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Another 4WD question -- 97 Mazda B4000
I posted earlier about problems with my 97 Mazda B4000 not going into
4WD. When I turn the switch on the dash to 4WD HI or 4WD LO, the dash indicator light comes on corresponding to the switch position but the truck clearly IS NOT going into 4WD. I fiddled around with it today in the garage. When I turn the switch from 2WD to 4WD, I don't hear anything moving -- as I understand it, flipping the switch causes a solenoid on the transfer case to activate, engaging the transfer case into either HI or LO and it seems as though I'd here something click, clunk, grind, or whatever. I checked the 4WD fuse in the fusebox under the hood and it's good. I pulled the fuse out and checked it with my ohmmeter and it's good -- I sprayed contact cleaner into the slot for the fuse and plugged it back in. No change. I crawled under the truck. There's a driveshaft coming out of the transfer case that runs into the front differential and two shafts run from the differential to the front wheels. I can turn the driveshaft coming out of the transfer case with my hand -- it turns freely and I see the shafts going to the wheels turning. I thought there was something -- vacuum line? -- running to the front wheels that activates the automatic hubs but the only thing I see going to the front wheels is the brake line. And now the 4WD LO light on the dash will not go out. Guess it's time for a trip to the dealer. As soon as they get it working, I'm going to replace the automatic hubs with WARN manual hubs. Am I right in thinking that the front automatic hubs are engaged all the time and the only thing that happens when I turn the switch on the dash is that a solenoid engages the transfer case? How about I crawl under the truck and whack the solenoid a time or two with a hammer? Thanks. |
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Another 4WD question -- 97 Mazda B4000
On Mar 4, 8:11*pm, "Kickin' Ass & Takin' Names"
> wrote: > I posted earlier about problems with my 97 Mazda B4000 not going into > 4WD. > > When I turn the switch on the dash to 4WD HI or 4WD LO, the dash > indicator light comes on > corresponding to the switch position but the truck clearly IS NOT > going into > 4WD. > > I fiddled around with it today in the garage. When I turn the switch > from 2WD > to 4WD, I don't hear anything moving -- as I understand it, flipping > the switch > causes a solenoid on the transfer case to activate, engaging the > transfer case > into either HI or LO and it seems as though I'd here something click, > clunk, > grind, or whatever. > > I checked the 4WD fuse in the fusebox under the hood and it's good. I > pulled > the fuse out and checked it with my ohmmeter and it's good -- I > sprayed contact > cleaner into the slot for the fuse and plugged it back in. No change. > > I crawled under the truck. There's a driveshaft coming out of the > transfer case > that runs into the front differential and two shafts run from the > differential > to the front wheels. I can turn the driveshaft coming out of the > transfer case > with my hand -- it turns freely and I see the shafts going to the > wheels > turning. > > I thought there was something -- vacuum line? -- running to the front > wheels > that activates the automatic hubs but the only thing I see going to > the front > wheels is the brake line. > > And now the 4WD LO light on the dash will not go out. > > Guess it's time for a trip to the dealer. > > As soon as they get it working, I'm going to replace the automatic > hubs with > WARN manual hubs. > > Am I right in thinking that the front automatic hubs are engaged all > the time > and the only thing that happens when I turn the switch on the dash is > that a > solenoid engages the transfer case? > > How about I crawl under the truck and whack the solenoid a time or two > with a hammer? > > Thanks. I had a 98 Ranger which I believe that year was a whole new truck rework but should have similar hub system. The electric selector on the dash activates the transfer case which in turn engages the drive shaft to the front diffy and the drive shafts to the wheels. The hubs on my Ranger were vacuum activated. You were also required to reverse 10 feet to unwind the hubs after using the 4x4 system. Since all of the shafts are turning properly, you probably have a vacuum problem. Either the hoses or vacuum solenoid is plugged up or it is not even connected as in my case. The problem with my ranger is that the driver front wheel hub was always locked. I didn't realize this for a long time. I had been offroad and my 4x4 was working fine. The problem was when I would be in 4x2 on the highway at high speeds. I would get a loud clunk sound....the kind that makes you pull over to see what fell off the truck. I did the same thing as you. I put the truck in neutral with it set to 4x2 mode and laying in front of it rolled it forward and back to see if the drive shafts were turning. The passenger side driveshaft was not turning while the driver side was. I then noticed that there was a vacuum hose from the passenger wheel to a solenoid but the driver side hose was hanging loose. My first thought was that I had pulled it off while driving offroad. Then I noticed the nice red cap over the hub vacuum inlet. When I pulled it off, the barbed connector was shiny new and had obviously never been connected from the factory. With the vacuum hose dangling it had sucked up all kinds of gunk and the solenoid was shot. I bought a new solenoid valve and once replaced and the hose properly connected, the 4x4 system worked great. I would advise you to trace all of the vacuum hoses and if anything is loose or unplugged then you probably have debris in the line. Manual hubs would be a great addition. While there is a bit more maintenance for them (repacking), they are reliable and I had them on an old Bronco II and they always worked. You just have to have the foresight to lock them before getting into any muck or you better have some good boots. OzarkMtbr |
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