Hey guys Ive been noticing that my front differential has been winding in 1st and second gear, i thought maybe it was a bearing or diffs needed a flush but I tried to put it into 4 wheel last night and was not able to get it out of 2 wheel. It wouldn't budge. After talking with another member here at the wire, it was suggested that I try and drive in reverse and sway side to side to unlock the hubs but I couldnt get them unlocked...Is there another way to do this, or do they need to be lubricated or what..I can see why one would want to switch to manual hubs.

1984 montero sport 2.6l

matt

This doesnt sound like a hub issue. The later gen Montys the hubs are always locked, if you diff is winding out in 1st and 2nd then you tranfercase is engaged.
Russ

I have a first gen, i first noticed the sound after doing some wheeling and then taking it out of 4 wheel into 2 wheel, now I am in 2 wheel for sure according to the transfer case but it seems like the auto hubs are locked..

Try letting it roll backwards out of gear, and listen for a click from the front hubs as they unlock. If this fails, jack the front wheels off the ground, and rotate the driveshaft by hand in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from the front of the truck, and listen again.

If this fails, take the hubs apart and clean them up and relube with some light oil.

Matt visited the Ranch again this evening. What a beautiful Montero, all pretty blue and clean. We checked the hubs and they were disengaged, but need lubing. His clutch is nearing the end, trans makes a little noise, t-case is stuck in 2wd, and his engine was low on oil. The Montero drives nicely, too!

But, he still doesn't want to give me his bumpers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

R-

Ok fella's, got around to flushing the tranny/transfer case last night, there was definitely NOT 2.2 liters of fluid in there. SO filled her up then moved on to the transfer case tower to see about the seized transfer case. I still couldnt get it out of 2wd so I unbolted the unit, pulled it out along with the lever, and proceeded to inspect the transfer case. There was nothing jammed in there, everything looked good, so i poured a little oil in there...Interesting note, if you have problems with the fill bolt and spring (they can be difficult to put back in cause you have to compress the spring and get the bolt on straight), or dont want to mess with a pump, you can unbolt the trasnfer tower and the fill bolt is right there at the top...So you can just pour gear oil from in the cab, and lubricate all those moving parts where the lever meets the transfer case.

Anyway, after a little lubing, I went and got the transfer tower unit and tried to simply just stick the lever back in and see if I couldnt get it popped out of 2wd...I dont know what I did but it worked! I was able to easily shift out of 2wd into all 4wd designations. SO I have 4wd again! Bolted it back up, and I guess sometimes you just gotta take things apart and put them back together again...I wish I knew what the problem was, hopefully it was a lack of lubeication because it definitely was low on gear oil. Now its all filled up and Im ready for some wheeling.

Oh, and the 'winding' sound i was hearing in low gears has ceased since I added 2 quarts of oil <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />
Have to check that more often! I think it was pressure keeping the timing chain regulated because it certainly isnt making as much noise.

Oh, and those bumpers look mean and clean. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />