[High Roller]

Hello guys,

Wil be taking my truck into the dealer Monday morning with a front diff issue, here's what it did. I was on the way home on a 2 lane and had to make a U-Turn due to an accident. The road is narrow so I had to drop off on the shoulder in deep sand. Once I had the truck straight I reached down and click it into 4 wheel high and as soon as I did the ront end made a real load bang sound so loud and vilent that the truck shuttered. I check everything and everything seems to work ok but the front axle is locked. It will come out of and into 4 wheel mode but you cannot turn in 4 wheel mode due to the axle being locked. 2 wheel drive seems to work ok no issues in 2 wheel. This really heart breaking since i bought the truck new less than 4 weeks ago and only have 1600 miles on it. Thisis the first time I have used 4 wheel drive. Anyone have an idea as to what went wrong?

Thanks

 

[SandToy05]

Hello guys,

Wil be taking my truck into the dealer Monday morning with a front diff issue, here's what it did. I was on the way home on a 2 lane and had to make a U-Turn due to an accident. The road is narrow so I had to drop off on the shoulder in deep sand. Once I had the truck straight I reached down and click it into 4 wheel high and as soon as I did the ront end made a real load bang sound so loud and vilent that the truck shuttered. I check everything and everything seems to work ok but the front axle is locked. It will come out of and into 4 wheel mode but you cannot turn in 4 wheel mode due to the axle being locked. 2 wheel drive seems to work ok no issues in 2 wheel. This really heart breaking since i bought the truck new less than 4 weeks ago and only have 1600 miles on it. Thisis the first time I have used 4 wheel drive. Anyone have an idea as to what went wrong?

Thanks

Ouch! Good thing you are still under warranty... or I'd have a front differential to sell you for a good price .

Haha. Hope it all works out for you, and if not, there's always the Titan swap. Hate to break a nice, new truck though!

 

[thefullfronty]

Was the rear axle spinning when you switched to 4 hi? If your front dif was gone, you wouldn't be able to move in 2 hi either due to it being always engaged. I think you may have roasted your t-case.

 

[dubie2003]

Was the rear axle spinning when you switched to 4 hi? If your front dif was gone, you wouldn't be able to move in 2 hi either due to it being always engaged. I think you may have roasted your t-case.

I was thinking the same thing. He said it works in 2wd but it is locked in 4wd but since we have a live axle, it probably was the Tcase.

My only words of advice is to read the proper way of engaging the 4wd in your manual and make sure you stick to that story when you go into the dealer. If not, they may try and catch you in something and deny your claim. Nissan is stupid like that.

 

[High Roller]

Rear wheels were not spinning/slipping in the dirt, although the truck was moving at idle when I ingaged 4wd, which shouldn't cause a problem. I really didn't need 4wd, just thought I would try it for the first time. I have had many other 4x4's, this is my first nissan. Never had an issue with any of the others Have had manual hubs shift on the fly and one crazy quadratrack.

How would the transfer case cause the front axle to be locked solid. It act just like an old ford I had with the spider gears welded. Only in 4wd, 2wd doesn't seem to have a problem.

 

[TheOregonFront]

Rear wheels were not spinning/slipping in the dirt, although the truck was moving at idle when I ingaged 4wd, which shouldn't cause a problem. I really didn't need 4wd, just thought I would try it for the first time. I have had many other 4x4's, this is my first nissan. Never had an issue with any of the others Have had manual hubs shift on the fly and one crazy quadratrack.

How would the transfer case cause the front axle to be locked solid. It act just like an old ford I had with the spider gears welded. Only in 4wd, 2wd doesn't seem to have a problem.

the t case is what makes it go in and out of 4 wheel....you do know that right.

we have a free spinning front diff, so if you screwed your front you wouldnt be able to go anywhere.

hope the dealer buys the story lol

 

[High Roller]

the t case is what makes it go in and out of 4 wheel....you do know that right.

DUH, is that what the transfer case does? Yes, when selecting 4wd the transfer case ingages, and then supplies power to the front drives. Being this is the first time I have used 4wd mode, I think the problem is in the setup of the spider gears. For what ever reason, they were missaligned and when 4wd drive was engaded, they bound up and caused one or more of the gear teeth to break, which then cause a tooth or chunk of metal to be lodged between them, locking the front axle, as if it had a locker built in. This is the only answer I can think of that would cause this issue, and not allow the vehicle to turn, without a bind in the axle. Years ago I and other would weld spider gears in our non-street legal off-road trucks to gain the extra traction and they would have the very same issues when on hard ground or pavement. I guess I shouldn't have asked for opinons and just went with what I know. Thanks! :comphead:

 

[HKYStormFront]

yea definitely sounds like something snapped in the t-case. just make sure you weren't doing anything out of procedure for engaging 4wd (it doesn't sound like it) and tell the dealership what happened. if you had blown the front diff you would hear it grinding and making noises driving down the road in 2wd because the broken bits would be moving around inside the diff and jamming up against each other. sounds like you just got a bad t-case and that would be the first one that i've heard of with issues on a second gen, usually problems are with the front diffs when put in harsh/unforgiving conditions

 

[dubie2003]

The OP is missing the point of the Frontier's live axle. The axle is always spinning and the front Dshaft into the Tcase. This causes extra drag even when it is only in 2wd. If you are able to drive in 2wd and not in 4wd, then it is a Tcase issue and not a spider gear issue.

Once again, I would re-read the manual making sure you followed the procedure and stick to your story. Nissan dealers are tricky and tend to say NO first and then the fight is on. You may be lucky and just say that it keeps locking up and they will disgnose it and repair it without asking anything.

Just beware if they see your skids, they may think you were overworking the truck and broke it yourself and they may say NO.

 

[colin123]

i second what dubie is saying. if it was the spider gears in the front diff then since the front drivetrane is always spinning regardless of weather your in 4wd or 2wd then the problem would be constant but its not constant and only happening when you switch to 4wd and the only thing changing between 2wd and 4wd is in the transfercase which probably means your wheels were not all spinning at the same speed when you tried to put it in 4wd in the first place.

 

[penski61]

ive personally seen a front diff blow which locked up the truck (jojo) he was able to get it into 2wd and drove the rest of the trail , we all thought it was the t-case
1 year later he finally got looked at and turns out he blew the front diff

not sure how it didnt lock up on him in 2wd or didnt have any binding but it can happen

to the OP take a look at your diff case and see if there are any cracks or oil leaks

 

[mrgrayaz]

the gears act differently on the (power) side and the coasting (no power) side. This is why you cannot simply break in a new front gear set by locking in the hubs and driving around in 2wd. It will nicely wear the coast side of the gears but not te power side...

So it is possible to have the gears mesh in some****ed up way when you provide power in4hi, but not when they are coasting. eg a spare bit of a spider gear rattling around on the back of the diff, so its induced under power.

Dunno - we'll see. interesting to find out..

EDIT: rereading - it almost sounds like you engaged under power and transfer just slammed in...which happens. you cant turn in 4 for **** anyway

 

[kannibul]

COuld be a binding issue, where perhaps the pinion and the ring aren't aligned quite right - when you apply torque, it binds up, but otherwise it can freely work the "coasting" side.

 

[High Roller]

Dropped the truck off at the dealer early this am, they just called me. After messing around with it, they have come to the conclusion that the front diff has a problem. DUH! The service manager said the front axle was locked and the wheels would not turn independently. DUH AGAIN! He asked what I was doing when the problem occured and I stuck to my story, which is what really happened. Anyway, no worries, the front diff will be replaced under warranty. They didn't give me any grief at all. One thing related, when driving into the dealer, I did notice a drag on the motor as if the brakes were lightly applied. This was probally due to the extra amount of rotating mass in the front diff, being the axle was locked. Seems as if, as is well, you guys had me worried. I had to fight Mazda once for a new Turbo, it took me six months, but, I ended up with a new car instead of just a Turbo, I never want to go through that again. But when issues of that nature turn up do what I do, never give up, thats why they jerk you around. Most will give up, I don't. Also had a go round with Harley and also won, so again, don't give up!

Thanks to all.

 

[kannibul]

Dropped the truck off at the dealer early this am, they just called me. After messing around with it, they have come to the conclusion that the front diff has a problem. DUH! The service manager said the front axle was locked and the wheels would not turn independently. DUH AGAIN! He asked what I was doing when the problem occured and I stuck to my story, which is what really happened. Anyway, no worries, the front diff will be replaced under warranty. They didn't give me any grief at all. One thing related, when driving into the dealer, I did notice a drag on the motor as if the brakes were lightly applied. This was probally due to the extra amount of rotating mass in the front diff, being the axle was locked. Seems as if, as is well, you guys had me worried. I had to fight Mazda once for a new Turbo, it took me six months, but, I ended up with a new car instead of just a Turbo, I never want to go through that again. But when issues of that nature turn up do what I do, never give up, thats why they jerk you around. Most will give up, I don't. Also had a go round with Harley and also won, so again, don't give up!

Thanks to all.

The front axle is always spinning. If you're driving down the road, and looked under your truck, the front driveshaft would be spinning, as would all the parts inside the differential, cv joints, shafts, and so on.

The difference with our trucks between 2wd and 4wd, is whether or not the front driveshaft is getting powered by the transfer case.

What I feel between 4wd and 2wd, is the truck "stiffens up" - otherwise, all the same parts are moving in either mode - again, it's just a matter of whether or not the transfer case is engauging the front drivetrain and supplying torque to it...or not.

 

[High Roller]

Yes you are correct, thats the normal feeling from 2wd to 4wd. But when you have estra drag on the system due to a locked axle you wheel feel the difference, try turning a sharp corner and you'll see what I mean. Yeah I could have explained it better.

 

[HKYStormFront]

interesting, most people who bust a front diff can't drive it afterwords without taking out the half shafts... then again, you weren't flailing around on a rock with one wheel up in the air like most that break theirs lol. maybe it was just bad bearings or something

 

[penski61]

in JOJO's case it was spider gears , again im still baffled he drove around for a year while no binding

 

[nissankidd]

Sorry to hear about another front diff failure but glad to hear it was covered no problem.

 

[High Roller]

I got my truck back after the repair and everything seems to be ok. Did have to pay a dime. During the time the dealer had my truck for the new front diff. I started adding up the costs of everything I wanted to do too it. Well the cost are way over the top and the truck still wouldn't be want I want I guess I bought the wrong truck, so a spit shinned 2500 mile 2010 se 4x4 will be up for sale. I will be posting it on different sites after I've had time to write up a description. Spread it around that the truck will be for sale. In the mean time I went out and bought another truck, so far I'm loving it. I bought a brand new 2010 SVT Raptor. See attached photo.