1993 H1 4wd problems

[Todd_H1]

My 4wd drive hasn''t worked for a couple weeks but I haven''t needed it, but we just got a lot of rain at the ranch and I need 4wd. I checked all the fuses and its plugged in but its not engaging. A while back I got stuck pretty bad and heard a loud pop and it hasn''t worked since. Also since then its constantly says T/C locked in H/L H & L actually now that I think of it, it doesn''t even work in H just H/L or L which that is when the T/C is locked.

What do you guys suggest? Any ideas?

Thanks

[BigKofJustice]

Hmm.

Your truck is full time AWD, so theres no 2 wheel drive option. The 242-AMG transfer case has High, High Lock, Neutral and Low Lock. If your truck doesn't move under High, but only under High Lock and Low Lock, then either its the transfer case, or you have broken a shaft or differential somewhere.

If the t-case is working in HL and LL, and you can drive, you need to isolate the problem.

If you have a broken shaft or diff and you are in High, all the torque is going to be distributed to the broken part, meaning no torque for the working shafts. I'd crawl under the truck and check all the half shafts, half shaft mounting bolts and front and rear shafts.

If none of the shafts are broken, you can jack the front and rear of the truck and do some tests to narrow down the problem. If you have all 4 wheels in the air and have the truck safely supported on jack stands, I'd give it a bit of thottle and see what wheels move and don't move. If your shafts are intact but you're only getting motion in the front or rear axles then you can isolate the problem to the front or rear differential while the t-case in in HL or LL.

If you have motion in all wheels in HL and LL but nothing in H and your shafts are intact, then it's the transfer case. I'd open the fill plug and then the drain plug and drain your fluid and check for metal shavings [I say open the fill plug first because you want to make sure that isn't seized tight before you open the drain plug].

I had my t-case go and it was due to a bad planetary, I had it rebuilt with 40$ worth of parts. Sometimes the shifting fork's nylon pads wear out, and those hold the transfer case in gear. The main gears slide foreward and backward, fully forward the t-case is in High Lock, fully back it's in Low Lock or neutral. The nylon fork pads keep it ridding just shy of high lock, so if your t-case keeps dropping to neutral and won't stay in H then it could be the shift forks.

If you have a busted half shaft, you can get a reman unit for about 250$, 400$ or so for a new AM General unit. Or you an get an army surplus 10K shaft for around 100-150$ off ebay. I'd check rubber duck 4x4, blue hummer or lynch hummer for parts.

If you need a new t-case, drivetrain.com sells reman Hummer 242 [they are different then the Jeep models, make sure its a hummer h1 model] transfercases for 900$ or 1200-1300$ without core swap. It's much cheaper than buying a new one from the OEM for 3000$.

I'm running a drivetrain.com t-case in my 98 right now and its running great, I also picked up the 3 year warranty for an extra 100$ or so.

Let us know what you find out.

Oh wait, does a 93 use a 242 t-case? It's a 3 speed auto right?

[Todd_H1]

Thanks for the post.
I went outside and looked at the truck eariler and I do have a busted halfshaft on the driver front.

I appreciate your help. Now for the fun part.

[BigKofJustice]

Ah it's no sweat then to swap out a shaft. Pickup a reman from southern axle express [sax express], jack and pull the wheel, pull out the stopper on the geared hub, unbolt the shaft from the rotor and pull it out and replace with a new one.

You'll probably want new half shaft bolts and nord locks, you can get those from www.bluehummer.com for a few bucks.

The retaining bolt on the geared hub behind the plug should be torqued to 37 ft /lbs and the half shaft bolts torqued to 57 ft/lbs onto the rotor/output flange of the differential. Service manual calls for Loctite 272 and new Nordlocks for each installation. I can't recall if I ever used Loctite with my shafts but I always used new Nordlock washer.

Once you get used to it, you can swap a shaft in 15-20 minutes.

[Todd_H1]

Thanks for the advice and referal where to buy, I just bought everything you suggested.

Now when it comes in I'll prolly have a few more questions.

Thanks again!

[Todd_H1]

Add a little more to the distruction list. I blew a upper ball joint today. Looks like more fun.

[stjames151]

Just a suggestion here, but I would recommend searching a problem IMMEDIATELY the next time something happens/breaks. A half-shaft can do a TON of damage and the longer you run broken ones, the more likely they are to fully let loose/explode. Trust me, voice of experience here.