weird 4x4 problem

[pyrotmaniac]

Ok Now I know that when you buy someone elses trail rig that its going to be a headach.
I bought Michaeljr's Nissan pathfinder. Good truck I'm not complaining, nor do I feel ripped off. I bought it knowing there were problems but one has me mystified. In 2 wheel drive it works great. When I shift to 4x4 it instantly becomes uncontrollable. Shifting out of 4x4 dosent help unless I also unlock the hubs. at that point its a dream to drive. I replaced the bent tie rod and had the toe aligend. They were unable to set the camber because it ran out of adjustment bolt. So I know I need to get longer camber plate bolts (?) This truck has a three inch ranchero lift. The Nissan dealer sugggested someone he knew that my be able to adjust the torsion bars and that *might* help. He seemed to thing that the gears in th fron end were shot.

any thoughts

[michaeljr5]

Dude, I forgot to put those extra hubs in the truck. I found them on my work bench the other day. If I come into Fairbanks this weekend I'll drop them off to you.

[pyrotmaniac]

Hey that would be great, I was thinking maby the hubs were jacked up or something anyway.

[4x4_MMMH_4x4]

hubs shouldnt cause the vehicle to be squirly...

[Chetnak]

SQUIRLY would be like different gear ratios in the front and rear or something like that.

[michaeljr5]

Hubs may make it go squirly, if one is engaging and one is not. I honestly thought it was the tie rods. Guess I was wrong.

[TJVigilante]

Only if you have a locker or a limited slip in the diff. If it's open, the one locked hub will be the one getting power. A locker would just clamp onto the other shaft and it'll take it along with it, free spinning in the hub, which is actually going to be spinning the same speed with the wheel. It's got to be something else.

[naturalbornmudder]

sometimes tires have a little to do with it. First off I would start by checkign the steering components. They can make driveability bad, camber/caster can do it as well. Bearings could play a part, tie rods

You should be able to pop the diff cover off and take a look at the gears to make sure they are still in good shape.

[mousee]

sounds a lot like your ratios are off in the axles. What exactly do you meen by "uncontrollable"? describe it...

[pyrotmaniac]

Well on my way home I absolutly had to put in 4x4 to get it moving on the ice. Some guy was waving at me saying "the passenger side wheel is all over the place like something is broken in the suspension." So I rechecked the tie rod I had put on and it looked cool. the only thing left that I could imagine it being was the CV axel was Messed up/Broken. This would account for why it drives fine with the hubs unlocked yet darts left or right violently in 4X4. Since the only time the CV axels are in play is when the hubs are locked. As for the ratio being off in the axel. Michaeljr5 had it before me. Sohe would know when the problem started and if it coincided with the bent tie rod. He litterally just left my room and I forgot to ask. I also just put BFG all terran T/A's on the front. Same size. But the problem was there before the tire change. General grabber M/T's on the back.

[LowNSlowNeon]

Well on my way home I absolutly had to put in 4x4 to get it moving on the ice. Some guy was waving at me saying "the passenger side wheel is all over the place like something is broken in the suspension." So I rechecked the tie rod I had put on and it looked cool. the only thing left that I could imagine it being was the CV axel was Messed up/Broken. This would account for why it drives fine with the hubs unlocked yet darts left or right violently in 4X4. Since the only time the CV axels are in play is when the hubs are locked. As for the ratio being off in the axel. Michaeljr5 had it before me. Sohe would know when the problem started and if it coincided with the bent tie rod. He litterally just left my room and I forgot to ask. I also just put BFG all terran T/A's on the front. Same size. But the problem was there before the tire change. General grabber M/T's on the back.

Why M/Ts on the rear and A/Ts on the front?....

[pyrotmaniac]

Mostly just because the front tires were really really bad, due to poor castor camber alingment and a bent tie rod. I was gonnna replace all four since the general's dont do too good on the ice. COuldnt afford them all at once and had to go with replaceing the bad ones immeaditly. and waiting till I get paid for the others.

[mousee]

differant tyre front to rear can and will cause issues. Do not drive in 4x on the road! As for the wheel doing that "all over like something is broken" is it moving up and down or side to side?

[jeepin_al]

That the camber ran out of bolt really sets off alarm bells, as for the torsion bars, that is like changing your spring ratio, I don't think it would really effect how the vehicle handles in 4 wheel drive. As for running in 4x4, I would definitely check the CV joints. Mine are bad and I am just nursing them till my wife goes TDY and I install a new lift on my truck. In 4 wheel drive with them being bad I am all over the road, but with the hubs engaged and 2 wheel drive I don't have issues. I would check those shafts because you could have one binding up to the point it is holding the tire from spinning and that could create your problem (guess in the dark). I know I didn't give you a pin point help but I thought this info might be helpful. GL and happy wheeling,
AL

[pyrotmaniac]

Jeepen al seems to have the same problem. and yes I know not to use 4x4 on the road with my tires not being the same type. I dont even use 4x4 on pavement of anykind unless totally covered in ice. and then it's only to get rolling. So after talking it over with som other people I belive that like Jeepen al that I should change the CV axels. On a side note whats up with nissan not installing grease fittings on the front suspension. instead there are little bolts in the holes where the grease fittings should be. The haynes manual confirmed that was from the factory. Freaking weird!

[SHoppe715]

Not so weird on the grease fittings. I've heard of some people installing grease zirks on "sealed" type joints but I personally don't think it's a good idea. The rubber boots aren't designed to let the old grease goober out when you pump fresh grease in so you're not purging any dirt or water that may have found it's way in. It can only get in there in the first place if the boot's damaged which is why sealed joints will last a good long while unless you beat them excessively. Under normal use the sealed joints will give years and years of maintenance free service.