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911 Emergency Please Help!

Joined
April 15, 2010
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Year, Model & Trim Level
98 Limited All Time AWD
Ok I backed out of the driveway, threw it in drive, and stomped on the gas before it went into gear. I heard a noise and there I sat. :mad:

None of the gears will engage, reverse or drive. I hear a slight rubbing sound when I put it in gear and rev up the engine.

I can push the car while its in PARK now.

This is my only vehicle and I live like 40 miles from civilization. :(

Any ideas?
 



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That doesn't sound good. I'm no expert on the 2nd gens.. But, what I can tell you is if you can move it in park that your wheels are no longer connected to the transmission.

My SWAG is that the problem is in the transfer case since that is what will tie the driveshafts(wheels etc) to the front of the trans.

Just for info, I've had a transmission get "stuck" in gear (a4ld, which IIRC is what your trans is based on). I couldn't go into neutral etc. When you put it in park it is mechanically stopping the trans from spinning by moving a pin. That means if your able to move it while in park, the parking prawl is trying to stop things, but the driveline isn't connected anymore.

I wish I had more info, but my first SWAG is that is a major problem.. hopefully some 2nd gen people will chime in..

~Mark
 






Thanks Mark!

What is SWAG?

It seems like maybe your right about the drive lines not being connected to the tranny anymore (as I hear something spinning when I put it into gear, but nothing moves at all). Are they connected to the tranny through the transfer case?
 






The output of the transmission goes into the transfer case (AWD case in your case). From the transfer case you have the front and rear drive shaft that go to the axle.

I don't know how the AWD case connects the drive shafts But my guess is that it is some kind of electromagnet controlled clutch pack.

SWAG is Scientific Wild Arse Guess.

~Mark
 






For the AWD setup, the front is coupled to the back via a viscous coupling. The trans output is, however, connected directly to the rear driveshaft IIRC.

If you're not moving anywhere when in gear (and able to move when in park), you either managed to have a double driveline failure (eg in the viscous coupling and in the rear diff.) or there's a failure in the output area of the trans
 






Well, if the chain that drives the fronts breaks, and the viscous coupling slips because the power is overwhelming it, then there would be no movement of the vehicle. The slipping would occur at the viscous coupling, would it not?
EDIT: disregard my wild uneducated rambling, I see the error of my thought process now. It would have to be a total viscous coupling failure or transmission failure.
The viscous coupling is operated by fluid pressure, so if it was intact it would still spin the rear wheels.
 






any fluids leaking?

my uneducated opinion is that you destroyed the trans. i would think the weak link between the engine and the wheels is where the power is transfered in the trans and if the output shaft is not longer connected to the "Guts" of the trans it wouldnt lock in park right?
 






There is no significant fluid leak that can be detected.

So, no...no fluid leak.:) Thats somethin atleast.
 






i would be willing to bet something in the trans sheared off from all the inertial torque. but i dont know **** about auto transmissions. just shootin in the dark really. i have done what you did before, although with a very very small about of throttle and lows rpms so no damage, but it still slams pretty hard. i make sure not to do that now. sorry that happened dude, sucks. hopefully you can get it fixed without taking out a mortgage.
 






if its like a GM trans, there is a "squirrel cage" at the back end of the trans which "shears" apart when too much torque is applied when the gears aren't "fully meshed".
 






So can that "squirrel cage" part be replaced or is it more like part of the tranny that would be done in a normal rebuild of the transmission?

So does anyone know if anything can be done to fix this with out tearing out the transmission or am I in for a tranny replacement?
 






:-(.... its a big problem, the tranny has to be totally torn down as the metal pieces of the "cage" are "all over the place".

If you can, I would drop your tranny pan (and fluid)... worse it will cost you is a filter (if you want to replace it ... probably not bother at the time), a new gasket and fluid. The result will give a good idea (maybe) of whether there is "serious" damage there or not.

PS... when you put the tranny in gear and the noise it makes... kind like a whirring.... maybe you lost your torque converter / clutch pack..... again not good.
 






It almost seems like you may have broken the output shaft on the trans, or sheared the splines off. I think the parking pawl locks farily close to the rear of the trans. so if you can move in park then it is something downstream from that. I would pull the t-case and take a look at the output area of the trans. At least then you could narrow it down to a trans problem or t-case problem. You can inspect the t-case as well as the output of the trans.
 






The parking pawl on the transmission is at the very back of it. Chances are the transmission is fine, save for maybe shearing the very end of the output shaft beyond the parking pawl. However, I would doubt that, it should be able to hold up to that fine. Luckily you have a fairly strong transmission, so it should be fine regardless.

The weak link is the transfer case. I would bet something broke inside of it.
 






Have you looked underneath to see if it's the driveshaft?
 






RangerX Well the drive shafts are both there and IF I remember right they do turn when pushing it while in park..lol.

Budwich so you think my best bet would be to drop the pan first and check the inside of the tranny, or pull the transfer case off and check the output of the tranny? Seems like it would be easier to pull the pan I suppose?

The whirring noise I hear "SEEMS" to be coming from the front part of the transmission. Which I am assume is where the torque converter / clutch pack is correct?

I am not a tranny guy. I am good with everything from the headlights back to the flywheel and from the transfer case back to the rear bumper...lol leaving a big gap where the torque convert, tranny, and transfer case are located. lol :)
 






One thing to note is that the AWD parks through the front drive shaft. I still feel like the transfer case could be the culprit here considering it is not parking. The park function of the transmission is purely mechanical, and really has nothing to do with the rest of it. In other words, a bad torque converter or bad clutches or bands would have nothing to do with the no park problem.
 






One thing to note is that the AWD parks through the front drive shaft. I still feel like the transfer case could be the culprit here considering it is not parking. The park function of the transmission is purely mechanical, and really has nothing to do with the rest of it. In other words, a bad torque converter or bad clutches or bands would have nothing to do with the no park problem.

how could it only lock the front shaft if this is a full time awd system?
 






It actually needs both driveshafts to hold the truck at a standstill when in park.

The input shaft mates to the viscous coupling and has a chain wrapped around the outside of it
Straight thru the input shaft is the rear output shaft, that chain drives the fronts
The viscous coupling will slip when pressure is applied, such as parking on a hill. So if you remove either driveshaft, and your viscous coupling is good, the truck will move. The truck wouldn't move easily, not like free rolling, but it will "creep" downhill.
 



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This may not be that bad. I once had it lock up in my underground and I was stuck in the middle of the garage. I disconnected the battery and fiddled with the 2wd/4wd for a few minutes and after 10 minutes it worked again. This was over 100,000km ago so there was no real damage
 






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