What should my AWD be doing?

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Bum420
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
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What should my AWD be doing?

Post by Bum420 »

I’ve been out in the snow testing my 97 Safari AWD, and I couldn’t help but notice those front tires aren’t spitting snow when I get stuck. It seems like they might be pulling a little bit sometimes but this is my first AWD anything. Could someone please enlighten me on how my AWD should be working? :toimonster:

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

On your 97 AWD, you should have the front tires spinning all the time. It is 100% mechanical and there are no switches or motors to engage.

To test: jack one front tire up and try to spin it. It should only rotate enough to take up any slack in the diff and transfer case. If the tire spins freely, look to see if the drive shaft from the diff to the transfer case spins.
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

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Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy
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mdmead
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Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by mdmead »

And remember too, you have an open diff in the front, so only one wheel may be spinning (if the other has better traction).

Put your back wheels in snow, mud, gravel or wet grass with the fronts on pavement. Nail the throttle. If you sit and spin, you have a problem. If you quickly motor out, the system is likely working as designed.
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Selah, WA
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Topic author
Bum420
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2010 2:53 pm

Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by Bum420 »

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:On your 97 AWD, you should have the front tires spinning all the time. It is 100% mechanical and there are no switches or motors to engage.

To test: jack one front tire up and try to spin it. It should only rotate enough to take up any slack in the diff and transfer case. If the tire spins freely, look to see if the drive shaft from the diff to the transfer case spins.
There's about 4 inches of slack, and the drive shaft spins. I only tried one tire though. When I'm getting to the top of hill climbs or getting stuck in deep snow, those tires aren’t spinning. I'm thinking it doesn't have the power to spin them like a 4 wheel drive. I don't know though. Am I expecting too much from it? It seems to go well in the snow on the pavement. When I punch it, the back tires spin and I start moving like the front tires are pulling but they’re not spitting snow.

LiftedAWDAstro
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Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by LiftedAWDAstro »

Does the tire only spin part of a revolution and then stop? Does the front drive shaft spin freely? This is all troubleshooting with the rear tires on the ground.

The 4.3 has more than enough power to spin the front and rear tires especially on snow.

When you get on a hill and get stuck, roll your window down and look at the front tire. Give it gas and slowly turn the steering wheel. You should be able to get the driver side tire to spin. If you have a helper look at the front drive shaft carefully you should see it spin.

Where are you located?
Current rides:
2013 Toyota Tundra DC 4x4
2008 Dodge Nitro 4x4
2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8S Special Edition

Mileage spreadsheet

Vans owned:
1986 Safari 2.5L 4 speed manual - scrapped
1995 Astro 2WD conversion 4.11 posi, shift kit, DHC rock rails - sold to Skippy
1998 Astro 4x4 D44, D60, NP231, full hydraulic system with 9k# Milemarker winch and snow plow - sold to Lockdoc
2003 Astro AWD all stock - traded for a 3/4 ton truck
2005 AWD, 4.10's - sold to skippy

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Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by rlsllc »

Here's how I tested my 1994, which is the same set-up as yours. On loose gravel, I held the brake and pressed the gas, and the rears began to spin and then quickly slowed as the transfercase pulled in the front end and the van began to move as the engine overcame the brakes. If you continue to hold the brakes, the rears will slip again and the whole process will repeat.

Prolly not a good idea to make a practice of doing this, but it lets you know real quick if the transfer is good or not.

I tried it on the '99, and it wouldn't even get 1/2 a turn of a rear wheel before the van moved, but it also has a G80.
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unrreal
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Re: What should my AWD be doing?

Post by unrreal »

i have a 99 awd and in mine i got the lsd in the back it drives really good on the snow the difference on the 99 is that the system will only kick in when the rear tires loose traction.. and then it distributes the power 60/40, 60% rear and 40% front.
99 astro awd ls package, 3" bodylift, alarm system w/remote start, tinted windows, tranny cooler, modded air intake, bigger power steering cooler, hood struts, westin pushbar, hypertech tuned running on 91 octane, Hypertech 160* thermostat, 1 ton calipers and pads (not much of a difference as i expected)30" tall tires 245-65-17 on jeep wheels
here is a link to my pics: http://s795.photobucket.com/home/unrreal/allalbums
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