2010 Transfer case 4 Low

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metalchewy

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My 2010 Ram 1500 4.7 TRX4 has the NVG243 transfer case in it. When I was using it in conjunction with a little Bobcat backhoe the pull the stump out in front of the house on Thursday my neighbor made an observation that I wasn't aware of.

In 4x4 High all four tires were spinning in reverse on some of the attempts as we found the various roots to cut off.

In 4x4 Low, however only the rear tires were spinning. This is an issue that I am glad to know about, if I am on a steep mountain road, like the poweline road on Mt Charleston I usually use 4 low to crawl up the hill rather that tear up the dirt like so many do. Without 4 low on this road I will have to use 4 high which will spin more.

I Need to figure out why only 4 low would have the problem and what I might need todo to fix it.

Sometine this week, I will be changing the fluid on the transfer. At which time I may know more symptoms.

Any thoughts on what it might be?
 
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metalchewy

metalchewy

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Thank You.

I could hear the actuators moving and it sounded like it goes into gear when i switch to 4 low.

I will pull and check them this week as well.
 

crazykid1994

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Put it in 4 low then put it in park and then I would lift one front tire off the ground and try to turn it by hand. If you can turn the tire by hand you have a problem. Easy troubleshooting is if the driveshaft turns when you turn the tire then you know the axle is locked in but the transfer case is not locking into 4wd. If you can turn the tire and the driveshaft does not turn or the driveshaft can free spin then the axle is not locking in.
 
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metalchewy

metalchewy

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Put it in 4 low then put it in park and then I would lift one front tire off the ground and try to turn it by hand. If you can turn the tire by hand you have a problem. Easy troubleshooting is if the driveshaft turns when you turn the tire then you know the axle is locked in but the transfer case is not locking into 4wd. If you can turn the tire and the driveshaft does not turn or the driveshaft can free spin then the axle is not locking in.
Will give it a try tonight, thank You
 
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metalchewy

metalchewy

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Put it in 4 low then put it in park and then I would lift one front tire off the ground and try to turn it by hand. If you can turn the tire by hand you have a problem. Easy troubleshooting is if the driveshaft turns when you turn the tire then you know the axle is locked in but the transfer case is not locking into 4wd. If you can turn the tire and the driveshaft does not turn or the driveshaft can free spin then the axle is not locking in.
While in 4 Low, in park and running, the tire does not turn by hand.

You can hear the actuator put it in gear with a hum and a click then a chime as the 4 low light on the dash stops blinking.
 

62Blazer

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Are you absolutely sure that neither front tire was spinning? With an open front diff it's likely that only one side on the front will be spinning. Otherwise I'm not really sure why 4wd would be engaging in 4 Hi but not in 4 Low. Actually engaging 4wd, so sending power to the front tires, uses the same parts whether you are in 4 Hi or 4 Low. The low range planetary engagement is basically a separate part of the system.
I would repeat the check of trying to spin the front tires on both sides. Guess I could see you breaking a front CV shaft when going to 4 low if you were pulling reverse (FYI, generally not recommend to pull heavy in reverse because of the stress on the front end). If you broke just one side CV axle you effectively would have not power going to the other side either.
 

crazykid1994

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The fact that you cannot spin it by hand points that it is most definitely engaging. Like 62 mentioned that if 1 tire is spinning in the front the other tire won’t spin because the other tire is robbing all the power. It’s possible that just 1 wheel in the front was spinning due to loss of traction and it happened to be the tire your buddy was watching that wasn’t spinning.
Are you absolutely sure that neither front tire was spinning? With an open front diff it's likely that only one side on the front will be spinning. Otherwise I'm not really sure why 4wd would be engaging in 4 Hi but not in 4 Low. Actually engaging 4wd, so sending power to the front tires, uses the same parts whether you are in 4 Hi or 4 Low. The low range planetary engagement is basically a separate part of the system.
I would repeat the check of trying to spin the front tires on both sides. Guess I could see you breaking a front CV shaft when going to 4 low if you were pulling reverse (FYI, generally not recommend to pull heavy in reverse because of the stress on the front end). If you broke just one side CV axle you effectively would have not power going to the other side either.
If one cv was broke he would still have been able to spin the wheel by hand since the front diff is open. I’m just thinking wheel spinning on the opposite side due to traction loss as the test showed everything was locking in. The front diff actuator is electronic so unless it was disengaging randomly everything appears to be working.
 
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metalchewy

metalchewy

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Are you absolutely sure that neither front tire was spinning? With an open front diff it's likely that only one side on the front will be spinning. Otherwise I'm not really sure why 4wd would be engaging in 4 Hi but not in 4 Low. Actually engaging 4wd, so sending power to the front tires, uses the same parts whether you are in 4 Hi or 4 Low. The low range planetary engagement is basically a separate part of the system.
I would repeat the check of trying to spin the front tires on both sides. Guess I could see you breaking a front CV shaft when going to 4 low if you were pulling reverse (FYI, generally not recommend to pull heavy in reverse because of the stress on the front end). If you broke just one side CV axle you effectively would have not power going to the other side either.
Checked again the results are the same. Put it in neutral and the result is still the same with one tire off the ground. The other side still won't move. Won't move in neutral with one tire off the ground either.

Both tires off the ground in neutral the other side spins in the opposite direction as one would expect as well.

CVs are fine.

Will repeat the test this weekend up sky canyon wash on the dirt road that ends up over near mt Charleston. Sand, gravel, rock and other different trail base. The dogs will enjoy the ride.

The fact that you cannot spin it by hand points that it is most definitely engaging. Like 62 mentioned that if 1 tire is spinning in the front the other tire won’t spin because the other tire is robbing all the power. It’s possible that just 1 wheel in the front was spinning due to loss of traction and it happened to be the tire your buddy was watching that wasn’t spinning.

If one cv was broke he would still have been able to spin the wheel by hand since the front diff is open. I’m just thinking wheel spinning on the opposite side due to traction loss as the test showed everything was locking in. The front diff actuator is electronic so unless it was disengaging randomly everything appears to be working.
I found it odd that one would work and the other not as much. 4x4 would spin all 4 tires and walk sideways down the driveway without issue if I tried.

4 low is usually the goto gear for jobs like this. Torque matters. Shake the tree stump after a circle of cut roots to find the others that need to be dug up and cut to drop it. Then drag it outta the hole as the last ones break off.

Will figure out more this weekend. The water line trench should be filled by then.
 

62Blazer

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All of your tests are basically saying that 4 low is engaging and locked in as would be expected. In 4H or 4L the front and rear tires are locked solidly together, so whether the transmission is in neutral or not really doesn't affect anything. Still don't know what to tell you and suspect the neighbor simply saw it wrong.
 
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