Possible clutch damage after towing

[Punderhead]

I find the heavier the trailer/caravan, more control I have with reversing. I find it bit a of PITA to reverse the lightweight trailer without any weight on it. When the trailer is heavy, it seems to be doing what I'm asking it to do. When the trailer is lightweight, I had to yell at it.

The longer the distance from the drawbar to the wheels, the easier it is to reverse, as it is slightly less sensitive. The weight shouldn't make a difference, although a load in a box trailer makes it easier to see.

[dom14]

were you riding the clutch that much,
I used to put it Low low in my other 4x4 to park my camper more control I felt
Lucky I have an auto now so dont worry about it

RB30 hasn't got that much power, so I had to give a bit of revs to get it going over the curb(both the 4Wd and the van).
I reckon with the high revs of the RB30, standard clutch tend to wear out quicker.
I think it lasted this long without any major dramas 'cos of my gentle kind of driving.
But, I wasn't that gentle to get the van into the middle of the driveway at pitch dark night.
What I should've done was to put on 4Wd. I didn't 'cos steering is bit rough on 4Wd.
At least I get to know the clutch better now. They obviously don't last forever.

[threedogs]

You only put it in low ratio,, you dont lock in the hubs etc.,,,but whats done is done eh
Does it drive OK on the road

[Stropp]

Hi mate, If I understood you correctly, you want me to park back(or front) of the car against a tree or a wall or something and then let it go and see whether it stalls.
Am I right?

correct mate easy way to see if the the clutch is fubar

[Stropp]

the smell my be the the rear main seal has gone and leaked a bit of oil onto the clutch and thats why it slipped ??

[dom14]

the smell my be the the rear main seal has gone and leaked a bit of oil onto the clutch and thats why it slipped ??

Thanks for the tip mate. I'll have a good look under the car to see whether I can see any oil drips. Oil level was ok when I checked while ago, I'll check it again. I rarely check clutch oil, 'cos it never dropped. It may not be the case now.

[dom14]

You only put it in low ratio,, you dont lock in the hubs etc.,,,but whats done is done eh
Does it drive OK on the road

Yes, it drives ok on the road without clutch slipping(not heavy trailer or caravan). Even with the van it would go ok when moving forward.
Reversing tend to aggravate the clutch or something and gives out that strange smell, which isn't exactly the clutch burning smell(I"m used to the clutch burning smell)

Sorry mate, I didn't understand that first bit. It's manual locking hub. I can't engage the front wheel drive without moving the hub lock knob to lock position(in the middle of the front wheels), or can I?
Without engaging the hub lock, the front CVs would just spin themselves without spinning wheels, won't they? Correct me if I'm wrong.
It also says in the 4WD engage guide(sticker on the sun visor) that I need to lock the hubs first before switching to 4WD. I've been told not doing so can damage the hub or CVs or something like that. I'm not sure if that's correct.

[Rock Trol]

Yes, it drives ok on the road without clutch slipping(not heavy trailer or caravan). Even with the van it would go ok when moving forward.
Reversing tend to aggravate the clutch or something and gives out that strange smell, which isn't exactly the clutch burning smell(I"m used to the clutch burning smell)

Sorry mate, I didn't understand that first bit. It's manual locking hub. I can't engage the front wheel drive without moving the hub lock knob to lock position(in the middle of the front wheels), or can I?
Without engaging the hub lock, the front CVs would just spin themselves without spinning wheels, won't they? Correct me if I'm wrong.
It also says in the 4WD engage guide(sticker on the sun visor) that I need to lock the hubs first before switching to 4WD. I've been told not doing so can damage the hub or CVs or something like that. I'm not sure if that's correct.

Hi dom14, I don't think reversing in low range with the hubs unlocked will damage anything. I do it all the time! I doubt there will be any uncontrolled spinning of front diff as the transfer case splits power 50:50 on both ends so if rears aren't spinning it will be constant power to the front. You also won't be revving the guts out of it either.

Do you know what type of flywheel your Patrol has? The symptoms you described sound like a dual mass flywheel that's leaking oil from the buffers onto the clutch. Happened to a friend a few years ago (GU 3.0 litre). No drive and burnt smell yet the engine was fine. If no DMF then maybe the rear oil seal as suggested previously.

[Bigcol]

You only put it in low ratio,, you dont lock in the hubs etc.,,,but whats done is done eh
Does it drive OK on the road

Sorry mate, I didn't understand that first bit. It's manual locking hub. I can't engage the front wheel drive without moving the hub lock knob to lock position(in the middle of the front wheels), or can I?
Without engaging the hub lock, the front CVs would just spin themselves without spinning wheels, won't they? Correct me if I'm wrong.
It also says in the 4WD engage guide(sticker on the sun visor) that I need to lock the hubs first before switching to 4WD. I've been told not doing so can damage the hub or CVs or something like that. I'm not sure if that's correct.

you can engage the transfer lever in the cab, from 2 wheel drive to low range
just DONT touch the hubs - leave them free wheeling

your wanting to use the low torque and gearing of the transfer case to assist you in reversing it up your driveway

NEVER NEVER NEVER lock your hubs in & engage 4wd while on Bitumen / pavers / slabs / any hard surface


guaranteed to spit the teeth out of your transfer case if you do.......... (speaking from experience)

[dom14]

you can engage the transfer lever in the cab, from 2 wheel drive to low range
just DONT touch the hubs - leave them free wheeling

your wanting to use the low torque and gearing of the transfer case to assist you in reversing it up your driveway

NEVER NEVER NEVER lock your hubs in & engage 4wd while on Bitumen / pavers / slabs / any hard surface


guaranteed to spit the teeth out of your transfer case if you do.......... (speaking from experience)

Crxp! I'v done it in the past, just to test the 4WD and I've even done 40km/h on bitumen like that.
Ok, it's obvious I have a fair bit to learn about 4WD'ing with GQ Patrols.