Serious Drivetrain problem

[Knight2040]

Alirght, i'm very pissed and dissapointed right now. this morning, when i was driving to school, i shifted into third and it hesitated for a second then slammed hard into gear and it was driving funny and weak, i then stopped at a stop sign and when i shifted into first and tryied to go, it slightly moved foward then my revs started to go down as i was releasing the clutch untill it stalled. i restarted my car and when i tryed to move it, it did the same thing. at first i thought my clutch was slipping, but that wouldnt explain why it stalled my car. a guy that was doing yardwork walked over and took a look at my engine and said that it was probobly my linkage was stuck inbetween a foward gear and reverse gear but i don't know. when the tow truck came and dragged my car up the flat bed, i noticed that my rear wheels were locked up and wouldn't budge even in nuetral or with the clutch in. now lately, either my transfer case or transmission was making a loud whining noise and i think its related to my problem. my car is sitting in my back yard being undrivable. now i'v read on the xfer case recall it ses when the xfercase fails the wheels lock up, now when this happens do only the rear wheels lock up like my prob? also i'v noticed slight leakage of what smells like gear oil on my xfer case, but didn't look threating. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP, IS THIS MY XFER CASE OR SOMETING WORSE??? seriously, once i fix this problem, i'm gonna trade this car in for a supra NA.

[stfuad]

If the transfer case breaks, I'd imagine only the rear wheels would be affected. Though you'd think it would only affect the driveshaft and not the rear output shafts.

It should be pretty easy to check your shifter linkage underhood is pretty easy to get at.

[Knight2040]

but the thing is, it shiftes thorugh all the gears just fine so do u think it's still the linkage? just the rear wheels are locked up.

[stfuad]

Check your rear differential. I'm not really sure what it could be. If the transmission is going through the gears, it's probably not the linkage. It might just be your transfer case, If you have a service manual, you could probably take it apart and find out what's wrong. I think a mechanic would be your best bet though. Just pay to get it towed to one.

[Linebckr49]

Originally Posted by stfuad

If the transfer case breaks, I'd imagine only the rear wheels would be affected. Though you'd think it would only affect the driveshaft and not the rear output shafts.

Only affect the driveshaft? ...whatever, man. the driveshaft is directly connected to the rear half-shafts via the rear differential gear. if one is locked, so is the other.

Originally Posted by stfuad

It should be pretty easy to check your shifter linkage underhood is pretty easy to get at.

things can be much more complicated than they sound. checking the shifter linkage might not do anything at all.

Originally Posted by stfuad

Check your rear differential. I'm not really sure what it could be.

I don't think any of us on the board right now would know what this is. How should he check the differential? rip it apart?

Originally Posted by stfuad

If the transmission is going through the gears, it's probably not the linkage. It might just be your transfer case

Yes, it COULD be the transfer case, but if just the rear wheels are locked, then he would still have power the the front wheels, in which case he would most likely have moved forward rather than stalling. However, since he did not move forward but stalled, common sense would suggest that perhaps his front wheels were locked as well, in which case the transfer case could be the problem. However, we don't know if the front wheels were locked or not. Also, the transfer case could just be shot and allow the front wheels to move fine but lock the rear wheels. But let's not speculate.

Originally Posted by stfuad

If you have a service manual, you could probably take it apart and find out what's wrong. I think a mechanic would be your best bet though. Just pay to get it towed to one.

most people don't just start taking part apart b/c they have a service manual. there's a lot more to it than just that. if my window stopped working, i COULD just start taking it apart, but common sense would suggest that i test the relays and fuses first before taking apart the window regulator.
You've gotta have at least some mechanical knowledge and experience in order to just start taking stuff apart to 'find out what's wrong.'
Well definitely a mechanic IS his best bet. Especially if its his car is a daily driver and needs it to get to school. Its a lot easier to say 'pay to get it towed to a mechanic' than to actually dish out the money that most of us students DON'T have. Plus, he already paid to have it towed back to his house.

In closing, i would first check your master and slave clutch cylinders. when my clutch was slipping, and finally would not go into gear, i thought it was my clutch. turned out it was the slave cylinder. sometimes it would sorta go into gear, and then when i hit the gas it would pop out of gear. now i didn't have any problem stalling b/c it would pop out of gear into neutral.

The stalling is what baffles me, but i would first check the usual: master and slave cylinders b/c there's obviously problems involving shifting (bleed the systems). ya, go ahead and check the shifter linkage before that.

Of course, you can do this is you have the time and confidence to tackle it. on the other hand, a mechanic would save YOUR time, but cost you money. good luck. keep us posted on what turns out. also, can you tell us more about the problem...were your front wheels locked as well?

[Stealthee]

I have a really dumb question. When he was pulling the car up on the truck, you didnt have your ebrake pulled did you?

[Knight2040]

wow thanks for the detailed post Linebckr49. Now when the tow truck pulled my car up the flatbed, the front wheels rolled just fine but the rear's were locked up, the ebrake was off and it was in netrual, he told me to try to hold the clutch in to see if it would roll...no luck, so i he just dragged it on there. I'm guessing it's stalling becuse the front wheels are spinnin, but since the rears are locked up it just acts like a stuck ebrake and holds it back, i think if i gave it enuff gas that the fronts will spin enuff to drag the rears..but i don't wanna try and screw things up. I'm really not too sure what to do right now. My cousin said to disconnect the drive shaft and see if my rears are freed to see if my rear end is seized, but i'm still leaning towards a shot Xfercase. will leaking all the gear oil out of the transfercase do this? if so, then i'm pretty sure its that, but i really would appreciate other thoughts. I'v already paied 90 bucks to get it towed and insurance will only cover 50 of it. Before i get it towed elsewhere, i wanna try to diagnose the problem so i can set my self on the right track. thanks guys

[Italian Lunaticz]

Im guessing its your transfer case. It would cost you to take it to a shop but wouldnt it be free to fix that becuase of the recall? I know you wanna know a definate before you pay to move it but i've read alot of stories even with low miles and they bust. Just my guess.

[Igovert500]

Ok, first things first...you suspect the Xcase, so go to 3si.org, under Announcements or something they have 1 or 2 threads about the X case, read them...get all the info you can (this may save you a ton of money). Then go to stealth316, find hte AWD gearoil change...pop the fill plug on your T-case, check how low your gear oil is...if it is empty/EXTREMELY low, you probably just found your problem. If it is the T-case, Mitsu must pay for it, I believe even if it has already been done once...(this will be covered in those threads on 3si). At least that is somewhere to start. Good luck, keep us updated.

[Knight2040]

so if my xfercase is out of fluied it would "temporarly" seize up? i would of figured if i seized it from running it dry, that it's done for....but i guess i'll try to fill it up and see if it frees up and i'll read up on the forums.

[Igovert500]

No, that isn't what I meant...if it leaked out and seized...it's done for...I simply meant that if you check it and it is out of oil, then obviously that was the problem.

[Knight2040]

ohhh ok thanks. does anyone have a diagram that shows where all the fill plugs are?

[Linebckr49]

there was just a thread about this: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...5&page=1&pp=15

OR yuo can find it all here at stealth316.com: http://www.stealth316.com/2-awddrainfill.htm