Limited with the Torsen Center Diff issue

[Beederz1]

Hey guys. So I got a question about my Limited with the Torsen center diff. Every time I shift into Low Range, I hear a little grinding for like 1 second or so. Is this normal??

I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE as well and it has never made the grinding noise, ever. Granted the Pathfinder has a clutch type center diff (not constantly engaged like the torsen or open center diff). A friend of mine has 2001 Land Cruiser and that one also has the torsen center diff, but I would assume you can't really avoid grinding the low range engagement unless you kinda play dice and put it in Park before engaging Low Range.


To be clear, I always make sure all 4 wheels are completely motionless before I engage Low Range. (The Limited has the dial selector, unlike my friends Cruiser w/c has the manual lever). I also make sure the center diff lock is all the way in *before* I turn the dial over to L4L (Low 4 Locked).


I'm not really a noobie when it comes to things 4wd but I'm no expert neither that's why I'm hoping some of you guys could chip in your 2 cents on this.

Thanks for any help guys and be safe out there!

 

[Bumbo]

Negative… no grinding when switching into low range. Truck in neutral when switching into L4L. You might get an occasional thud or knock once it engages/disengages, normal sounds, but nothing that would alarm or concern.

Are you trying this on road by any chance? When I exercise my 4WD on high traction surfaces I really try and make sure I straighten up first because you can really feel the tires scrub / gears bind.

Have you tried driving around off-road in low range? Any funny business?

 

[BadSpellar]

When cold I get some grinding but it shifts much better when warmed up. It has gotten better over time.

 

[ScoMey]

Hey guys. So I got a question about my Limited with the Torsen center diff. Every time I shift into Low Range, I hear a little grinding for like 1 second or so. Is this normal??

I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE as well and it has never made the grinding noise, ever. Granted the Pathfinder has a clutch type center diff (not constantly engaged like the torsen or open center diff). A friend of mine has 2001 Land Cruiser and that one also has the torsen center diff, but I would assume you can't really avoid grinding the low range engagement unless you kinda play dice and put it in Park before engaging Low Range.


To be clear, I always make sure all 4 wheels are completely motionless before I engage Low Range. (The Limited has the dial selector, unlike my friends Cruiser w/c has the manual lever). I also make sure the center diff lock is all the way in *before* I turn the dial over to L4L (Low 4 Locked).


I'm not really a noobie when it comes to things 4wd but I'm no expert neither that's why I'm hoping some of you guys could chip in your 2 cents on this.

Thanks for any help guys and be safe out there!

Occasionally, I get a momentary little bit of gear grind when I shift into low range with my Limited... as long as you're in neutral and the vehicle's not moving, you're not doing any damage. I've owned lots of 4x4's over the years, and my 4Runner is not the first vehicle to do this when shifting into low range. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Good luck!

 

[Beederz1]

Negative… no grinding when switching into low range. Truck in neutral when switching into L4L. You might get an occasional thud or knock once it engages/disengages, normal sounds, but nothing that would alarm or concern.

Are you trying this on road by any chance? When I exercise my 4WD on high traction surfaces I really try and make sure I straighten up first because you can really feel the tires scrub / gears bind.

Have you tried driving around off-road in low range? Any funny business?

Yes, like 60% of the time, it's just a thud when I engage or disengage L4L. I was just concerned because I've never owned nor witnessed an electromechanical system with a center diff before. I was of the assumption some extra mechanical pieces would be in place to make the engagement more secure since it's not a "thinking" human like in a manual system. I have an R35 Nissan Pathfinder with a part-time system and it neeeveer ever makes a grinding sound, lol, so I was bit concerned. My car was pre-owned as well so that kinda factors in to my worries. I also have a 2000 3rd Gen (SR5, no awd mode) and yeah it's almost impossible to engage it without some amount of grinding, unless I put it in Park.

I also know about the remaining tension in the t-case after making a turn so I actually drive the car straight like 20 feet or so before disengaging AWD in my '01 Pathfinder.

I'm in the NE so I've already put it thru some snow (actually hoping for a couple snowstorms before springtime, lol) and it has no issues at all in any of the 3 settings..except for the grinding at engage/disengagement of L4L. (I used to own an '04 Discovery and had great fun with that car a few winters ago, lol. That car was my first experience with traction control). No driveline noises of any kind whatsoever.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Beederz1]

Occasionally, I get a momentary little bit of gear grind when I shift into low range with my Limited... as long as you're in neutral and the vehicle's not moving, you're not doing any damage. I've owned lots of 4x4's over the years, and my 4Runner is not the first vehicle to do this when shifting into low range. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Good luck!

Thanks for your assuring words.

Yea I make sure I put the truck in neutral and all 4 tires braked and locked in place when I shift in and out of 4Lo. In fact, I even let the car roll in a straight line a bit after engaging the center diff lock before I go about engaging 4Lo.

I do have a 2000 SR5 that grinds momentarily like 95% of the time so yea I guess it's not that big a deal if my 5th gen does too. Haven't done a t-case lube change yet so I'm not sure if the drain bolt has a magnet w/c I hope it does.

 

[JSparky]

Just for clarification, are you in neutral when you shift into low range?

In Jeep's it helps to have the vehicle in neutral but rolling ever so slightly to help engage the gears, I've never had a problem in the 4Runner's or Tacoma's though. I have a Limited currently and only get a slight thud, a positive engagement sound, nothing I've ever been concerned about.

 

[Beederz1]

Just for clarification, are you in neutral when you shift into low range?

In Jeep's it helps to have the vehicle in neutral but rolling ever so slightly to help engage the gears, I've never had a problem in the 4Runner's or Tacoma's though. I have a Limited currently and only get a slight thud, a positive engagement sound, nothing I've ever been concerned about.

Yep I'm in neutral and all 4 wheels locked by the brakes.

The other guy has the same experience with his so i'm actually kinda jealous, lol. Like I've been saying, my Pathfinder never ever grinds gears, and besides I've only noticed the grinding on my 5th gen just very recently, and it doesn't do it all the time.

Again though, there's nothing else out of the ordinary in the drivetrain that would concern me. Truck runs perfectly quiet.

 

[Beederz1]

When cold I get some grinding but it shifts much better when warmed up. It has gotten better over time.

I've actually noticed that too. Trucks not fully warmed up when it happens. Thanks for the input.

 

[JSparky]

Yep I'm in neutral and all 4 wheels locked by the brakes.

The other guy has the same experience with his so i'm actually kinda jealous, lol. Like I've been saying, my Pathfinder never ever grinds gears, and besides I've only noticed the grinding on my 5th gen just very recently, and it doesn't do it all the time.

Again though, there's nothing else out of the ordinary in the drivetrain that would concern me. Truck runs perfectly quiet.

That's good. Only advice I can think of is maybe try it with loose brakes to see what happens, let the truck move a bit. The gears in the transfercase have to mesh and sometimes a bit of a roll can help. Either way, "grinding" is never good and not normal.

 

[jhguth]

my non-limited (trail) would have a very slight amount of grinding sometimes when going into 4lo when it was still very low miles and particularly before things got warmed up, it slips right in now though.

 

[Bumbo]

Perhaps it gets better with mileage and use… I have two 4Runners, both have the Torsen TC. The 4th gen has 200K+ miles on it, I use the 4WD / 4WD Low range quite often in the past 5 years and the transfer case shifts smoother and with less noise than my 5th gen.

Give it some time and keep using it.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

When my 14 was new it ground a little the first couple times I put it into low. No grinding at all after some use. It is definitely noisier engaging when cold and smooth when hot. Yours seems normal to me.

 

[Thrasher_S]

My TRD will grind a little bit, a lot if I'm indecisive with the shift knob. This was especially true when brand new and doubly so when everything is cold. I don't know if this is because of the lubricants being cold or the computer trying to make the motor idle higher when cold, or both.

 

[Bumbo]

Manual shifter on the transfer case is nice… both of mine are electronic, and while I like it, find it convenient, and haven’t had any issues, I would prefer the stick. They should have made that standard across the board.

Engagement issues do exist, but it’s usually on trucks where the owners never use the feature or don’t exercise it per the owner’s manual.

 

[Beederz1]

When my 14 was new it ground a little the first couple times I put it into low. No grinding at all after some use. It is definitely noisier engaging when cold and smooth when hot. Yours seems normal to me.

Thanks man, that's really comforting to hear. It's probably just in need of some breaking in. Never heard of it before but it does make sense. It does feel like the actuator in the t-case is "slow" in mating the "synchros" when the system hasn't warmed up yet, hence the momentary grinding. With time, it should loosen up and break in a bit to make the action swifter, minimizing if not eliminating gear grind, I hope.

 

[Beederz1]

My TRD will grind a little bit, a lot if I'm indecisive with the shift knob. This was especially true when brand new and doubly so when everything is cold. I don't know if this is because of the lubricants being cold or the computer trying to make the motor idle higher when cold, or both.

Thanks for the input man. I agree its both. With the A/T in neutral, higher rpm and thicker lube both send more friction coupled torque to the output shaft into the t-case. I've seen a vw bug vid where the guy released the clutch in neutral after a minute of the engine running in freezing temps, and th
e engine stalled, lol.

 

[Beederz1]

my non-limited (trail) would have a very slight amount of grinding sometimes when going into 4lo when it was still very low miles and particularly before things got warmed up, it slips right in now though.

Thanks for that man. Yea, somebody else said that too. I'm hoping it just needs more time to break in. Meanwhile, I do hope the drain plug in the t-case has a magnet like the previous models apparently did. Makes no sense why they won't but you never know until you actually do see it for yourself.

 

[Beederz1]

Thanks for all your inputs guys. Overall i'm feeling better about it after reading all the sensible points here. I'll update this thread if and when I do find more info on this. So far it looks like it might not even be an issue afterall. Enjoy your 5th gens brothers!