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90 series centre diff... please explain?
Righto... here is a tricky one for all you transmission experts.
I have a 2002 V6 auto Prado. VX model with the electronic push button centre diff lock.
This thing has never done any off road driving other than the odd gravel road. Only ever had the centre diff locked and put in L range when pulling a boat out of a boat ramp. ( and even then probably over cautious )
last week I spun the centre out of the rear diff, when pulling boat out of boat ramp ( its a long story but essentially the boat trailer got snagged off the end of the concrete boat ramp and anchored me there )
so the rear diff goes bang.... and then whir and crunch.. I know the sounds. so we unhook the trailer and I think to myself, that's cool, I can drive off the ramp on the front diff, ( with centre diff locked )...
But this is not the case.
anyway, I get towed off the ramp, get the thing home, 350km ( NRMA complete care, worth every cent )
I fix the obvious things first, so I get a second hand rear diff and this goes in... no problems. And I can drive the car.
but then I start to investigate further...why didn't the front diff pull me out?
After a bit of mucking around I find that the right front axle is also broken. sheared off up in the diff housing right beside the diff gears. and it looks like it has been broken for years. ( lots of metal paste on the magnetic diff plug )
I start to think when this thing has ever had an event that could have snapped the front axle. There was one occasion about 5 years ago when the diff lock button got bumped, when getting in the car and the car drove on bitumen for about 100m, but I could feel the front pulling and after a quick reverse it jumped out.
Anyway... what has me baffled is that I am driving around, and I think have been for years, only driving the rear wheels, with the centre diff unlocked ( or the light is off anyway )
How can this be?, I would have thought that with a broken front axle, and the centre diff unlocked, all drive would go to that broken axle and I would go nowhere.
when jacked up all 4 wheels off ground, both the front and rear drive shafts spin, but only rear wheels turn.
when driving I can engage and disengage the centre diff... ( well the light goes on and off )
what I am wondering is if the front axle has snapped when the centre diff was engaged, but when I disengaged the centre diff lock ( with the button ) the load has never come off which has meant that even though the electric switch moves, ( and it does make a noise and light goes on and off when button pushed )the drive train is still locked?
Anyone got any ideas?
I have a 2002 V6 auto Prado. VX model with the electronic push button centre diff lock.
This thing has never done any off road driving other than the odd gravel road. Only ever had the centre diff locked and put in L range when pulling a boat out of a boat ramp. ( and even then probably over cautious )
last week I spun the centre out of the rear diff, when pulling boat out of boat ramp ( its a long story but essentially the boat trailer got snagged off the end of the concrete boat ramp and anchored me there )
so the rear diff goes bang.... and then whir and crunch.. I know the sounds. so we unhook the trailer and I think to myself, that's cool, I can drive off the ramp on the front diff, ( with centre diff locked )...
But this is not the case.
anyway, I get towed off the ramp, get the thing home, 350km ( NRMA complete care, worth every cent )
I fix the obvious things first, so I get a second hand rear diff and this goes in... no problems. And I can drive the car.
but then I start to investigate further...why didn't the front diff pull me out?
After a bit of mucking around I find that the right front axle is also broken. sheared off up in the diff housing right beside the diff gears. and it looks like it has been broken for years. ( lots of metal paste on the magnetic diff plug )
I start to think when this thing has ever had an event that could have snapped the front axle. There was one occasion about 5 years ago when the diff lock button got bumped, when getting in the car and the car drove on bitumen for about 100m, but I could feel the front pulling and after a quick reverse it jumped out.
Anyway... what has me baffled is that I am driving around, and I think have been for years, only driving the rear wheels, with the centre diff unlocked ( or the light is off anyway )
How can this be?, I would have thought that with a broken front axle, and the centre diff unlocked, all drive would go to that broken axle and I would go nowhere.
when jacked up all 4 wheels off ground, both the front and rear drive shafts spin, but only rear wheels turn.
when driving I can engage and disengage the centre diff... ( well the light goes on and off )
what I am wondering is if the front axle has snapped when the centre diff was engaged, but when I disengaged the centre diff lock ( with the button ) the load has never come off which has meant that even though the electric switch moves, ( and it does make a noise and light goes on and off when button pushed )the drive train is still locked?
Anyone got any ideas?
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