Disaster????
Submitted: Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 19:19
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D-Jack
Howdy folk
Just got back from a week long solo trip (with a mate in the car with me!) to the Far West Coast of SA, fishing and camping. Had a great time, but had an incident in which I am hoping some of you can put my mind at rest instead of me keeping the sick feeling in my stomach at the moment.
What happened was we were in 4wd on a sandy track from the beach to
Yalata Roadhouse. Got there, re-inflated tyres, turned hubs to 'FREE' and drove away none the wiser that the Jackaroo was still in 4wd (or the lever at least) Thought I could hear a humming sound at 100kph, but thought it must just be the fan as we were fairly loaded and was a warm day. Fuel consumption was worse than normal after half a tank. Got to our destination to
camp (about 320 km from
Yalata) and realised the trans lever was in 4h. Looked in the book to confirm my worst thoughts and it said not to driver over 5km/h or 100m in 4wd with hubs in free position.
QUESTION - what damage if any have I done. Will it be immediate (haven't tried in 4wd yet) or will something go wrong in 3 yrs when warranty runs out? What parts will have been damaged?
My first thoughts are that the front axle is turning like when you are in 4wd, but because the hubs are in free position there will be friction as the grease burns out in the hubs, possibly leading to hub wear. Might be wrong though. Your thoughts appreciated. Please be gentle! (P.S. didn't want to ask my mechanic in case the warranty company speak to him on the sly if I eventually put in a claim)
Reply By: Baz (NSW) - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 19:33
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 19:33
Hey D-Jack, did the same thing in my 83 Hilux although only 100 ks traveled no damage luckly, get it checked better safe than sorry and you could do more damage not getting it checked.
Baz.
AnswerID:
52108
Reply By: Willem - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 19:34
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 19:34
Well.......all you did was give the diff an extra 320km run. The front axles turned but there was no resistance as the hubs were out and the front wheels were running free. It would not have run anything dry as if you had been running with the hubs in it would have been turning anyway.
That is my simplistic way of looking at it...then again these modern 4bies are different..maybe someone else has a different view.
Don't worry... it happens..we all forget things...my favourite is driving off with the hand brake on...the smell soon alerts you....
Cheers,
AnswerID:
52109
Follow Up By: Peter Guy - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:01
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:01
I had a forgetful moment recently when I filled the tank with petrol instead of Diesal!!!
Good thing no-one could hear my language!!!
FollowupID:
313948
Follow Up By: Pesty - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:28
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:28
Been there done that peter, up side, ended up with 85 litres cleaning fluid!!!
Cheers
FollowupID:
313952
Reply By: ross - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:40
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:40
Djack as your front hubs were in the free position it wouldnt have put any undue stress on your drivetrain.With the hubs in the free position you have disconnected the wheels from the diff and it makes no difference to the lubrication.Its when you leave in 4H with the hub locked in that can really damage things.
That humming noise was probably the front diff/t/case spinning around with no load on it and this is why maybe they recommend under 5kl or 100m.Its my guess the bearing tolerances ect are correct under load.
I doubt your mechanic will say anything.Any future warranty claims are his and he wont bite the hand that feeds him.
AnswerID:
52123
Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:50
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 20:50
D-Jack,
Because the wheels were turning and the axles were turning at the same speed, the only differencs being when you go around a corner, I can not see any lasting problems.
Driving 320km with out tranmission wind up proof of this point. The extra fuel used would be because of the front diff being turned and a bit of imagination. The humming is the front diff spining at 100klh, it has not done that speed before and was not happy. I don't think any long term damage was done.
Wayne
AnswerID:
52129
Reply By: Mad Dog Morgan (Victoria) - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 21:41
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 21:41
D-Jack, just curious, Is there a light or something on the dash that shows when the lever is in 4x4
AnswerID:
52135
Reply By: Patroleum - Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 22:15
Friday, Mar 26, 2004 at 22:15
Willem,
I also had a G60 Patrol previously & know what your talking about with the handbrake. The G60 is the easiest vehicle to drive away with hand brake on fotr these reasons.
1. G60 Handbrakes don't work
2.There is no warning light
3. The lever is partly out of sight.
I too had been driving on highways wondering about the smell.
Steve
AnswerID:
52147
Reply By: Bilbo - Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 00:33
Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 00:33
I did the same, drove my Ford Maverick ute from
Meekatharra to
Perth in 4 wheel high range without the hubs locked in i.e freewheeling. That's about 800 kms at about 100 to 110 kmh. No damage to the drive train or hubs - BUT it did burnt out the inside oil seals that are designed to stop front diff oil from entering the grease filled front hubs. Wore a bit of a groove in the drive shaft where the oil seal runs on it. Almost had to have to drive shaft metal sprayed and turned on a lathe, but I got away with it.
Bilbo
AnswerID:
52167
Reply By: Member - Toonfish - Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 01:24
Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 01:24
the motor companies put that little bit in the manual to scare people into getting an extra service and tu null and void the warranty if anything happens!.
just kidding , like Willem stated you just gave the front diff/transfer a little run and wasted some fuel.
its all good baby
AnswerID:
52171
Reply By: The Banjo - Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 16:14
Saturday, Mar 27, 2004 at 16:14
Yep - re previous Q - there's a green light on the dash re in 4 X 4....and D Jack - you're under warranty - what problem do you have ? Disaster ? Accident ? Save your worry beads for when its outa warranty. If you have only down low K's, why not drain the diff and trans oils soon and have a good look at them ? Put some good gear back in and you'll probably be sweet.
AnswerID:
52195
Reply By: Member - DOZER- Sunday, Mar 28, 2004 at 09:38
Sunday, Mar 28, 2004 at 09:38
Gday
Other than using more fuel and/or wearing things in a little quicker, you will not have caused any ill effects. As they say in the advert....Drive on....
Andrew
AnswerID:
52261
Reply By: Member - Bradley- Monday, Mar 29, 2004 at 15:36
Monday, Mar 29, 2004 at 15:36
You can spin one of the bushes in the hubs when in 4h with hubs unlocked, causing excessive wear and freeplay, it might pay to have the hubs re-packed and a look see, or you can see if the hubs still lock and unlock happily and as the others have said ' its under warranty" :-) .
BTW jack front diffs love doing 100km/ph+ LOL.....
AnswerID:
52420