Alright, another problem the dealer couldn't fix..

It's a strange, strange problem... Most of the time it occurs when the condition of the roads appear slippery from any build up of snow..

It feels like something is slipping for a second then catching, it's not a smooth transition.. it's a jerky violent catch at times.. Sometimes it's smooth if the road is really slippery, but when the road isn't so slippery it's violent.. It doesn't do it when the pavement is wet but it has actually happened once on dry pavement. I'm pretty sure the rpms go up a few notches each time this happens as well..

It sucks and when ppl ride in my truck and it happens i tell them it's a feature from the limited slip diff

PS - no it's not the tires spinning

 

does it happen when you are accelerating, slowing down, turning... this could be some usefull info.

 

my lockrite locker did that when it started destroying itself...

 

It happens at cruising speeds, usually 70 km/h or more... Most of the time it happens I'm doing anywhere between 75 and 90 km/h.. It doesn't happen any other time. keep in mind this is only when there's snow on the road.. it's only happened once on totally dry pavement.

I brought it into the dealer quite a few times, took the guy for a drive so he could understand what was happening b/c obviously it's hard to explain.. So they ended up putting in a new transfer case under warranty and still, it did the same thing...

I've never done a burn out in this truck either, light off roading, usually drive it like an old man.. With the exception of rallying on the snow covered back roads... It had 13,000 on er when I bought it so I'm thinking somewhere in those 13,000 km's, maybe it was abused.. I dunno..





...destroying itself.. It wouldn't surprise me if something was destroying itself on my truck too, but lets hope not..

 

My 2000 does what sounds like to be the same thing. Does it at crusing speeds. Not under acceleration or deceleration. I never noticed the whole wet road thing but the times I specifically remember it has been nasty out. I can't figure it out for the life of me either.

 

I would definately check the womulator shaft and possibly the kanutering valve!

 

That was my first thought but after changing the seals in the kanutering valve and greasing the wormulator shaft (wow thats dirty) I am looking for other solutions

 

hmm... try replacing the rotator splint? that may be the whole source of your problem.

 

So Nick any other ideas that I could check out. I think that it could be something to do with the limited slip. But I am hoping it could be as simple as a beat u-joint

 

To be totally honest, without driving it, I couldnt even guess at that one.

 

Mine does it too...

 

do you have a limited slip too. Thats what D and I were talking about today. I'm gonna try just adding more friction modifier as a temp fix.

 

mine does it too.. and it only happends in the snow

 

I wonder if it's a ranger trait...

 

i say its the womulator

 

maybe it's the piston return spring acting up again....

 

it did it again tonight... doing 80 km/h on snow packed highway

 

I'm gonna tear my diff cover open in the next couple weeks and check it out

 

Are you driving a standard or auto? If it is a standard then i would be looking at the clutch and tranny. I have a 04 ranger and i dont recall anything like this happing to it though. Maybe it is because mine only has 23k on it. If it is an auto then it sounds like the clutch is slipping. Same scenerio for both style trannies. Just some thoughts though. I am not saying it is the problem but you never know.

 

It's an Auto.. do you have any snow covered highways or roads you can drive on to test the theory? Seems that snow/ice is the culprit that makes it happen.

 

I dont have a garage to do anything fun like that.. plus it's in the middle of winter here so tough to do it outdoors.. When you take the cover off, let me know what you find out, if anything

 

if you want something interesting to read than this problem, read my blow off valve post from tonight

 

Yeah i leave work at 3:30 in the morning and no roads are plowed after i leave the small city of cortland. So there is almost snow on the roads i travel everyday. I have noticed that my ranger wounders alot on snow covered roads but i think it is the tires(i hope). Oh yeah mine is a auto too.

 

wow, this is strange mine does it too. And yes it does it on a snowy road, yes it is an auto and the truck is a 2002 fx4. Just driving at around 35 or so mph, at a constant speed it'll feel like the tires broke traction with the road.

 

Weird aint it when your driving and you feel like your going to go in the ditch and then your running up the other side of the road. It only happens on snow covered roads.