[dungbeetle]

i forgot to try 4wd when i bought this vitara for the missus. well i tried it this morning and i got some clunking. so i jacked it up and put it in 4 lo. the auto hubs arent locking at all, not sure what that problem is yet. but the axle wont turn more than half a turn and the front tailshaft wont turn more than half a turn as well. so im thinking something in it is broken.
so is it possible to remove the diff centre and keep driving the car?

[Fatzook]

I believe so.

And if you need a replacement centre I have one here

[ninjamoses]

Short answer is yes, but I'd do some more troubleshooting first.

You jacked it up completely, put it in 4lo, yet the front driveshaft isn't turning at all? Or do you mean you were trying to spin it by hand and it wouldnt turn?

Could just be the auto hubs are sticking, they can make a horrible racket if they dont lock it properly.

[Ben_Sierra]

If you unlock the hubs, you can leave the centre in an still drive the car.

But sure, you can drive it with the centre removed, I can't see any dramas with that...

[atari4x4]

Yes, cable tie the front drive shaft up & out of the way, remove the rhs cv use a export degreaser spray can lid to cap off the inside of the rhs hub, cable tie lhs cv to the lhs diff bracket.



Edit way to slow posting while driving.

[Fatzook]

Ben_Sierra wrote:

If you unlock the hubs, you can leave the centre in an still drive the car.

Its gonna be hard for him to unlock auto hubs

[dungbeetle]

the hubs definately arent locking at all. i jacked up and had both front wheels off the ground and the hubs werent locked. i turned the axles and tailshaft by hand and could only turn all 3 half a turn.
i want to remove the centre to work out what is broken and hence what i need to replace. problem is that the missus needs to drive it to work every day so i need it to be driveable when i pull the diff out.

thanx for the offer fatzook, but im hoping to go have a look at a whole 4 door vitara next weekend. its also a j20 5 speed so im hoping it will have the same diff ratio.


edit...and we have been driving it like this for a month, just havent done any 4wdriving in it til now!!

[Fatzook]

dungbeetle wrote:

thanx for the offer fatzook, but im hoping to go have a look at a whole 4 door vitara next weekend. its also a j20 5 speed so im hoping it will have the same diff ratio.

No it will be a H20 V6. Not J20 4cyl. Still the same front diff though.

[ninjamoses]

dungbeetle wrote:

the hubs definately arent locking at all. i jacked up and had both front wheels off the ground and the hubs werent locked. i turned the axles and tailshaft by hand and could only turn all 3 half a turn.
i want to remove the centre to work out what is broken and hence what i need to replace. problem is that the missus needs to drive it to work every day so i need it to be driveable when i pull the diff out.

thanx for the offer fatzook, but im hoping to go have a look at a whole 4 door vitara next weekend. its also a j20 5 speed so im hoping it will have the same diff ratio.


edit...and we have been driving it like this for a month, just havent done any 4wdriving in it til now!!

Before you do that, take the auto-hubs off and go for a short drive in 4WD and see if it still happens. That way the front axles/drivetrain will be able to spin freely with zero pressure on them. Hell even just go up and down the driveway should be able to confirm one way or the other.

If it still makes a noise, then yes chances are the centre is knackered. It still sounds like sticky auto hubs to me though from what you have said.

The front tailshaft etc can be a bitch to turn by hand so I wouldn't take that as a definitive sign that the centre is toasted.

[dungbeetle]

bah the guy whos selling it just said it was 2lt so i was hoping for a spare j20. well at least i can use the diff. was hoping to use the air con out of it as well but id guess the brackets will be different for the compressor to mount to the engine.

wouldnt mind removing the driveshaft so i dont have to worry about it dropping, but id imagine the transfer case will spit all its oil out then.

[dungbeetle]

ninjamoses wrote:

dungbeetle wrote:

the hubs definately arent locking at all. i jacked up and had both front wheels off the ground and the hubs werent locked. i turned the axles and tailshaft by hand and could only turn all 3 half a turn.
i want to remove the centre to work out what is broken and hence what i need to replace. problem is that the missus needs to drive it to work every day so i need it to be driveable when i pull the diff out.

thanx for the offer fatzook, but im hoping to go have a look at a whole 4 door vitara next weekend. its also a j20 5 speed so im hoping it will have the same diff ratio.


edit...and we have been driving it like this for a month, just havent done any 4wdriving in it til now!!

the auto hubs definately werent in with it in 4 lo and the ignition on. i spun both wheels with them in the air and the axles didnt move. does the motor need to be running, or is there a trick to getting the auto hubs in with the wheels in the air?

Before you do that, take the auto-hubs off and go for a short drive in 4WD and see if it still happens. That way the front axles/drivetrain will be able to spin freely with zero pressure on them. Hell even just go up and down the driveway should be able to confirm one way or the other.

If it still makes a noise, then yes chances are the centre is knackered. It still sounds like sticky auto hubs to me though from what you have said.

The front tailshaft etc can be a bitch to turn by hand so I wouldn't take that as a definitive sign that the centre is toasted.

[ninjamoses]

Motor needs to be running mate. They are just a simple sping design - they only lock in if there is drive going to them (ie. car is running and you are in 4WD). Hence why they won't be locking when you just have it up on the jack stands spinning it by hand.

If you can lift the car off the ground completely (and safely), and start it up and throw her in 1st gear you will be able to see if they are indeed working or not.

It'd be far easier though to just take them off as I mentioned above and go for a quick spin.

[atari4x4]

dungbeetle wrote:

bah the guy whos selling it just said it was 2lt so i was hoping for a spare j20. well at least i can use the diff. was hoping to use the air con out of it as well but id guess the brackets will be different for the compressor to mount to the engine.

wouldnt mind removing the driveshaft so i dont have to worry about it dropping, but id imagine the transfer case will spit all its oil out then.

transfer will spew oil

[Fatzook]

dungbeetle wrote:

bah the guy whos selling it just said it was 2lt so i was hoping for a spare j20. well at least i can use the diff. was hoping to use the air con out of it as well but id guess the brackets will be different for the compressor to mount to the engine.

wouldnt mind removing the driveshaft so i dont have to worry about it dropping, but id imagine the transfer case will spit all its oil out then.

Yep. Different. The condensor, evap core and lines should be close though. Switches and loom should work aswell. Just make up a new mount and bobs your uncle

[dungbeetle]

i wont use the quote feature again as it seems ill fuk it up!!

ahh well thats my problem then with the hubs. think i might go with your suggestion and remove them and go for a spin. time to go for a search on here again.

[ninjamoses]

dungbeetle wrote:

i wont use the quote feature again as it seems ill fuk it up!!

ahh well thats my problem then with the hubs. think i might go with your suggestion and remove them and go for a spin. time to go for a search on here again.

Chances are they've just got a bit of crap built up in them, or maybe the previous owner has cleaned them and gone a bit too nuts with the grease when putting them back together (I speak from experience , they only need a light smearing).

With a clean they'll probably be as good as new. Apart from the spring breaking there isn't a whole lot that can go wrong with them.

To remove them its just the 6 bolts each side and slide them off. Be sure to remove the bit of metal which usually sticks on the axle side before going for a drive.

[Chop]

Big zipties will hold your tailshaft up and back, your passenger side cv up an hold the degreaser cap on your drivers side hub.
Mines been like it for a few months

[atari4x4]

Chop wrote:

Big zipties will hold your tailshaft and back, your passenger side cv up an hold the degreaser cap on your drivers side hub.
Mines been like it for a few months

copy cat, mine did 3+ months as a 2wd while i got dicked around by ARB, cable ties & spray can lid will be fine.

[Chop]

I should have it sorted soon actually, along with fitting new struts and a heavy duty idler arm thats been sitting here for a while

[gregdixon]

Might be stating the obvious but did you have the back tyres off the ground when you tried to turn the front drive shaft in 4lo? You mentioned only the fronts were off the ground or did I read it wrong?

[Ben_Sierra]

gregdixon wrote:

Might be stating the obvious but did you have the back tyres off the ground when you tried to turn the front drive shaft in 4lo? You mentioned only the fronts were off the ground or did I read it wrong?

Haha good point, I didn't even think of that...

[dungbeetle]

yeh i didnt think of that either!! nothing is gonna turn with the back wheels on the ground aye!! jeez im stupid......
im gonna take apart the hubs today and give them a clean up.

[dungbeetle]

ok so i took the car down to the local patch of dirt and stuck it in 4wd. we have a horrible clicking noise coming from the rh hub. i took it apart and it looks pretty good in there. the spring is intact and as far as i can tell everything is in there, but im not really sure what i should be looking for.
might start a new thread about these auto hub things as i cant find any info on them on here!!

[atari4x4]

EDIT: http://auszookers.com/index.php?name=Fo ... ic&t=23209

could be a buggered CV joint, was the noise consistent with the wheel speed?