So out of nowhere my wife's Rainier seems to have severe front end problems. No warning, no previous symptoms. You can drive straight but can not turn right or left to any degree without the front end trying to locking up, the front wheels hopping and the groaning sound of an electric motor failing. Guessing it is the differential/AWD. It's got 70,000 miles on it now and it got the fluid changed at the correct interval. She limped it home somehow from a few miles away from where it started but I can't even drive 20 feet with it or make a single turn. Not sure exactly what it is but will need to have it towed in for service. Anybody have any thoughts? It's still under warranty until the end of November but it's like hearding cats to get the dealer to do the work.
Front end locks up if trying to turn
- Thread starter Jkust
- Start date
IllogicTC
Member
- Dec 30, 2013
- 3,452
triz said:
Do exactly this. Take full advantage of the warranty, as this not only saves you from having to dig into it yourself, but can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars, easily.
If it's grabby clutches in the transfer case, it's either a few hundred for the rebuild or up to $1500 for a new one if not covered under warranty (and that's JUST for the part), and the front differential can be several hundred for labor alone if not under warranty because of the way it's packed in there.
Thanks, It's weird that there was just no warning and I even kept up with the service interval on the fluid. The dealer is sending the tow truck to come and get it.
A bad TCCM can cause a good encoder motor to send good transfer case clutches to an incorrect position of full engagement. A dealer with a Tech II should be able to locate the problem in ten minutes.
Initial dealer estimate is $2600. At least the fluid was 'like brand new'. Will see what it ends up as.
Typically, the service writer has three kids in dental school all at the same time. So they look to see who's paying, and how deep their pockets are and adds some knowledge about what he can get away with. A tightwad warranty company is going to get a different recommendation than a GM warranty claim. A well-dressed owner, IME, is going to get a different treatment than somebody they perceive as having shallower pockets. They also know the skills of their techs, and there are plenty of dealers where some techs can't do anything but swap parts at the assembly level. So a rebuild isn't on the menu.IllogicTC said:
If it was me, I'd get a junkyard tcase with under 100K miles, and then rebuild my old one assuming it doesn't fail because it has the weak pre-2005 internal bearing support that caused them to redesign it. Since A4WD and AWD activity is what brakes these supports, it's yet another reason for TBs and Envoys to shun the use of A4WD mode, and for AWD owners to not be engaging the system at full throttle, but to baby it under slippery conditions when they're looking for engagement to happen.