Greetings and questions!

[AmsterdamGav]

Helo all, I'm a long time lurker and absorber of your knowledge, time to surface, say hello and also to ask some fairly urgent advice!

I have a 96 80 4.5 petrol model and live in Amsterdam. Yesterday driving along, the truck went into what I can only describe as some kind of limp mode. No warning lights on dashboard but accelerator only worked for the first couple of cm of travel, then did nothing, no further reaction form engine apart from a choking feeling, no increase in revs.

added to this a fairly horrific grinding noise fro

m front right, possibly driveshaft, knocked and ground until i stopped. reversed for 5 metres and all noises went away and it worked properly again so drove home, then this morning again same thing but worse.

Any suggestions or ideas very welcome!

Cheers

Gavin

 

[fourtrax]

hello Gavin and welcome.

I have a few questions still trying to understand whats going on.
any resent work/repair or maintenance preformed?
does the engine sounds different during starting or idle from before you had this issue?
is the noise only when driving?
does the noise change when you cycle the transmission between park/reverse/drive?
is the noise the same going forward as it is going backwards?
were you turning or going straight when the noise started?

 

[Irish Reiver]

What lockers do you have and were any engaged when you heard the grinding noise?
Oh and welcome..

 

[AmsterdamGav]

hello both, thanks for the replies..

ok, recent repair work....car is a frankenstein, i bought it very cheaply from a guy who said he bought as a spares car but then didn't have space to keep it, it had been in storage for three years. underneath was very rusty but it ran. bought it, changed fluids and a couple of very rusty brake lines, new tyres and towed a caravan from Amsterdam, through Germany, Denmark, up through Norway back through Sweden again..no problems, just leaked a bit of water form rear heater matrix hoses.

have since discovered from someone else that he swapped the axles from his car to this one, so the axles are possibly not correct for the car. There is no diff button on the dash, but a black plate where one should be, leaving me wondering if they used to be different.

Since then exhaust keep coming loose at the y pipe, has some weird cut and weld nonsense happening there. Starts fine in the cold but surges and misses on first touch of accelerator. changed plug leads last month to see if that did anything, seems to work ok until this bout of issues.

any resent work/repair or maintenance preformed? - as above!
does the engine sounds different during starting or idle from before you had this issue? nope, not really...
is the noise only when driving? yes, but it doesn't stop the moment i stop, can last a couple of seconds further...
does the noise change when you cycle the transmission between park/reverse/drive? not really, sounded grind going forwards and backwards, but i think definitely connected to front gearbox/front right driveshaft as noise coming form there and is intermittent
is the noise the same going forward as it is going backwards? pretty much (when it happens)
were you turning or going straight when the noise started? going straight but had just gone through a massive puddle of water when it first happened..

just been for a mother drive, accelerator pedal still only works for first 3cm then car bogs down, and weird scraping noise happened three times intermittently, with no warning of happening, although when you hit a bump there is a clunk from front right too, as if the exhatust or something had hit the bottom of the car, but it hasn't..

sorry for the essay!

 

[fourtrax]

no worries. i wonder if you got some water in you distributor cap that is causing lack of throttle response.
for the axles to help identify. not sure if the is the same on non us models (sticker is on the left door) but, look on the sticker in the door or jam, on the bottom line is there a K292 or K294 code listed?
also post a picture of your front axle from from the underside looking at it from the drivers door.

 

[BILT4ME]

Check the bolts on the front calipers. If you cannot move forward but can move backwards, it tells me that this is a possibility. The caliper swivels and locks against a wheel because the lower bolt fell out. When you back up it releases, but locks again when going forward.

 

[Rifleman]

You might want to Check how much grease you have in your steering knuckles too. If they get low on grease, there's a brass bushing in there, when it gets low on lube it can make one heck of a grinding noise.

 

[Marine7]

I’d definetly do the front caliper inspection asap..... classic signs of a caliper bolt that has come out, or is just laying there..... waiting to fall out! Good luck!

 

[AmsterdamGav]

Thanks for all the further suggestions and help.

I checked the front callipers, all tight and bolts in so they aren't the culprit. I don't think it was them anyway because truck does move forward and backwards, and also the grinding noise (when it happens) can sometimes continue for a couple of seconds after the truck has stopped, so I guess it's more of a driveshaft/gearbox issue... I had a look at the steering knuckles and they are NASTY. covered in surface rust which is flaking off. I think they were basically junk axles the previous owner took off is truck and put on this one and took the good ones for himself.. pictures for your amusement.

 

[AmsterdamGav]

on a side note, the accelerator problem seems to be definitely a fuel/ air issue. after a couple of cm the pedal does nothing, but if depressed fully I get the full beans...it's everything in the middle that is missing, and it only happens if car is engaged in gear. In neutral or park it revs fine, only when under load it does not!

 

[Irish Reiver]

What @Rifleman said. Check the birfs - they should be about 3/4 full of Molly based grease. Use a cable tie as a dip stick.
Also you mentioned you changed the fluids - did that include the diffs?

 

[jfz80]

Two thoughts that may help but unrelated to grinding.....

The lack of middle tange of accellerator may point to TPS out of adjustment or no longer functioning

Or the fuel pump relay that seitches from 6 to 12v for startup and widenopen throttle.

Also worth a look is the wiring harness at back of head by firewall. It contacts or runs too close to egr pipe and melts wires. Often you need to unwrap to fully inspect but melted wires here hve caused accell issues.



Grinding after comes to a stop makes me think the auto box. What else is still spinning while you are sitting still...... or if your lucky justa fan shroud interference.

 

[BILT4ME]

Could also be stripped drive flanges.

Place the transfer case in low range and see if the CDL light comes on and engages the CDL. That may take care of the grinding noise and what appears to be no acceleration.

Check the CDL fuse first to make sure it is in place and is good. CDL=Center Differential Lock.

If the drive flanges are stripped, the viscous coupler will spin until you give it full throttle, then it will go.
This could also be one of those cases where half the guts in the front axle are missing.........

 

[Rifleman]

Looking at your photos, your front axle looks to be way over due for service. I'd get the parts, along with a copy of the FSM, and spend the weekend doing a service on your knuckles. While your in there you might also find out what's causing your grinding noise. Here's a link to a great source of parts to rebuild your knuckles. Cruiser Outfitters This vendor is located in the USA, but As far as i know, this company has no problem shipping oversea's.