Front wheel locked up.

[Bug]

I was driving along at 35 and heard a clunk front left (I think). Then the front left locked up. Actually, since I slid straight, it was probably both wheels locked up. When I backed up it released but there was a metal on metal rubbing sound.
I first thought it might be the bearing or cv joint but now I am not sure. I have the left axel separated from the hub and it seems OK though I have not removed the boot. The boots look newer than the 200K that is on this 1990 Corolla.
So now I am thinking it must be in the transmission?
Any guesses or troubleshooting tips?

[dlb]

is this your 86 4wd tercel or a 90 corolla you are working on?

did you hit a bump or anything like that when the wheels first locked up? did you have your foot on the brake at all? did the engine stall? when you put it in reverse, was there any noticeable drag? did the car drive fine after reversing?

i don't think it's likely to be bearings or CV axles. when those go bad, they will make lots of noise for many miles before giving up. and a CV that gives up will simply not supply any drive to the wheel. it will not cause braking. i would look at the brakes first, and then the transmission and/or diff. open the fill plug first to make sure you can put more oil in afterward, and then drain the trans/diff oil. use a filter of some kind as the oil drains, even a rag will do, and look for metal chunks. chunks will indicate something is broken in the trans.

[Bug]

did you hit a bump or anything like that when the wheels first locked up? No
did you have your foot on the brake at all? No
did the engine stall? No
when you put it in reverse, was there any noticeable drag? yes but it released quickly
did the car drive fine after reversing? Yes except for the metal on metal rubbing sound. It was not a grind or squeal. Just like a piece of metal was laying heavily on a turning axle. Or a piece of bearing housing. But there seems to be no damage to the bearing that I can see.

It is a 90 Corolla I am giving to my daughter after I get the Tercel I bought from Petcos to stop leaking oil (other thread and yes, he told me about it).
I did not hit a bump or anything. The engine kept running and the transmission disengaged normally as though I had slammed on the brakes.
The brakes seem to be operating normally but I agree that that seems like a likely problem. My hesitation is that they locked completely without warning or reason (no bump or jolt).
I had replaced a rear slave cylinder recently but how does a brake lock up that way?

I will check

[dlb]

if the wheels locked up without touching the brakes, i am less suspicious of them and more suspicious of the trans or diff.

is it a manual or auto trans? 2wd or 4wd?

[Petros]

Sounds like it could be something came loose in the trans and got wedged in a bad place (like in the diff, ring and pinion gears). IT does not seems like brakes would cause that, unless something in the anti-lock brakes malfunctioned (if the car is so equipped), or something came loose off the brakes or hubs and jammed inside the wheel.

[Bug]

Automatic trans. 2wd front w d.
Yes. Transmission most likely.
Bummer.

[dlb]

did you drain the ATF and drop the pan yet? that might tell you a lot.

[Gottolovem]

I don't know where you are located but my local pick&pull has a 2wd auto trans right now. kinda impossible to test if it is any good being an auto and all.

[Bug]

I have not had a chance to crawl back under yet.
I am in Redmond WA so Reno is a bit of a stretch....
I will get back to it this weekend.

[marlinh]

You can pull the front diff cover off and see what is going on. I suspect that area too.

[Petros]

honda auto trans does not have a pan or diff cover, to see the internal parts you have to pull the trans and split open the case. You can drain the ATF and get a look at it, if there are metal shavings, or worse, chunks of metal coming out, it is clearly a goner.

You might track the source of that metal to metal sound, it might something external that came loose and fell against a CV joint or something that caused it lock up. If it is something external it would be an easy fix. Hondas have very durable auto trans, not likely it fell apart unless it was run without trans fluid. Also, it does not seem likely something internal to the trans would cause a metal scraping sound, so get a good look at the axles, hubs, etc for the source of that noise.

[marlinh]

Sorry, I thought it was a tercel.

[dlb]

i believe the OP mentioned this is a '90 corolla he is working on.

[rer233]

Don't know about the corollas, but several a/t equipped late '80's- early '90's camrys i've worked on had empty or near-empty diffs. Diff has its own drain and fill plugs (seperate from the tranny.) Should be full of dexron atf. I'd say pull the diff drain plug and see if anything comes out.

Good Luck.

[irowiki]

Pull the fill plug first though!