Rt-RWD?

I just picked up a manual RT wagon yesterday and didn't really get to test out the 4WD until today as there was no snow anywhere to test it out... It's 100% rwd only and I have no idea why.

The front axles are both in place.

Any ideas?

I'll be taking it apart next weekend but I didn't know it was even possible unless intentional (ala Jaker).

Comments

  • AbideAbide Council Member
    well this should be interesting.
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Well shit. The only thing I can thing of, is that the front diff has been removed? Would the gearbox still operate the rear transfer case without it?
  • TadasTadas Wagonist
    I had that happen before to me. But it was one of the front axles sliding out. It was awesome to have a drift wagon on gravel for a bit though.
  • ChaseChase Wagonist
    Question. Does it feel like a slipping clutch? Like when you let off the clutch does nothing happen for a sec and then you start to move? If not then I would imagine 4wd should be working becuase it takes time to send the power to the rear. At least in my case with my three rt4wd wagons it did.
  • Tadas wrote: »
    I had that happen before to me. But it was one of the front axles sliding out. It was awesome to have a drift wagon on gravel for a bit though.

    So with just one axle popped out you saw this issue? Hmmm...I could see that. This car is in rough shape.

    The clutch seemed ok on the drive home. Consistent engagement, no slip I could feel.

    RWD wagon is kinda fun though...wondering if I should actually fix it. lol
  • AbideAbide Council Member
    mine felt pretty good with no left front axle, not so much all rwd though.
  • klumklum Senior Wagonist
    i have a spare 4wd tranny can i just take the front diff out and keep the axles in to keep the fluid in?
  • Transmissions are my weak point so feel free to have a look at this and take a guess. :P

    580.jpg
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    It does look like the diff drives the transaxle, can't be too sure because i'm certainly no transmission expert either.
  • WagoneroWagonero Band Wagon
    I'm no transmission expert either but I've opened mine a few months ago and got a much better idea how it works.
    The first three photos I found on the internet and the last one is of the broken differential bevel gears of my transmission.
    You can see from these three photos how the power is channeled to the driveshaft and to the rear wheels.

    98.jpg


    99.jpg


    100.jpg


    101.jpg
  • What are those, pictures for ants? They must be at least three times bigger.:p

    Looks like you broke the main ring gear on the diff and not the PTO ring gear for the rear drive. Clutch dump? How did you manage that?

    The power is fed to the rear by a second ring gear bolted to the front diff that drives a bevel gear set to turn the output 90 degrees and send torque down the prop shaft to the rear. So you could pull the front half shafts out and still send power to the rear but the viscous coupler in the prop shaft won't be happy about it.

    The transmission works a lot like a 4x4 transfer case that is locked into 4x4 doing a 50/50 power split. Then the VC in the prop shaft does the slipping to allow speed differentials between the front and rear wheels and avoid binding.
  • klum wrote: »
    i have a spare 4wd tranny can i just take the front diff out and keep the axles in to keep the fluid in?

    Nope, the PTO for the rear is a second ring gear bolted to the front diff. And if you removed the front diff there would be nothing to retain the axle stubs. The axle clips interface with the bevel gears in the front diff.
  • superhatch wrote: »
    So with just one axle popped out you saw this issue? Hmmm...I could see that. This car is in rough shape.

    The clutch seemed ok on the drive home. Consistent engagement, no slip I could feel.

    RWD wagon is kinda fun though...wondering if I should actually fix it. lol

    Yes with an open front diff and 1 front axle missing all the drive power for the front diff would go out that side with the missing axle. This would be really hard on the front diff.

    And because the front diff is part of the PTO to the rear the rear still gets driven but with some loss through slipping of the VC in the prop shaft. With a burned out VC and a missing front half shaft the car probably won't move at all.
  • WagoneroWagonero Band Wagon
    Sorry about the ants photos.
    I just learned to use flicker last night and I noticed this error after I post them.
    The previous owner made the mess in the transmission and we can only guess but it was something catastrophic.
    My old transmission has both differential ring gears with broken teeth, counter-shaft gear that engages to differential ring gear was damaged , counter-shaft needle bearing was missing one needle ( roller) and a few other things.
    The magnet looked like a scoop of a steel Ice cream.
    I was fortunate to locate a good transmission and It's worked great since last fall and It's very quiet .

    Thanks for your info Ryan
  • WagoneroWagonero Band Wagon
    Sorry about the ants photos.
    I just learned to use flicker last night and I noticed this error after I posted them.
    The previous owner made the mess in the transmission and we can only guess how but it was something catastrophic.
    My old transmission has both differential ring gears with broken teeth, counter-shaft gear that engages to differential ring gear was damaged , counter-shaft needle bearing was missing one needle ( roller) and a few other things.
    The magnet looked like a scoop of a steel Ice cream.
    I was fortunate to locate a good transmission and It's worked great since the last fall and It's very quiet .

    Thanks for your info Ryan
  • Yes with an open front diff and 1 front axle missing all the drive power for the front diff would go out that side with the missing axle.

    Ahh, that makes sense now. Probably first place I'll look.
  • klumklum Senior Wagonist
    simply cutting the axles and leaving the tranny side alone ( and the hub side cutting out the middle ) would make the car rwd also right?
  • klum wrote: »
    simply cutting the axles and leaving the tranny side alone ( and the hub side cutting out the middle ) would make the car rwd also right?

    Sort of. You would still have the VC on the prop shaft allowing slip. You could go to a solid prop shaft and then yes it would be RWD.
  • Where would you cut the axle so it's not doing crazy things while spinning?
  • superhatch wrote: »
    Where would you cut the axle so it's not doing crazy things while spinning?

    Cut the inner boot and pull the axle stub off. Then poke that into the transmission.

    This will kill your VC.
  • Well, I haven't cracked the case open yet but we did get the trans off last night.

    Axles seemed ok, seated correctly no spline damage on the axles or the diff. And with the trans disconnected when you spin the input shaft both the front diff and the rear output shaft both spin as expected.

    I still have no idea what the issue was/is. I'm going to crack the case tomorrow and have a look and if nothing obvious jumps out at me then I'll just flush it with new synthetic fluid and give it a go.
Sign In or Register to comment.