Transmission issues?

[LoneStarCruiser]

I drove the cruiser 80 miles RT this week on Tuesday, no issues at all. Yesterday the is driving it to work and says the front brakes are grinding again. On the drive back from work, the cruiser starts "hopping" and acts like brakes are locked up. She pulls over, calls a tow, and brings it home.

In Park, the vehicle behaves normally. Revving does nothing transmission related. Brakes engage and disengage normally, there's good pad life, and the rotors look normal.

In Reverse, the vehicle works normally. Maybe she can commute in reverse...

In Drive through Low the truck moves forward about a foot then stops like it's hit a log. More push lifts the front end and, clunks hard, then lunges forward another foot. Seriously feels like driving over curbs.

At any point you can pop it into neutral and push it until your heart is content or drop it into reverse and drive normally, although backwards (at least that part works!)

No other symptoms at all.

Any ideas?

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS]

CDL button engaged? If this in engaged it would create a popping/hopping on turns on dry pavement.

 

[cruiserfj45]

But if he is going straight it shouldn't matter. And if you can go from D to N and it changes then the CDL should be out of the question as well. Inspect your drive lines and u-joints. Pull the front drive line. and hit the CDL button. I am hoping that it is a binding drive line or front birf when under load. If not it sounds like something internal inside the transmission. Where does the clunk sound like it is coming from, front end, trans area, or rear end?

 

[LoneStarCruiser]

Thanks for the suggestions.

CDL not engaged. Does the same thing in 4H and 4L.

I really wish it was hopping and popping form using it wrong, sadly this is straight-line in the driveway.

I looked at the u-joints and driveline, everything looks normal. Anything beyond "normal" I should be looking for? When I say normal, I mean the bolts are all still there and it looks like there's no clearance issues...

Front driver:

Front passenger:

Front propshaft U (diff):

Front propshaft U (trans):

Hard to see with all that automatic factory undercoating the truck tends to re-apply...

I haven't done any birf or driveline work since buying the rig so I guess that's not out of the question. Is there a good guide on here for the work you recommended? I have the FSM too, but sometimes having it in 'mudspeak helps like me figure it out.

 

[YardSale]

Sorry to hear about the trouble.

Could you narrow it down by removing you rear driveshaft or front one at a time, then try it and see if popping continues.(with CDL) If it does it with either driveshaft removed then most likely transfercase? only with front driveshaft then front end, etc.

Would a broken ring gear do this, work in one direction but not the other?

 

[CJF]

Brakes.

Check the front calipers *very* carefully. I'll bet one of them's come loose.

If not, move on to the rear drums.

 

[cruiserfj45]

Good call on brakes. Like I said can you have your wife drive it very slowly and you be outside and try and pinpoint where the noise is coming from. When you said the front is rising that leads me to believe it is from the end and removing the front drive shaft will help narrow it down.

 

[LoneStarCruiser]

Why would the brakes only bind when the vehicle is in drive? I'm not the world's greatest mechanic, obviously, but I especially don't have a firm grasp on the inner workings of 4x4 vehicles.

I have to work up the guts to do a drive/listen thing. The sound is like metal breaking free, and it bucks violently; feels like something is going to tear off the truck.

I think I'll pop off the propshafts one at a time to isolate the front or the rear. If it's the front end I might just to an axle rebuild from center to ends. We bought the truck from someone else a couple years ago and an axle rebuild has been at the top of the list for a while.

 

[CruiseOrlando]

By the way, you're overdue for a front axle job... but that doesn't have anything to do with your issue. Just an observation from the pics.

Something that CAN help you - if you have one of those non-contact thermometers, you can watch the temp of the disc brakes and see if they rise when going slowly w/o feet on the brakes.

 

[notthejeepnomo]

sounds like the infamous "one of my bottom front caliper bolts have came out and the caliper is wedging into the inside of the wheel going foward"

 

[yotaslave]

sounds like the infamous "one of my bottom front caliper bolts have came out and the caliper is wedging into the inside of the wheel going foward"

Been down that road, scared the crap out of me! Then I kicked myself for not torquing my caliper bolts! Lesson learned.

 

[cruiserfj45]

Holy cow... Totally missed the picture of the passenger side rim. Does that look like something is grinding on the rim, like the caliper.

 

[dannyp]

defiantly looks really shiney compared to the rest of the rim

 

[CJF]

I think I'll pop off the propshafts one at a time to isolate the front or the rear. If it's the front end I might just to an axle rebuild from center to ends. We bought the truck from someone else a couple years ago and an axle rebuild has been at the top of the list for a while.

Slow down and think, and most of all listen:

1) LOOK at the front brakes closely. Why would you have to work up the guts to do that?

2) With the rig off and the t-case in neutral, see whether or not the rig rolls forward freely. That shouldn't be too scary either, no?

 

[LoneStarCruiser]

Yeah CJF, I miscommunicated. Was just scared to roll it forward in drive. When the tcase is in neutral the truck rolls fine without any binding whatsoever, i was just wondering about what physically causes the brakes to drag only in drive; pure curiosity.

Today ran away without me, but tomorrow I'll take a closer look at the passenger side brakes. I feel like a total *** for missing that, it really does look shiny. I can't believe you guys spotted that in the pic...

Yotaslave, you basically described how I'm feeling. Tomorrow I'll pop off the wheels (the thing's airborn already) and re-torque the bolts to start.

Hopefully that fixes it!

Thanks cruiseorlando, this thing is way overdue for axle service.

Thanks everybody. this site rules.

 

[YardSale]

Holy cow... Totally missed the picture of the passenger side rim. Does that look like something is grinding on the rim, like the caliper.

Very nice catch, now that you mention it, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[operatorTRP]

sounds like the infamous "one of my bottom front caliper bolts have came out and the caliper is wedging into the inside of the wheel going foward"

I had that happen on an X5, only it was on the rear and would happen in reverse.

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[CJF]

When the tcase is in neutral the truck rolls fine without any binding whatsoever

In the forward direction???

 

[notthejeepnomo]

when you get too it take that wheel off with the shiny streak. look at the caliper. i bet one of the bolts that mounts the caliper to the axle housing is gone.

 

[LoneStarCruiser]

I love ih8mud

You guys are always right: the lower caliper bolt was loose and it was dragging on the inside of the passenger rim.

Here's the sweet mark it made. The lurching and metal snapping sound was the dragging caliper catching on the aluminum "mounds" the dragging made on the inside of the rim:


Here's a shot of the caliper:


Definitely a mess, but I re-torqued all the bolts down and the thing's fine now.

Thanks for all your help guys, and thanks for the feedback on the front axle too. That's my next FJ project now.

PSA: check and re-check your torque settings on your bolts. Next time it would be worse.