[Frontierpioneer45]

Hello All,

I have a 2015 CC Pro-4x. I am thinking my transfer case could be going bad, and was hoping someone could give their two cents before I go to a mechanic. The truck has 80k on it, and i have owned it for about 5k of that. I feel that i have good understanding of how transfer cases and 4WD vehicles work, and I have been careful not to put it in 4H on dry pavement. However, on a recent snowboarding trip, i popped it into 4H once i got to some icy terrain. I have noticed the truck shudder a bit once in a while before, but this last trip it was happening every 30 seconds or so. Since this only happens when i am in 4H, i assume it must be the transfer case locking a bit from differential rotation between the front/back axles. If it was happening this bad on complete snow, i could only assume the transfer case is beginning to fail. I ended up backing into a parking spot, and it took some power to turn the the truck into the spot. Once i was parked, i could definitely smell something burning. On the way home i put it back into 2H since i was a bit freaked out, and there were no more issues. Has anyone else had something like this happen, or have some idea as to what could be going wrong? Thanks all!

 

[ddc411]

Being you recently purchased the vehicle, have any of the drive train fluids been checked? 80k miles, they should have been replaced once, or more. Read the owners manual on how to use the four wheel drive. And fluid change intervals. It's all in there!

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[The other Sean]

Were you turning sharp in to the parking spot? Is the shudder while going straight or turning?

 

[ubertalldude]

There's no differential in the transfer case when in 4H, the front and rear drivelines are locked together.

Are you sure it's not the ABLS or traction control kicking in? That will apply brakes to the slipping wheel and cut throttle a little bit to aid in traction.

Typical rule is use 2wd until you're starting to get stuck, then use 4wd. If it was hard to turn into your parking spot, you likely had some decent traction and binding going on, despite being in the snow. If the snow was atop pavement, you might not have needed 4wd

 

[JVRaley]

If it was hard to turn into your parking spot, you likely had some decent traction and binding going on, despite being in the snow. If the snow was atop pavement, you might not have needed 4wd.

That’s what I think happened, too. Snow on the ground doesn’t necessarily mean zero traction. It sounds like normal binding in the four wheel drive system caused by inability of the tires to slip.

 

[davedibbs]

I changed my front diff fluid at around 140k. It looked perfect. Rear looked horrible (pre-vent-mod) I tend to think our transfer cases are close to indestructible. I now change them both every 30-40k miles but mainly just to appease my "dont get stranded" personality. Out system is VERY old school. which I like. No center diff to absorb tension in the drivetrain like my Landover's of past. From my experiences, its something related like traction control or ABS. See if it still does it with those disabled. Hate to say it and I am not picking on anyone, but this site is littered with false post stating "Oh **** my 4wheel is broke". This is one of the reasons I will always think highly of the Frontier. They are lacking all of the electronics that mask these things and or fail when least expected. They are all doing it now days...I can't find the video, but even the new Tacoma that wont shift into 4 at certain angles. However, we do have an annoying e-locker.

 

[ssundet]

You could disconnect the yaw rate sensor to disable abs/abls/tc, and change the fluid and see if it does it again. But sounds to me like normal driveline bind from turning on a high-enough traction surface. It happens. I don't think it's anything to worry about, if it switches in and out and drives fine afterwards .

 

[CT_Nismo]

Things don't add up. If you were on a snowy surface you should not have bound up the 4WD system. Let's hope you were wrong and you were in a binding situation.

 

[Zedbra]

Have your carrier bearing looked at