Hello,

I have a 1990 LWB montero with a auto trans and 3.0L v6 Still have the auto hubs on it as well. The truck sat for 12-14 years after the motor blew before I bought it and put an engine in it. I went out on an easy trail to start breaking it in the other day. I came to a good spot to test the fwd. It was a short steep hill after a small stream and sure enough my back wheel started spinning in 2wd. I backed the truck up a good 20 feet to flat ground, put the trans in neutral and moved the other shifter into 4h. The green drive-train light came on. I put the trans in drive and started moving forward soon after the wheel lock light came on as well. Both lights stayed on steady no flashing. I continued up the small hill and made it about the same distance as when the transfer case was in 2wd as the rear tire was spinning again. The front wheels show no sign of driving. I was going to put the truck on jack stands to find out what turns and what dose not. Should I put the truck into 4h first and drive until the wheel lock light comes on before I jack it up?

Thank you

 

fwd= front.
4wd=four, just to be clear. The hubs are not difficult to strip if you have any clue. You will need a ~40mm cup socket and torq wrench.
I would do it in 2x as it will keep the half shafts out of the splines/your way.

By the sounds id be checking inner cvs and transfer case too, check where things stop spinning. This will be chassis lift and idling in 1st, 4x.

Its probable that the hubs/splines/shafts have seized. Certainly cheaper at that end than splitting the t/fer case.

 

Well it is a problem with the front wheels driving lol. From what I can tell the diff and cv shafts are moving like they should when turning front drive shaft back and forth in 2wd. Would only take one bad hub to get no wheel drive up front so I'll open them both up and have a look.

 

Do you have any clue? Whats the 40mm socket for its not a hex lock nut that holds the bearing in its a round lock nut. Its not even removed to take the hub off. Also it made no difference if the truck was in 2x or 4x when working on it.

 

yes. thanks for asking.

i don't recall saying hex socket. in fact i think my wording was cup socket. ....wait....
yup, there it is.

it's a round lock nut that has concentric holes at about 40mm, (it's been a few years since i've been into one) in a place you can't get a c-wrench in. it needs to be torqued to provide the correct turning force (against a spring scale) to ensure proper hub operation and not have your bearings eat themselves, champ.

the difference, young friend. is that if the autohubs are engaged in 4x4, the splined half shaft will be engaged in the splines in the hub, depending what you're doing this can be a problem.

the difference between 2x, and 4x, young friend, is whether power is going to the rear wheels only or all of them. which can be a handy diagnostic with problems such as yours.

however. dan, i'll let you get back to your honda crx.

did you fix your problem btw?

 

"40mm cup socket" I picture a 40mm 6 or 12 point socket, not a roughly 60mm spanner type...

2wheel or 4wheel the half shafts don't get in the way when you strip the hubs. They free wheel when not being driven by the cv shafts. You can turn the cv shaft by hand slightly to line things up during reassembly.
The problem was in one of the hubs, the key that locks into the knuckle spindle was worn
Pretty sure you don't know me or what I'm getting back to. Were you having some senior moments? You sound like my ex-wife lol