HELP...my Runner is dead

[Bfaulken]

Went wheeling at Moody Hill today, and on one of the rocky sections, I heard a metal "pop/ping" noise, after trying about 20 different lines. So I pulled over, decided to just call it a day and let everyone pass. On the way to back down/turn around, I heard another "pop", then what sounded like a machine gun coming from somewhere underneath. Now it wont drive AT ALL. Tried 2wd, 4HI, 4LO...the wheels wont turn, and it makes the machine gun noise the more I rev it. Finally got a friend to tow me back down the trail in Neutral (SKETCHY) and parked it at the trailhead. And, it'll shift into D, N, R, 1 and L fine, but when I put it back into park, there's a grinding noise and a whine until it pops in (assuming it actually does shift into park). Its an auto tranny BTW.

I'm thinking its either the t-case or a blown diff, but I really have no clue unless its the Tranny, anyone have an idea? I'm having it towed tomorrow, hopefully, to a shop to have them diagnose it, but I just wanna see if anyone has any input so I have some foresight going into all this.

 

[the great him]

start looking for a new trany and tcase... pull the dip stick(for the trans) and look at the color and smell it

 

[RussToy]

When you flat towed it to the trail head...what did you have in neutral? The transmission or the transfer case...or both?

While towing...was the engine running? Was anything making noise while tow?

 

[Bfaulken]

When you flat towed it to the trail head...what did you have in neutral? The transmission or the transfer case...or both?

While towing...was the engine running? Was anything making noise while tow?

The transmission was in neutral, the transfer case was in high. The engine was on, and whatever is broken was popping routinely, seemed to be once per wheel rotation, & the faster I was rolling the harder the pop jolted the truck. It was in reverse while towing btw, because there was nowhere to turn it around.

And the kid, I'll check the fluid when I'm back up there with it tomorrow and see if its funky.

 

[TCMach]

Hey let me know how that shop works out if you take it there or if there is anything else I can do for ya.

 

[RussToy]

I'm guessing your going to need at lease a transfer case...and like "The Kid" said..might also need a trans.

It sounds like the trans was working though...you said you put it in gear and the tires would not turn, but you heard the noise. That should rule out your rear end. I'm thinking your trans is working and turning the transfer case gears, but something in the transfer case is broken...therefore not getting the power to the wheels...but causing noise. And you said it was running and in "N" while towing it...you still had the T-case in "4-Hi"...so now the trans isn't putting out power, just sitting there. But now the tires start to turn while you are towing it...thus, as long as your driveshaft is still connected, the tires start to trun the gears in the T-case and...you hear your noise again

Is there any noise with the engine running with the transmission in "N" or "P"? If no, that makes me think even more its your transfer case. Hopefully it's something you can just replace...and not have to buy a whole T-case.

 

[the great him]

i only suggested at trans and tcase as sometimes you can find them paired cheep, and it saves some time by not having to separate them and re-attach on install. i think i saw one here locally for around $300 for the whole thing out of a wrecked 4runner(Craigslist) so i know you can find them for good deals sometimes

 

[CXS]

The transmission was in neutral, the transfer case was in high. The engine was on, and whatever is broken was popping routinely, seemed to be once per wheel rotation, & the faster I was rolling the harder the pop jolted the truck. It was in reverse while towing btw, because there was nowhere to turn it around.

And the kid, I'll check the fluid when I'm back up there with it tomorrow and see if its funky.

It sounds more like a bad CV to me. Quick question - did you have your wheels cranked and hammer the skinny pedal by chance? Much, much less expensive repair than the other speculation.

 

[the great him]

It sounds more like a bad CV to me. Quick question - did you have your wheels cranked and hammer the skinny pedal by chance? Much, much less expensive repair than the other speculation.

this is not a 4th gen, if he had snapped a CV he could still drive under his own power... he would of had to have snapped a CV and blown the rear diff at the same time.

 

[CXS]

this is not a 4th gen, if he had snapped a CV he could still drive under his own power... he would of had to have snapped a CV and blown the rear diff at the same time.

I should finish my first cup of coffee before posting. :sleepy:

 

[the great him]

I should finish my first cup of coffee before posting. :sleepy:

its all good, i knew where you were coming from with that, i delt with a10milehusker's rig when he blew his CV... your guys rigs are D.E.A.D. dead with a blown CV. but thats the AWD system for you

 

[RussToy]

Ok...did you get it to the shop? If so, what did they say? I hop it didn't hurt too bad!

Come on Buddy...you can't just leave us hanging...

 

[Bfaulken]

Quote from the guy at the shop: "All I can say is you did an awesome job."
Said it looks like I blew both the Front AND Rear diffs. :wow: He gave me a rough estimate of $2500+ to replace both, based on what they could tell without opening them up (it was a free diagnostic). So now I'm gonna see what I can find on CL, salvage yards, etc. in terms of a rear diff/axle assembly and front diff.

A whole rear axle would essentially be "plug & play" if its the same gear ratio, right? And if I found a complete front diff assembly, how hard would the front diff be, if I did them myself? Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[CXS]

Wow, if he's right "you did an awesome job" is right on and sucks big time.

If you ever considered changing gears or adding lockers now would be the time. No need to do the whole assembly, replacing diffs is pretty straight-forward and is good experience to have.

Can you explain the circumstances? I understand the multiple attempts but am curious about what gear you were in, wheel positions and amount of throttle. Sounds like it would be useful to others not wanting to share your experience.

Really sorry to hear how bad it is but I guess the consolation is that it wasn't the t-case or tranny.

 

[Bfaulken]

Wow, if he's right "you did an awesome job" is right on and sucks big time.

If you ever considered changing gears or adding lockers now would be the time. No need to do the whole assembly, replacing diffs is pretty straight-forward and is good experience to have.

Can you explain the circumstances? I understand the multiple attempts but am curious about what gear you were in, wheel positions and amount of throttle. Sounds like it would be useful to others not wanting to share your experience.

Really sorry to hear how bad it is but I guess the consolation is that it wasn't the t-case or tranny.

Definitely thinking about regearing it, but I'm not really sure what all that entails. What else would I have to do after diffs for a regear?
A locker isn't in the picture, unless I find a GREAT deal on one.
And I was just thinking if I do find an entire rear axle, that wouldn't be too much more of a chore would it? It all depends on what parts I can get my hands on cheapest.

Circumstances: It was in 4Lo. Wheels were in a lot of different positions, including full lock several times. I couldn't figure out the right amount of throttle, so the first couple times I punched it, then listened to advice and kept it slower and somewhat steady, then several tries in-between. If I remember right, full lock was when I heard the first pop, but other than that its tough to say. There were a lot of pops...

 

[02SE]

Definitely thinking about regearing it, but I'm not really sure what all that entails. What else would I have to do after diffs for a regear?
A locker isn't in the picture, unless I find a GREAT deal on one.
And I was just thinking if I do find an entire rear axle, that wouldn't be too much more of a chore would it? It all depends on what parts I can get my hands on cheapest.

Circumstances: It was in 4Lo. Wheels were in a lot of different positions, including full lock several times. I couldn't figure out the right amount of throttle, so the first couple times I punched it, then listened to advice and kept it slower and somewhat steady, then several tries in-between. If I remember right, full lock was when I heard the first pop, but other than that its tough to say. There were a lot of pops...

2001 should have the multi-mode T-case, which means when you push the 4wd button on the shifter, it puts you in full-time 4wd, often referred to as AWD in this forum.

Did you also push the center diff lock button on the dash, to lock the diff in the T-case? If not, it's possible you just snapped a CV-joint, but with the T-case being in full-time or AWD mode, it would send all the power to the snapped CV-joint.

 

[TCMach]

The truck wouldn't drive in 2wheel either so its not just a blown CV.

Sucks to hear about it being both diffs. If you did want to do your own labor I priced out some stuff from East Coast Gear Supply a ways back.
-8" v6 3rd with 4.88 gears and an ARB locker: 1720
-7.5" reverse IFS clamshell with 4.88 gears: 800
Once you send in your cores (I would choose to keep mine until I get the new ones as this 4r is my only vehicle so a core charge is added into the price for starters) you get 450 back so it ends up being about 2100. Obviously you could take the locker out and it would drop about 800 bucks off the price. These would also already be assembled and geared correctly so all you have to do is swap them in.

 

[Live2ski]

Definitely thinking about regearing it, but I'm not really sure what all that entails. What else would I have to do after diffs for a regear?
A locker isn't in the picture, unless I find a GREAT deal on one.
And I was just thinking if I do find an entire rear axle, that wouldn't be too much more of a chore would it? It all depends on what parts I can get my hands on cheapest.

Circumstances: It was in 4Lo. Wheels were in a lot of different positions, including full lock several times. I couldn't figure out the right amount of throttle, so the first couple times I punched it, then listened to advice and kept it slower and somewhat steady, then several tries in-between. If I remember right, full lock was when I heard the first pop, but other than that its tough to say. There were a lot of pops...

And this is why I'm never going off-roading again. You have quite a headache and a large bill in front of you my friend!

 

[the great him]

i call BS... i think your mechanic is full of crap! i find it super hard to believe that you blew both diffs at the same time! -there are guys on here with supercharges that i guarantee wheel their truck harder than you(just by looking at your avatar and you describing how you were driving i make that assumption), and still do not blow diffs. that and i have never heard of a front diff blowing before a CV, the CV is designed to be the weak link so you dont blow a diff. i have blown a diff in my runner(rear diff) and it took a good beating... i was under full power with one tire spinning and i engaged my air locker, i heard the boom/bang. but i didnt break my ring gear -i did how ever damage my ARB but it was still drivable. then about 6months later(after i put my open diff back in) i shot a tooth off my ring gear through my housing(yes it was probably weakened by the blowing of the ARB) at sand lake on the oregon coast after a long day of hard sand wheeling and dune running and jumping, sand imo is one of the hardest terrain environments to drive in -its very taxing on your power/drive train, constant high torque loads ect. it wasnt untill about 3 months after that that my rear end finally blew up. i have wheeled the piss out of my trucks and only ever blown one diff in my life -and that diff had 240+k miles on it.
here are two videos of me wheeling my truck... i dont always take it so easy, and yeah i can thrash on it from time to time -never broken a diff doing that kinda stuff.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yiOM7II6Rgk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7LnuBkPfCOs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


again not saying its impossible to blow both diffs at the same time, but its hard enough to do one, and once one goes its almost impossible to keep going to do the second one. -hope that makes sense but doing two at the same time? idk i dont think so, i think the tcase and or trans would fail before you blew both -i really think a CV would fail first though. my bet is your tcase was low in fluid and you just cooked things in there and blew that

pull your rear drain plug out and see what comes out of the rear diff...

if you did blow both diffs, like others have said, nows the time to lock and regear it.

 

[the great him]

And this is why I'm never going off-roading again. You have quite a headache and a large bill in front of you my friend!

this is a fluke man if you think that this will happen to you every time you go off road, then i hope you never fly anywhere in a plane, because planes crash -and i hope you never go to the store, because stores get robbed by criminals, and sometimes they take hostages