on dry pavement and especially not make any turns on dry pavement. I had 4hi engaged because the roads were snow covered and pulled into a ramp and about stalled out turning and also heard that wonderful clunking grinding noise. I also thought I broke something because I put the parking break on and tried to shift into 2hi. This is when I found out you can't have the parking break on and shift from 4hi to 2hi or vice versa. I hope this helps, you shouldn't have any problems when the roads are snow covered, and when they become dry just shift on the fly into 2hi. Hope this helps
 
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