AWD to FWD on its own, help?

alice · Jan 8, 2007

I have been a registered member here now for about 5 months and have found multitudes of great information, thank you. Now I am having a problem with my DSM.

It's a 5-speed/manual 1996 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD that turned into a FWD on its own. By this I mean I think there is a problem with the transfer case or transmission itself. I bought the car in June of 2006 and it worked fine. However, I could hear the transfer case when I was driving at basically any speed, it sounded like a low geared 4wd jeep, not a grinding sound, just a low gear type sound. The transfer case recall was performed by the local Mitsubishi dealership just after the recall was posted. They did not replace the transfer case, just made sure there was no leak and replaced the brass plug. Also, after I bought the car, I changed the transmission fluid, transfer case fluid, and rear diff fluid so I know that a leak was/is not the problem.

Back to the problem. I can no longer hear the "low gear" type sound anymore and the car is very slow. I assume that it is slow because of the transmission gearing not being properly distributed. And I know the rear wheels are not pushing the car at all because I got the car on a lift and only the front wheels spun under load. I am not driving the car because of its current condition.

So finally, my questions are: 1. Are you supposed to hear that "low gear" type sound of the transfer case? and 2. Should I just swap the transfer case or is there something else I should look into first?

It had a new clutch installed in May of 2004.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for any advice.

91 Turbo Mitsu · Jan 8, 2007

With out actually looking at the car I would say your t-case crapped out on you. You shouldnt here a low gear noise that you have described. The other thing is your car may feel real slow because something may be binding up in the t-case and the engine is working harder to move the car with only the front wheels. If one of the others has better advice they will pop in. If it was me I would pull the t-case and try to open it up and see whats wrong.Good luck and keep us posted. Travis

JayRolla · Jan 8, 2007

Sounds like either the transfer case or the rear end. My brother blew his CD and it made it RWD if I remember right so im guessing the tranny is good, but I may be completly wrong.

94TalonTSI1 · Jan 8, 2007

You are going to have to pull your t-case. Check the input spline into you transfer case and make sure it's not rounded out.

Also, when you put it up on the lift, did you see the driveshaft turning when the front wheels were? Or was it stationary?

Raynehr · Jan 8, 2007

When I first got my AWD, there was a whirring sound under the car, but it ran good. So I put it up on 4 Jackstands and stuck it in second gear, crawled up under it, (Probally not the safest thing to do but EH.. ) and chased the sound. It was definantly coming from the T-case. Jerked the driveshaft, and t-case, popped open the t-case and it looked like someone dropped a grenade down its throat.. it was grabbing but there was chuncks of gear and bearings everywhere. Take the car, put it up on all 4 jackstands, put it in first gear, spin the front wheels by hand, if the back ones dont spin, buy a transfer case....

Good luck ..

Ray.

alice · Apr 22, 2007

So I did what Raynehr said and the back wheels didn't spin, therefore I bought a t-case. I was going to put it in and I noticed tranny fluid all over the ground under the transmission. In turn I found 2 cracks on the passenger side of the tranny and I have no solid idea as to what may have caused this. Here is a link, with a pic, to my other post about that. I need some help and maybe a new tranny? Link:http://dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259366

Talesin · Apr 23, 2007

Don't forget to count the splines on the t-case internals, make sure you got the right kind. I had a 22 that toasted itself when the fill plug bolt wasn't torqued down right and fell out, and the shop only had a 23.. they apparently replaced the input shaft with a 23 just to make it work.
Should've asked them to re-torque that one huge bolt on the end at the same time, as the shifter play feels like it's coming loose and the gearshift lever is starting to wiggle when load changes, with urethane motor mounts.

Did you turn the front wheels and watch to see if the driveshaft turned? If it does but the back wheels don't, then it's not the t-case, it'd be the rear diff.

You're also lucky, that panel with the crack is made to be removed for tranny disassembly (the big nut holding all the gears snug on the shaft mentioned above about gearshift wiggle is behind it, along with a few others), and can be replaced seperately. It can be a bit of a pain though, as you don't want to bend the 'lip' where the cover meets the rest of the tranny housing, or it won't seal right and you'll leak fluid.

A gift from VFAQ.com: http://www.geocities.com/qwik93awd/Vfaq/shifter.htm

alice · Apr 23, 2007

Thanks a lot for the reply. Yeah, the drive shaft didn't spin which said "blown t case" all over it. Now, all I have to do is find a new tranny cover and then figure out why something cracked my old one. It probably is a loose bolt in there. At least I hope so.

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AWD to FWD on its own, help?

alice

91 Turbo Mitsu

JayRolla

94TalonTSI1

Raynehr

alice

Talesin

alice

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