New second hand Front diff now wont disengage 4x4

[longy509]

(SOLVED) wrong ratio in diff
Hi i just had a second hand Front diff put in now my ute has trouble disengaging from h4 to 2wd and when in h4 the steering feels real heavy and pulls to one side it switches from L4 to h4 no worries i can get it out but it is very random sometimes easy sometimes i have to spend 10 minutes driving backwards and forwards it is extremely annoying, Could it be the front diff or something the mechanic has missed when installing it any ideas on what it could be or what too try to fix it would be great,

Cheers,
Longy

 

[ourd40]

Hopefully the ratio's are the same and they are the same diff out of the same build car like Spain- Spain.
My sometimes dissengages strait away but sometimes takes a minute or two

 

[longy509]

Thanks mate when i got the diff from wreckers in vic they took all details i emphasized it was thia so hopefully it is the right one i have put 4000km on it since installation and nothing has gone bang yet it seems to drive fine when not in 4wd though .

 

[Old.Tony]

It certainly sounds like it's more of a binding issue than anything else.

Try this first: start the car, don't move it anywhere, engage 4HI, engage 2HI. Smooth?

Now, on a straight stretch of road, engage 4HI, do NOT let the car turn even a small amount, then disengage. Did that work?

How does it perform on a loose gravel road (I mean really loose)?

You say that the car pulls to one side. Could a CV have failed? The car can still bind up because the front diff is locked to the rear.

 

[longy509]

Cheers tony il give it ago tomorrow.

 

[longy509]

Tried it today when not moving clicks in and out no dramas when driving with out letting the wheel turn clicks in and out no worries didnt get to try it on gravel also it didnt seem to pull to one side while clicking in and out of 2wd and 4h while driveing in a straight line if it is binding up what causes this and what would the fix be.
cheers

 

[ourd40]

Does the steering feel heavier when in 4wd?

 

[Old.Tony]

I hadn't thought that out completely. If one CV is broken, the other axle won't drive much at all - rotating the drive shaft (between the transfer case and the front diff) will just result in spinning the broken axle. It shouldn't pull one way or the other - so basically I don't know what could be causing that. Let's let someone else come up with some ideas on the pulling.

If the transfer case is engaging and disengaging properly then the problem might just be a case of it being a little bound. That doesn't mean the sensors in the transfer case aren't completely getting away with it - they could be a little off. Whether they're gummed up or faulty it could cause the computer to not release the transfer chain immediately.

I'd see what happens on a really loose surface before throwing coin at it. If it responds well on loose gravel then it's probably just the binding that is keeping it from disengaging.

 

[longy509]

Does the steering feel heavier when in 4wd?

Yeh the steering is defiantly heavier in 4x4 but that is normal i think

 

[longy509]

I hadn't thought that out completely. If one CV is broken, the other axle won't drive much at all - rotating the drive shaft (between the transfer case and the front diff) will just result in spinning the broken axle. It shouldn't pull one way or the other - so basically I don't know what could be causing that. Let's let someone else come up with some ideas on the pulling.

If the transfer case is engaging and disengaging properly then the problem might just be a case of it being a little bound. That doesn't mean the sensors in the transfer case aren't completely getting away with it - they could be a little off. Whether they're gummed up or faulty it could cause the computer to not release the transfer chain immediately.

I'd see what happens on a really loose surface before throwing coin at it. If it responds well on loose gravel then it's probably just the binding that is keeping it from disengaging.

Cheers it just seems strange that it didnt do it before the diff went in

 

[big zetor]

this happend to me ended up trashing the gearbox and t case they gave me the wrong diff ratio couldn't keeping it on the gravel road in 4x4.

 

[nathand22]

the trouble is Nissan have so many different ratio's for the D40's and no one really knows what your particular one is due to Nissan never giving out the ratio's even if you ring them, to the point that ARB and others have to order in two completely different diff centres when they do front lockers for people because they never really know until they pull it down what ratio the car has.

Do you still have the old diff?

you may need to compare it to the new one which obviously means pulling it down again, but it may be needed just to be 100% certain you are not going to trash the rest of the driveline, ie transfer case and gearbox.

 

[longy509]

wish i didnt chuck the old diff now

 

[nathand22]

wish i didnt chuck the old diff now

You could try and speak to Nissan and maybe you will get lucky and they will give you what ratio's are in the front and REAR of your exact ute from the VIN, but if they dont you may need to inspect the rear to figure out what is in there and then pull the front out again to check what that is, thats if you didnt write it down when you got it.

 

[longy509]

cheers mate might give nissan a buzz and see what i can find out

 

[longy509]

Gave nissan a ring they had no idea they were meant to ring me back but haven't heard anything yet it would be to easy and logical for it to be stamped on the diff housing,anyway i found this on the frontier site and was wondering if anyone knows which model would be the aussie version of my rx kingcab,

There are two Types of Axles, C200 and M226(D44h).
Rule of thumb is NISMO and 6-speed models have the D44. But apparently this is way to complicated for some people, so here it is broken down
*NOTE: 4x2 Pro-4x's now have a C200!

Model Axle Gears
XE KC 4x2 5M C200 4.083
XE KC 4x2 5A C200 3.692
SE KC 4x2 6M M226 3.538
SE KC 4x2 5A C200 3.133
SE KC 4x4 6M M226 3.538
SE KC 4x4 5A C200 3.133
SE CC 4x2 6M M226 3.538
SE CC 4x2 5A C200 3.133
SE CC 4x4 6M M226 3.692
SE CC 4x4 5A C200 3.357
NISMO KC 4x2 5A M226 3.133
NISMO KC 4x4 6M M226 3.692
NISMO KC 4x4 5A M226 3.357
NISMO CC 4x2 5A M226 3.131
NISMO CC 4x4 5A M226 3.357
LE KC 4x2 5A C200 2.937
LE KC 4x4 5A C200 3.133
LE CC 4x2 5A C200 3.133
LE CC 4x4 5A C200 3.357

Cheers

 

[Old.Tony]

I thought the diff specification was on the compliance plate? Do you have something like "CA46" stamped on there?

 

[longy509]

I thought the diff specification was on the compliance plate? Do you have something like "CA46" stamped on there?

Not sure i hope so i will check it out tomorrow
Cheers

 

[longy509]

Well nissan finally got back to me my diff ratio is 3.69 does anyone know where i can buy a diff centre or am i beta off just getting another 2nd hand diff and hoping for the best also will a elocker or auto locker replace the gears in front diff if so i might be beta off saving a few $ and going that path

 

[nathand22]

Well nissan finally got back to me my diff ratio is 3.69 does anyone know where i can buy a diff centre or am i beta off just getting another 2nd hand diff and hoping for the best also will a elocker or auto locker replace the gears in front diff if so i might be beta off saving a few $ and going that path

You will still need your main Pinion gear with an E-locker and the auto "lokka" only replaces the small sun gears.