91 sidekick 4wd not working

[REDLINE]

Front hubs are locked in, transfer case in 4H......no 4wd
what should I try next..... hubs no good?

[louthepou]

Hi there, Louis here in Ottawa. Here's my tip.

An easy way to figure out what's wrong is to get the four wheels in the air (a garage lift, or at home with a floor jack, and get four stands, one on each corner); engage the transfer case in 4H or 4L; put the transaxle in first gear; look under the truck. If the drive shaft going from the transfer case to the front differential is turning, then the problem is not the transfer case.

I'd be surprised if the hub locks were the problem; both would have to be defective simultaneously, that's rare. A trouble with the front differential would be another possible place for trouble.

Cheers,

Louis

[tenny]

Hi there;

I am from Vancouver BC. I also have a 91 Sidekick with the same problem that I have just found out this past weekend when I took it out in the bush.

The transfer case and gearing appears to be engaging and operating properly, but it just would not transfer the power to the front wheels. It makes no difference if the manual hubs were locked or in free mode.

I know the previous owner had repacked the front wheel bearings. I am wondering if the hubs were not reassembled back together properly.

I have not had a chance to check into it yet. But Louis suggestion is good to check for the front drive shaft rotation first with the 4wd engaged.

Does anyone have a diagram or web site link of how the front hubs are suppose to be assembled. Any suggestion would be much appreciated. Thanks

Tenny

[louthepou]

Hi there Tenny,

BC... Ah, perfect Sidekick country. Sure beats my Ottawa suburb bush country.

I can't say about the auto-lock hubs, no experience with them. But the manual ones, yes. One advice is to always make a mark when taking a lock off, so you don't have to mess around when putting it back together.

When you forget, though (as it happened to me a few times in the past), trial and error is pretty much the only solution. When doing that, just put the lock in, try to move from "free" to "lock", and if you can't move it all the way, remove the lock, turn it one 6th of a turn and try again. If you can turn all the way to both positions, you pretty much have it right. Bolt the 6 bolts, then turn the wheel with the lock on "free", then on "lock", to feel if the unit works.

I don't have an expoded view of the whole lock, but my advice here is to only remove one of them at a time, and that way you have the other one as reference, just in case...

Cheers,

Louis

[tenny]

Hi Louis;

Thanks for your suggestion, I will give it a try whithin the next few days. Will keep you posted of the result.

I have found the front wheels were not locking the hard way. While we were about 80km into the bush and it started snowing on the second day ended up with about 5" to 6 " of snow. The weather forcast was suppose to be heavy rain, but there was a cold front which turned it into snow I guess. But at least we made it back out with the mighty 2wd Sidekick without any snow chain.

Thanks again Louis

Tenny

[REDLINE]

I put the truck up on stands - all 4 wheels, front drive shaft does turn, so my problem is obviously the manual hubs. Will take them apart - what problems should I look for?

[louthepou]

Hi Redline,

1. Put the transfer case in 2wd mode.

2. Again, with the wheels in the air (just the front can do for this one): If the hub lock (or "Freewheel hub") is in the Lock position, and you turn the wheel, and the driveaxle (behind the wheel, the CV joint) does not rotate, you know for sure the lock isn't doing what it should, linking with the axle.

3. I'd start by removing the wheel, then make a mark on the hub cover and a matching mark on the hub body;

4. Remove the hub cover (6 bolts hold it in place, allen headon my truck; careful not to strip the allen head) (and careful when you tight them back on) (also careful with the gasket);

5. You want to find a unit that still had some grease, and parts move freely. If it's been a while since it was last worked on, it may not look like that. I remove mine once a year, clean it completely, and regrease it before reinstalling. They've been working well since I got the truck five years ago.

6. Once it's reinstalled, always give it a try like in number 2.

I hope that helps. It's a good place to start, and if for some reason that does not solve the problem, at the very least it's very good maintenance

Let us know how the situation evolves,

Louis

[94box]

hello people,

for tenny, not sure if front wheel bearings need to be greased/re-packed as these type of bearings are pressed into the hub and require no maintenance only if they are worn, replacement by pressing out the old ones out of the hub, i have an exploded picture of the hub and bearing assembly if you need it directly from suzuki, mines a 94 sidekick, is the same for a 91, e-mail me if you need it.

for other experiencing hub problems, a good idea is to remove the cover and lightly grease the inside, do not pack them full of grease, and then install the cover bolts and torque to proper value (forgot torque). the allen bolts are horrible, if problems taking it off, use a chisel on the side of the bolt and a light tap of a hammer, saw a mechanic do this to mine and worked like a charm, regards to indexing it, i played around with mine, do not need to index as they will only go in one way, the crucial thing is to make sure the gear is put all the way back (into the cover) when installing the cover, if this sounds confusing, send me an e-mail and i will clarify. the manual hubs are great, i purchased auto locking ones as well from this site from joeaz, haven't installed them yet, anyhow, hope this bit helps. remember to replace the gasket between the cover and the hub, its kind of a funny star shaped type paper gasket (about 12-15 dollars from the dealer in canada) and if you need bolts they are around 3 canadian from the dealer, i have suzuki part numbers for both (unfortunate experience).

94box

[REDLINE]

I pulled the hubs - 1 side was rusted and seized. Took apart and cleaned and regreased. Put it back in and we're back in business. Thanks for the help!

[94box]

Happy 4-wheeling Redline, glad everything worked out for you Hope yours is working to Tenny

94box

[louthepou]

Way to go Redline! Congrats on your first freewheel hub locks maintenance! Enjoy the mud.

Just to add something about those locks...

Went to see a Sidekick for parts last Saturday at a used car lot. Body rusted, but I had hopes for the transfer case.

Turned out one of the locks was jammed locked while the other was jammed "free". So for who knows how long (my guess is many months, hundreds of miles), the left wheel was driving the differential around. with the right wheel free, the gears in the differential went for quite a whirl. So I drove the truck for a test, got it in my garage, serviced the locks, put the truck in 4wd, you should have heard the front diff. complain! Let's just say the oil probably is a iron filing soup.

Put it back in 2wd, got it to the used car dealer, offered my sympathy... I should have charged him for the job!

Louis

[g8r]

same thing happened to our sidekick. if you dont switch the hubs once in a while they seize and 4wd may be lost. We didnt really care but speedy fixed them for less than 200 one time when we went in...

[tenny]

Hi Guys;

Sorry that I have not been posting reply to your messages as I have been away. Great new to hear that Redline's 4WD is working again. I have finally found some time to take a look at my Suki’s 4WD problem as per Louis and 94box‘s suggestion and have isolated it to two completely seized hubs with missing springs inside. I guess the previous owner have done some work to it but did not put it back together properly with all the parts.

Since this is my very first attempt to disassemble a 4WD hubs and I was not sure what part to look for. BTW, the Haynes Sidekick manual sucks as it does not get into the details of it with an exploded diagram. I went to a local wrecker to disassemble one of the hub to find out what was or were missing. I picked up two used hubs from the wrecker, lubed it up and bolted it back together. I NOW have 4WD with my Suki, I am ready for some mud and explore the great outdoor. A BIG THANK YOU to Louis and 94box for your great suggestion and instructions. Your help was very much appreciated.

Now that the 4WD problem is solved. I have been told that Suzuki’s computer have been known to break down in due course and your engine just will not start. Would anyone knows if it would usually act up funny before it dies or it will just quit without warning? Is there a quick fix tip as to what one can do without the need of towing when you are deep in the bush? Thanks again ;D

[louthepou]

Hey Tenny, glad to hear from you! (and thank for the praises... )

You should also gove yourself a tap on the back, you did the work.

Computers have been known to die in a few Sidekicks; mine's still fine, and if it were to die, I would ask for a working unit from a reputable salvage yard (with access to a network and a reputation of honouring the warranties) or get a new one if the rest of the truck was worth it.

There may be a few previous posts talking about this; the only ones I have seen with computer problems needing a swap just decided to stop working all of a sudden, without warning. (i.e. truck refuses to start). But this experience comes from direct observation of only two Sidekicks, so statistically this doesn't mean much...

I don't think its worth stacking spare computers in your closet, but learning about this issue (that is happening, but not everyday in every Sidekick existing) is not a bad idea.

Cheers!

Louis

[94box]

Hi Tenny:

glad to hear that your 4wd is working and congrats on your first hub service, its hard to explain in words but now that you have seen it, it really is a snap have fun four wheeling, and do keep in touch.

BTW I don't know much about the ecm failures, louis knows more about it then i, i do have the procedure to read ecm codes, its also in the haynes manual, however, if you need wiring diagrams, i have them too, but they are for a 94,

94box