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H3 4X4 system acts like it's in neutral when in AWD

H3 Jimmie

Member
Messages
10
Location
White Mtns, AZ
OK, Hope somebody can help me with this cuz my trouble shooting brain is out of ideas. I recently replaced the crappy plastic fork in my Trans Case due to NOT Shifting out of 4 hi lock. the light would change but i was still in 4hi lock. the plastic fork was definitely the culprit. Now it clearly shifts in and out of All Time 4 to 4 Hi Lock, and to 4 Lo Lock. It seems like that part is working.....However

.....Now i have a new problem. when i select All time 4, the light switches but truck is in Neutral (no matter what gear i put it in). When i switch to 4 hi lock, the light switches to 4 hi and can then engage the transmission (drive forward and reverse). then when i switch it back to All Time 4 it is in neutral again....you can hear the trans spinning (slightly) and when you shift into any gear it is still in neutral. Actually i discovered that the whole transmission is disconnect (in neutral). I switch to All TIme 4, light comes on, shift into drive, take my foot off the brake and the truck roll backwards (my driveway is on a slight hill).
So this is clearly a different problem

A few things you should know:
1) the front drivers side drive shaft is out of the truck (broken), still have to replace that, but i can't see how this could have a bearing on this problem???? Maybe?
2)This problem showed itself two times just before i yanked the T-fer case and replaced the fork......I guess i'm just confirming that it is probably not the t-fer case that i just took apart and put back together.
3) 2006 H3, inline 5, adventure package.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
With the front driveshaft removed you MUST drive in 4 high lock to get the truck to move. It will not work in regular 4WD mode. In other words, the truck is acting normally, nothing is wrong. Once you put a new front driveshaft in the transfer case will operate normally, assuming no other issues in the driveline.
 

H3 Jimmie

Member
Messages
10
Location
White Mtns, AZ
Hey Alrock, thanks for the info. That was one of my guess's.
SO are you saying the normal driver wheel for the truck in AWD is the front left (driver side) tire? that just didn't just make sense to me that's why i originally ruled it out.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,442
Location
Scottsdale
Not sure what you mean. If you're in normal 4wd Hi unlocked mode (left button) and there's no resistance in the front end (missing prop shaft, broken diff, or broken/missing CV axles) then it's like an open diff (see My Cousin Vinny for a detailed example) and all the power from the transfer case goes to the path of least resistance, i.e. the front output of the transfer case and the rear gets none. Your H3 won't move under its own power. In this particular example, it's not about right or left (like in an open diff) but front to rear.

If the transfer case is locked, like it is in 4WD Hi lock (middle button) and 4WD low (right button), then the power is routed equally to the front and rear.
 

650Hawk

Well-Known Member
Messages
480
Location
SoCal
Yup, as Alrock said, when in 4HI (unlock), the transfer case is an open diff, and will send power to the side (end, front or rear) with the least resistance. No front driveshaft means THAT is the end that gets all the power. Shifting to 4HI Lock locks that "center diff" and forces power to both ends; front and rear.
 

f5moab

Mr. Beretta
Messages
1,986
Location
Hiding in a potato patch in Idaho
The open differential allows the wheels to turn at different rates of speed while the axle continues to transmit the driving force. This prevents tire scuffing when going around corners and premature wear on internal axle parts.

But all info so far is good and simple on how the operation of the BW t/case works.

And no I am not cousin Vinny. I'm the SOB in the north who is taking a break from rebuilding a carburetor on my frigging snowblower; and happened upon this site,:giggle: while trying to warm up.
 
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