Good work Batman!
Love the optimism of starting a job like that in the morning before work!
Good work Batman!
Love the optimism of starting a job like that in the morning before work!
That's cool mate. Looks like you are onto it. It is fun to work on your own on your vehicle and to get things right. Especially it's fun when other things in your life going ok as well. Sounds like you have few hurdles to jump, but you'll get there. It's great you took time to describe all you've done so far, in detail. Yeah, I suspect the transfer case, but perhaps your issues are probably a combination of more than one drive train issue. If you can visually see a slight wobble on drive shaft, then that can't be good. As you may know, during off road adventures, hitting the driveshaft on rocks, etc can end up bending it, which in turn affect the uni's and diffs. There might be a way to test the driveshaft for such damage using a backyard method.Quote:
Originally Posted by SpecialDave
Of course, if it's bad enough, you don't need any methods, a visual inspection is enough.
So, make sure the wobble is real and not an optical illusion. It's not too hard to find whether the uni joints are bad, as the bad ones usually have a slight play that you can feel.
If the drive shaft is bad, I'm not sure they are repairable. Google to see if they are fixable, and see the repair manual.
BTW, replacing uni joints are fairly easy and they are usually dirt cheap. Only special tool is the circlip plier, which is usually a cheap tool. I usually get uni's from Bearing Wholesalers(usually cheaper than Burson). If the driveshaft is bent, you might be looking at getting a one from a wrecker.
So, give yourself lot of credit. In the midst of a lot happening, you're finding the drive and energy to get cracking and fix your car and work and etc etc. So, you are doing good.
I've been pressure washing the engine once every few months for years now. Never had alternator issues, so far. Reconditioned the alternator few years back, but didn't think I stuffed it up by washing it, but could've been.Quote:
Originally Posted by 4bye4
I usually cover the dizzy with a plastic bag before the wash, but that's about all the precautions I take, other than disconnecting the battery earth lead. Yours is more susceptible to damage, probably 'cos it's a diesel one. From now on, I'll covering up the A/C pump and the alternator, before I wash the engine.
I reckon it's a good idea.
Just 'discovered' you transmission is actually auto. As you may know, autos need much more TLC than manual trannies. If you haven't serviced it for a while and there's no record of the previous owner's service history, it might be a good idea to look into it as well.
Personally, I stay away from autos 'cos i prefer less maintenance as well as less repairs when it comes to trannies. Tranny is the only thing that I haven't touched(other than oil change) in my car, and I'm hoping to stay that way for the rest of my life. :)
Having said that, clutch failure in manual trannies isn't that uncommon either. Mine's going ok so far.
Another thing just came to my mind is that since you've opened up the hub, you could possibly have a good look at the wheel bearings as well. If you haven''t serviced them, it's a good idea to get proper HTB grease and grease both inner and out wheel bearings and adjust the bearing play. When I did mine couple of years ago, the wheel alignment improved a lot(there was slight edge wear on tyres), as well as general feeling on high speed.
Ok it's definitely either the transfer case or the uni closest to case on rear shaft.. I'm pretty certain but not certain enough to say that it's 100% confirmed.
The rubber mallet fix has held and the auto hub is working as it should. I am certain that it was the initial cause for any follow on issues.
I Sussed out the tail shaft and uni joints and whilst there was a little grime within normal ranges there was no play and unis feel nice and solid. What appeared to be elliptical spin was possibly a slight warp in what looks like a plate / outside of a spacer near the companion flange for the rear. Will do a goPro inspection and assess. The more I watch the vid referenced later in this post and think about the logic of cause and effect it can really only be either hopefully a uni or more likely damage in the case.
The fluid leak it's had for a while has reappeared so I've wiped the lot down and will go for a spin shortly and see if I can track source it's either transfer case or transmission but I'm reasonably certain the former.
The transmission seems fine and the fluid is nice and clean and at correct levels hot and cold so my hypothesis about having two shafts spinning in the case albeit not engaged with each other due to the locked hub for an unknown period of time which has overloaded one or more of the bits that does some important stuff requiring spinning and gears and notches and friction being cactus is becoming more and more likely.
Something or things in the case have undergone a career change and now sing rather than operate as per their original design.... That the Singing is akin to a 4 cylinder victor mower with 2.5 broken cylinders and a 4" straight through exhaust is neither here nor there...
The issue occurring only under load and in gear rev range between around 1900 and 3000 rpm in any gear further supports it being a rotational element that when within the range is not engaging correctly. The leaking fluid around the area of the front shaft would suggest front shaft or front shaft bearing however this occurs when front shaft not engaged so the more I think about it and the cause I've identified the more I think that because I was essentially running 2x 2wd without a gear or clutch engaged between the 2 drives to maintain synchronicity that I have essentially started butchering the clutch gear, front drive sprocket or the chain itself has been stretched.
If however there are separate issues and the following may apply...
I have a leak of transfer fluid as a seal has gone because of the auto hub issue and
I have a damaged but semi functional rear uni joint causing slack no slack on the chain at specific rev range same as in the video but due to the rear uni.
In the service manual to even drop the transfer case there is exhaust removal involved so if I estimated this as a 5 hour job it means it's a 10 hour yes? By the way I'm working solo....in a friends garage with most required tools and limited funding (hence the diy)...
I watched the YouTube vid (2003 GU Nissan Patrol Transfer Case Noise - by David Smith) and he has his case part disassembled on vehicle and looking at the vid and a noise at a specific rev range which is when the chain reaches a certain speed it begins to lift off, his was an issue of the lift altering the uni joints angle on the front shaft and then causing a slack no slack issue - he resolved by installing a double cardan joint in front shaft and resolves - I however removed the front shaft and still had my noise so not same issue although it does have a 3" lift.
So that isolates my issue to case back to rear - it's not rear diff.
I suspect I'm going to have some pretty ordinary component damage and may be better off sourcing an entirely new case. I'll need to finish diagnosing the issues and assess doability before I take that step.
So in short I've narrowed it down to between transfer case and first uni on rear shaft. There are 2 scenarios I've narrowed it down to. One is that there is internal damage to gears, teeth, bearings etc in the transfer box and Two is that I have an oil seal or similar leak as well as a uni joint issue.
Is my reasoning sound?
Results of leak inspection by driving and of confirming elliptical rear shaft spin which would indicate uni to follow shortly, I may just replace the uni anyhow and see if that resolves anything - worst case I have a new uni!
Remove rear shaft and check Uni's for tight spots, you could even get the balance checked.
Yes, there are places where you can get your rear shaft tested for balance. The shaft is precision balanced like the crank shaft.
Any damage to it can cause all kind of weird outcomes in the drivetrain. Uni's are NOT too hard to diagnose from underneath.
They usually show a slack that you can feel half of the time. If you suspect rear uni's, replace them. They are pretty cheap to replace. Yeah, I would definitely get the shaft tested or do a backyard straightness test with a precision ruler, level or something.
Greasing of all the grease point with nipple is a must for the well being of the drivetrain. I use an el cheapo bulk loading grease gun, works fine.
Make sure you mark the flange orientation spots and put it back the way it was.
Not sure how you noticed the slight wobble of front end of the rear driveshaft.
Assuming you haven't done it below mentioned way, I would do it.
Jack up the rear and properly choke up the front(Make sure 4WD is not engaged and the auto hubs don't engage by themselves)
Put the vehicle on drive and let the rear spin and watch the driveshaft spinning from underneath.
If you see any wobbling of the driveshaft that way, it's usually good indication it needs attention.
Such tests need serious precautions if you're doing it solo, like making sure not to go under the car while it running, and making sure there's a good strong wall in front of the car, etc etc.
Also, make sure you use enough jacks and jack stands.
Another test you can do is, while the rear is up(or not) take the rear driveshaft out, then put on drive and hit the speeds and the transmission temperatures that you mentioned originally where it starts the noise issue. This would conclusively isolate whether the real culprit is the transfer box/transmission or the driveshaft/uni's. If the noise is result of combined drivetrain slack, then it may not isolate a single issue, but would still help a lot. You can do the same test for front drive shaft as well.
Again your detailed support is sincerely appreciated...
Ok so I guarantee you I am thoroughly safe, my best mates nickname for me is safety Dave.
The wobble identification was when I had the whole beast up on stands (4t) stands my buddy has for his flatbed. I put it in gear and watched but this was after hours of doing other diagnostics etc. that being said I'm a modern bloke and I manufactured a goPro mount and then did a lap of the block this afternoon.
I'll post the video later but the good bit aside from at the nor net not having viewed the vid on a big screen to determine shaft balance is that the audio is awesome and I am now convinced the noise is the transfer chain.
I'll try and post later....
I'm going to drop the shaft and do a detailed inspection as well so may as well replace unis then.
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