98 Ranger, 4.0l, auto trans, manual hubs (yay) xlt etc.

Saturday decided to snow before I could test out the <acronym title="Four-Wheel Drive">4wd</acronym> to make sure it works, and sure enough, it's not... Anyway, not sure wtf it is as I'm limited knowledge with <acronym title="Four-Wheel Drive">4wd</acronym>. I'll start here, This past spring when everything was thawing out, i got the blinking 4hi/4lo lights, found that is caused by a faulty shift motor. So I ordered one from rockauto but by the time it got to me, the lights stopped blinking.. Went to a little mud hole just to see, and sure enough, everything worked fine. being I live in NJ, and there is really no place to use my <acronym title="Four-Wheel Drive">4wd</acronym> (and my mud hole got shut down) I haven't used <acronym title="Four-Wheel Drive">4wd</acronym> but 2 times all summer. so I never replaced the motor. Today, with the snow I decided I wanted to drive around, well I damn near got stuck! knowing that is not how my ranger acts in the snow, I clicked 4hi, sounded like everything was fine, but it was still slipping and sliding.. ( I used <acronym title="Four-Wheel Drive">4wd</acronym> a lot last winter with NO issues at all) Went to a local school parking lot, and messed around a little bit, put it in 4lo and it clicked, there was some grinding when it would go into gear, but then nothing. then it started going back and forth between 4hi/4lo.. SO I decided it was best I go home and park it before I ended up stuck someplace.

when I got to work yesterday, I was in the dry underground parking garage, locked the hubs, and hit 4hi, it didn't seem like anything happened, until I went to move, I heard a grinding noise, sounded something like when the dust plate on your brakes comes in contact with the rotor. fuuuuu.. stopped, neutral,4lo and heard nothing, but the truck was acting a little different, kind of like it was in 4wd, went to make a left turn and the truck got jumpy, like when you make a sharp turn in 4wd, went to turn right and nothing..

This morning, I changed out the shift motor, same thing. nothing going on but that slight grinding noise. it doesn't sound like it's coming from the t-case, sounds like the front pass wheel, only the hubs weren't locked this morning.

I'm at a loss as I NEED the 4wd to get to work when it snows. HELP!

 

Sounds like your hubs aren't functioning properly. Leave it in 2wd. Jack up the driver's side front wheel (the drive wheel) turn the driveshaft by hand. Your front wheel shouldn't turn. Lock in that hub and turn the drive shaft again. The front wheel should turn now with the driveshaft if the hub is functioning correctly. If it doesn't then you have a faulty hub. The passenger side is similar, but you won't get "direct" connection with the driveshaft because unless it's a limited slip it will turn independently. While checking only engage the hub that you have off the ground.

 

I wont be able to get it in the air until friday, but when I got to work today I had my co worker see if he could see the axles spining after I locked the hubs. He couldn't tell but it's not a big deal. Put it in 4h, and you can hear the motor activate, but get nothing. so I put it in 4lo and same thing, hear the motor, well I did it a couple of times and got nothing, so then in 4lo, ,I floored it. heard a rather loud bang, and then the 4wd seemed have been working, went in and out.. took it out of 4wd, floord it and the rear tires spun, put it in 4lo floored it and the truck lunged, with no spinning, it acted as though it was in 4wd.. could the tcase just have been frozen???

 

No, not the xfr case. If it was going into low range the motor and xfr case was working.. sounds like you still may have something not quite right in the hubs.

 

I'm still going to pull the hubs and check them, but being manual< what can go wrong with them?

 

Exactly. I don't know, but know that they do break. That's one of the reasons that the guys with factory manual hubs will change them out for the better or heavier built Warn hubs for instance.

 

These aren't factory, they are the AVM/Rugged Ridge manual hubs. The hubs turn just fine, lock and unlock.. *shrug* I know I'm changing out the fluid in the t-case also this way I know it's good fluid and to check for metal chunks, and the hubs as well. I really don't understand how it could be working so well, then a few months later barely at all..

 

I feel for you. Just got my '96 on the road after having it in pieces for the last year. You should "exercise" the four wheel drive once in a while even in the summer time and even if only for a short distance to keep everything lubricated though.
I have nothing else for you. Please post what you find.

 

That's one of the issue around here, there is no place, the mud hole I was going to got fenced in thanks to some *******s who were dumping garbage.. so there is no place to do it.. I guess I'll have to just do it on a gravel road someplace. or at work in the back lot. After I do my thing with it, I'll take it to the dealer for a once over just for some piece of mind. Like you said if it's going into hi/lo, the tcase should be working, plus I hear no unusual or new noises. I'll keep this thread updated.

 

I think I found the issue.. I put the truck up on stands, grabbed the front drives shaft and it spun freely as it should have, key on engine off, put it in 4h and the drive shaft didn't move just like it was suppose to do, so I was able to rule out the t-case and it had the new t-case motor so all that stuff was working. Next thing to do was to service the AVM/Rugged ridge manual hubs. Pulled the drivers side off and it was ok, little dry, but clean.. went over to the pass side and tried pulling that, it gave me some resistance, not good.. finally got it off and this is what I found..
axle


AVM hub..



Bone dry with what looks like dirt, but is more the likely rust. interesting.. cleaned everything out, oiled it up put it back together, and nothing.. it goes into lock, but doesn't do anything.. crap.. popped it back off and put the driver side hub on the pass side, worked fine, locked, spun the axle etc.. that rules out the axle.. so it's the hub. done, wasted.. needs replacement. lol! I'll put some new ones in and see if there is anything else wrong with the system, which there doesn't seem to be..

 

is the axle shaft engaged in the hubs splines ? and is there anything wrong with that sides axle , u joint ? is it turning when you engage 4x4 ? can you turn thr axle by hand after you lock the hub to see if it is working ?

 

This hub wont grab it, but the driver side one, the one that is working does. it's not the splines.

 

if both hubs work on one side then i would look at the axle shaft , or that side of the differential !

 

One hub works on both side. I tried them both on both sides and the pass side hub does not grab on either side, the driver side hub grabs both sides though.. the pass side hub is bad. I'm not ruling out the front diff, but the one hub turning both axles, there shouldn't be any internal problems. Just the hubs right now.

 

i was thinking that both hubs worked on 1 side and not the other , then you do have 1 bad hub !