dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
  
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| Diagnosing Driveline Failure |
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Main goal of this post. Looking for ways to diagnose and test driveline failure. Differentials, transfer box, drive shafts, CVs. Planning on servicing diff and transfer box fluids. But other than that, what I can I do, or look for to track down the culprit? 06 LR3 with 193k on the clock.
Recently went from 19” wheels with 255/55/19 street tires to 18” 275/65/18 all-terrain tires. Went out for some fairly basic trail play this weekend, and noticed some clunking coming from the driveline when the car is navigating slow speed turns. Ended up turning around and parking the vehicle for the remainder of the weekend. We did some basic troubleshooting and observation once we got back to camp. When the car is in motion, forward or backwards at slow speeds, both high and low range, a sizable clunking can be heard, and the rear wheels are skipping. I was out of town, at a friends cabin, so needed to figure out a way to get home safely.
I have an IID tool, and no noticeable faults are popping up. I performed a self test on the rear locker, which seemed to be successful, I think. We unplugged the battery for a half hour to reset some things. After reconnecting the battery, we performed some moving tests again, and the results were much better. With the wheels turned, forward and backward moment, at first, it seemed like the clunking was completely gone. At least the large clunking had disappeared. There seemed to still be some smaller, more frequent clunking that started after some continued movement back and forth, with the wheels turned both directions.
I determined that it seemed like the car was good enough to get me home. No noticeable noises or clunking the entire way home. Seemed fine at highway speeds, and also navigating turns through intersections. Once I got home, and started to reverse into my driveway, the hard clunking returned once the wheels were turned. After a little bit of reading, I saw some folks talking about running a calibration on transfer case as a potential fix for this issue. I performed the calibration last night, my drive into to work the following morning seemed to be uneventful. Driving in my parking lot at the office involves a fairly sharp turn, and no clunking noticeable.
On my way to lunch, making a right hand turn forward, I heard some small clunking. Seemed to be because there was more load on the driveline to pull out from that turn. The more turns I took, the more I noticed the clunking happening again. It only happens if I’m accelerating while turning. If I’m coasting while turning, everything is fine. It’s not the big hard clunks right now, we’re back to the smaller, more frequent clunks.
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 16th Mar 2020 7:20 pm |
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Globetrotter448
Member Since: 21 Mar 2017
Location: Londonderry NSW
Posts: 1780
  
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Seems that a CV joint at the front is making the noise. It is also possible the the LCA or ARB maybe shot
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| 17th Mar 2020 9:25 am |
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Globetrotter448
Member Since: 21 Mar 2017
Location: Londonderry NSW
Posts: 1780
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Another thought is that the DSC is operating so when you go around corners it makes the wheel skip a bit.
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| 17th Mar 2020 9:55 am |
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L319
Member Since: 14 Dec 2013
Location: Herefordshire
Posts: 2080
 
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A warning light should illuminate when the DSC operates , have you seen any?
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| 17th Mar 2020 10:02 am |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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Globetrotter448 wrote:Seems that a CV joint at the front is making the noise. It is also possible the the LCA or ARB maybe shot
What's the best way to inspect for CV failure other than boots torn? Disassemble and look for unusual wear?
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| 17th Mar 2020 2:28 pm |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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L319 wrote:A warning light should illuminate when the DSC operates , have you seen any?
No DSC warning lights active.
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| 17th Mar 2020 2:30 pm |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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Additional note. Sunday night, I retrieved a code from the transfer case. P2789-00 (2C) Clutch adaptive learning at it's limit.
One more thought. When I did the wheel upgrade, I swapped my 19's for 18's. I shop I worked with on this trade didn't have all 4 same tires on the wheels they traded me. They put the mismatching wheels on, with larger tires on the rear than compared to the front. I raised a number of concerns about the different sizes, but was encouraged it would be fine. I made it around the first turn, and DSC and TC were going crazy. Was on a one way street, so I needed to go around the block to get back to the shop. I requested that my old wheels be put back on, and I would return the 19s at a later time. How much damage do we think the trip around the block with 30" and 32" tires mounted caused?
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| 17th Mar 2020 2:42 pm |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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Intermittent clunking and a rough feeling whenever vehicle is under load (up an incline, etc) continues. Any additional theories on diagnosing the problem?
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| 19th Mar 2020 1:56 am |
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Steamyrotter
Member Since: 03 Jul 2017
Location: Somewhere near Somewhere else in Somerset
Posts: 117
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Google “Differential Wind Up”
Depends if you believe it or not .
X5s apparently were prone to it esp with electronic diffs.
Exaggerated by different tyre sizes.
First I’d try matching tyre sizes to rule them out If things were meant to be easy, then I will soon complicate them....
Please note...
Anything I say is only from my personal experience and knowledge..
I don't assume to know everything, and know there is a lot I don't know..
But then I could be talking  .. O
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| 19th Mar 2020 2:33 am |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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Mis matching tire sizes were only on the vehicle for a few hundred yards. 265/75/18 Falken Wildpeak AT3w are on now.
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| 19th Mar 2020 4:07 am |
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aja4x4
Member Since: 14 Apr 2019
Location: Westbury
Posts: 2459
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These cars dont like different size tread depths, putting one new tyre on when the rest are on minimum will affect the system so having completely different tyre sizes will cause your problem for sure.
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| 19th Mar 2020 7:14 am |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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Would this immediately cause damage to components? Matching size tires are on the vehicle now, but I'm still experiencing issues.
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| 19th Mar 2020 1:47 pm |
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aja4x4
Member Since: 14 Apr 2019
Location: Westbury
Posts: 2459
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I think you would be ok as the temporary spare wheel is a different size.
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| 19th Mar 2020 2:36 pm |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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No noticeable damage on any cv boots. What can be done to diagnose this issue with a floor jack and jack stands?
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| 29th Mar 2020 12:04 am |
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dbeard85
Member Since: 25 Feb 2020
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 13
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I took some video of the problem to share with the community. Hopefully this will help diagnose what’s failing.
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| 30th Mar 2020 11:40 pm |
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