ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Suzuki 4x4 Forum => Topic started by: hegemon on December 19, 2008, 08:06:24 PM
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Just my luck, CT was calling for 8-14" of snow today. I purposely took the tracker into the office (about an hour away) so I could have some fun in the snow on the way home. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the hubs to lock, so I had to take the "major roadway" home with the rest of the 2 wheelers - took about 4 hours to get home.
Most of the route is pretty flat, at least until I get to my neighborhood, where there's a long hill. I cruised up about half way, then got stuck behind a group of cars slipping and sliding, granted I lost momentum, and joined the pack of pathetics.
After a few minutes of driving up the hill sideways, the hubs clicked in and zoom zoom, about 5 minutes and I was home, needless to say, I went back out. But I guess it's time to service the hubs.
Any typical causes for the hubs not to lock in? They turned freely, and the transfer case was working fine, I was able to shift into FWH, and FWL, just couldn't engage the front wheels.
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The grease inside is probably all gummed up, you may need to open the hubs up, clean all the old stuff up and regrease it. When you turn the switch to lock a spring pushes a sleeve onto she axle locking the splines, if it gummed up the spring won't have the tension to push the sleeve onto the splines. Thats why after driving for a while they popped in, brakes probably heated them up just enough.
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hey hegemon where in CT are you from ... I'm from CT and I thought I was like the only one on here
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I've been wanting to take my tracker out and play in the 8"-12" inchs of snow we got here in michigan but I have just been to busy but we did go out luxury cruising(errand running :laugh:) in the big pig trailblazer.
Today is the first day of my 16 day christmas vacation.YIPEE
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I always used to spin donuts in 4wd at the ski resorts (after everyone has left of course). I also have been on some streets that were so steep that the tracker would begin to spin all 4 tires in 4wd, making for a four wheel drift up the snow covered road, and with the engine at 5000 rpm, all the people that lived on the road would come out and give me dirty looks :P. They were probably just jealous that a cheap suzuki could go up something their lexus suv couldn't :laugh:
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i live in michigan and i would not trade my tracker for anything it took on the 12" of snow and kept on smiling and wanted more.
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Yeah, I'll tell ya in 2 wheel, it was brutal, but once 4 wheels finally kicked in, it was truly unstoppable. Amazing machines.
Hey s27warner, yeah I thought I was the only nutmeger here as well. I'm in western ct, specifically New Milford.
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yeah I live up in the northwest corner... New Hartford .... The back roads out here got pretty messed up... I live up in some hills ... And the tracker climbed up my road covered in snow bettervthan my Denali.... I think lack of power probably helps a lot
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... I thought I was the only nutmeger here as well. I'm in western ct, ... New Milford.
... I live up in the northwest corner... New Hartford ....
I'm from West Hartford/Winsdor. We'd drive through New Hartford to visit my cousin in Winsted. But I'm now living in LALA land.
My front wheel drive quit while climbing up Goler Wash on the way to see Charlie Manson's last hideout in Death Valley this last week. I barely made it up the steep waterfall near the entrance in 2WD before figuring out what the problem was. I guess it's time to service the hubs here as well. It's good to know that I'm not the only one with this problem. Geez guys, you're (almost) making me miss the snow, and the cold, and the slush, and shoveling and ....
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The snow is fine but the temps dropped down to 0F with a wind of 20-25mph so it is brutally cold out there right now.
Our trailblazer with the factory tires handles this stuff with no problem but it is not anywhere near as much fun as the tracker.
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www.acksfaq.com (http://www.acksfaq.com) is your friend. It came up with: http://www.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=399668 (http://www.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=399668)
My advice: when it comes to the lube, less is more. It's function has more to do with rust-prevention than lubrication. Since you're in the cold, spray it down with the lightest grease you can find, or a good "clingy" oil that will stay where you put it. I clean the bits up, lube them up, then wipe them off to leave just a thin layer of lithium grease. My first Sami rebuild took me about an hour - next one took 30 min, and the Tracker I had done in about 20 min.
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yeah i had the same problem...i just got done taking the hubs off and cleaning some grease out of it..it was gunked up way bad and the spring wouldnt push it in far enough cuz of the gunk...but now works awesome!
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[url=http://www.acksfaq.com]www.acksfaq.com[/url] ([url]http://www.acksfaq.com[/url]) is your friend. It came up with: [url]http://www.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=399668[/url] ([url]http://www.off-road.com/offroad/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=399668[/url])
Do a search for hub at Ack's FAQ to find several rebuild documents/articles.
My advice: when it comes to the lube, less is more. It's function has more to do with rust-prevention than lubrication. Since you're in the cold, spray it down with the lightest grease you can find, or a good "clingy" oil that will stay where you put it. I clean the bits up, lube them up, then wipe them off to leave just a thin layer of lithium grease. My first Sami rebuild took me about an hour - next one took 30 min, and the Tracker I had done in about 20 min.
What Jerimiah sez! Less lubricant is better and make it something like lithium grease! If you offroad a lot - especially in water situations - you need to check and clean the locking hubs more often.
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So I pulled the front plate off of the locking hubs, they were a solid clay like mass of rust. So I removed them to do a rebuild.
Well, I broke one of the bolts off, so I drilled it out, and started to retap it, then (of course) I broke the tap off inside the wheel hub.
Any tips or tricks for for removing the tap? Standard drill bit wasn't able to do it. I was thinking maybe a dremel with a carbide/diamond tip.
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i believe there is a special tool out there. ny step father is a machinist and i went to school for it, we may have the tool. if not im sure he knows some way to do it. also i too live in new milford, up in gaylordsville but still new milford. so if we have a tool for it or he knows someway to do it without one ill let you know.
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Hey your in New Milford, no kidding. Have you found anywhere to wheel out there yet. I'm just starting to get the tracker going, but during the summer I see a bunch of the rigs out in the D&D by the Big Y covered in Mud, they've got to be going somewhere.
As for the tool, are you referring to an EDM? Figured only a machine shop would have access to one. But yeah, let me know, even if I need take it apart and bring it by the shop that would be great. Thanks!
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yeah i got the burgundy lsi that was sittin at J&J auto at the corner of railroad street and bridge street. bought it a few weeks ago. as far as places to wheel and the people youve seen lol, there most likely people i know. we often go muddin behind walmart in the sand pits, they dont bother us much back there. the entrance is right across the street from party depot. we used to go to the quarry on route 7 towards gaylordsville, till some one bought it and gated it. theres the powerlines in gaylordsville, but its not uncommmon to get busted there. ive heard of a place in sherman/new milford where there supposedly a bunch of trails that are pretty good. pretty much we just go wherever we see a decent area that is away from where we will get caught. theres also nepaug state forest in canton ive heard mixed reviews about.
as far as your broken thread goes the best way to remove it would be to bring it to a shop and have put it on a miller and run a carbide drill or end mill through it. the shop he works at isnt a place to bring it though, but we have a mill and a lathe in our basement and says that he can do it if youed like.
by the way if you ever seen a really loud 80s brownish cutlass around that was my old ride, this whole 80hp thing in the tracker is taking some geting used to,but im likin it.