4WD really hard to disengage, ideas?

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 9:59 pm

Hi all, ever since we've owned our wagon, the 4Wd lever is really hard to disengage, regardless of the terrain we're on. Engaging it is no problem. Any ideas on repair? The tires are all the same size...

Ron

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 11:39 pm

I hear ya.. There are freak times when its easy, must be a sweet-spot speed.. But something that really eases it up for me at least is to completely clutch it in. I mean mush the pedal to the floor. Its still hard, sometimes just difficult, sometimes so much it would bruise my hand if i pushed any harder. Someything I've heard helps is better oil. I'm going to give Amsoil a try.

russkiypenguin1 · Post by **russkiypenguin1** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:07 am

I find that shifting the transfer case in reverse is easier.

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:48 am

IF your tires are all the same size....have the same pressure...& you drive in a straight line...on dry pavement...you should be able to shift back out pretty easily.

IF you put the car in 4WD and turn the car on any surface....then you'd have to turn the car an EQUAL amount back the other direction to get it out....unless you were in mud or on snow.

Might try 1/2 synth...1/2 regular gear oils? Main thing is to keep the oil level up where it should be...1 pint of synth gear oil is much worse than 4 pints of discount store gear oil. Check the repair guides.....

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:13 am

Why do you say synth is worse than dino?

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:34 pm

The tires have to be exactly the same size or else it will affect the transfer. The only way to do it is start with identical tires and rotate them at steady intervals. If it gets stuck the easy way to get it out of 4WD is to go backwards while pushing the lever. It unloads all the torque on the transfer and after 10 feet or so it reaches a point where there's no load and it disengages with no effort. Another trick I found is to rev up and pop the clutch out not too hard but enough to put some extra torque to the wheels, and shift while you do this. That way you don't have to stop. Sometimes even just stepping on the gas for a second is enough.

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:57 pm

Thansk for the tips!
The tires are two different pairs, so that could be part of the problem. I will try the other recommendations. And I am looking at buying four new tires. Any recommends on good all seasons? I would consider going to 14" rims and a lower profile tire.

tercel4wdrules · Post by **tercel4wdrules** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:19 pm

Ours got stuck once in 4WD without engaging it for no good reason and it took a considerable amount of force and movement to get it back into FWD. Seemed like the rod down there was bent.

GTSSportCoupe · Post by **GTSSportCoupe** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:26 pm

864wd wrote: Thansk for the tips!
The tires are two different pairs, so that could be part of the problem. I will try the other recommendations. And I am looking at buying four new tires. Any recommends on good all seasons? I would consider going to 14" rims and a lower profile tire.

You can grab 14" alloys off an AW11 MR2 or an AE92 Corolla GTS. If you put 185/60R14 tires on, then your gearing and speedo will remain the same (same outer diameter tire as stock).

You can actually grab 14" alloys off almost any fwd car with a 4x100mm bolt pattern. If you do a search in these forums you'll find this topic has been visited before.

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:22 pm

I would be definitely interested in putting 14's on, especially if the rims I find are lighter than the stock steels I have now. Losing some additional wheel weight can only be a good thing on these low powered cars.

takza · Post by **takza** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 5:02 pm

Typrus wrote: Why do you say synth is worse than dino?

1 pint is worse than 4 pints.....any type oil.

There have been a few threads about transmissions and checking/changing the gear oil...might check them out before getting into it.

Typrus · Post by **Typrus** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:28 pm

Well, I'm thinking about putting in 100% Amsoil oil in the tranny and diffs. Dunno about the engine yet.

sacwac · Post by **sacwac** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:37 pm

Is the shifting action better when the car is stopped?

My 4wd shifter is also a little hard to put into 2wd while moving. When stopped, its really easy unless you are in the process of turning real hard in 4wd.

3A-C Power · Post by **3A-C Power** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 8:44 pm

If there's 2 different brands of tires that will screw it up for sure, even if they are the same size. Differences in construction and tread wear are enough to throw it off. My first Tercel 4WD had one tire that was different from the rest while still the same size, and it was always hard to shift the transfer.

864wd · Post by **864wd** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 9:45 pm

Ok, thanks all, I will do some hunting for tires...