[sctrep]

ok i saw a guys post here for tjis problem and i have the same one. exactly the same thing. here is his post

"I searched the forum and the internet quite a bit to find someone that had similar problems but came up empty. It is a 1988 Range Rover with the LT230 transfer case just to be clear.

Basically the four-wheel drive isn't working correctly. If I drive it without the diff lock engaged (lower right position) it will drive for a little while and then suddenly the engine will rev up and there will be no power to the wheels. Like it slipped out of gear or something. It does that in both the low and hi range positions in (the normal un-locked diff).It won't go back into gear after putting it into neutral either, you just hear the transfer case spin.

If I engage the diff-lock (left-position) it will drive fine, but the front wheels aren't spinning. It won't pop out of gear like the normal position, but the front wheels don't seem to have any power. I tested it out in snow and on a gravel road after getting it stuck.

Here is other things I noticed:
Normal Postion ( un-locked diff) Front drive shaft is spinning, rear doesn't seem to be spinning after it "pops out of gear."
Locked Postion Front driveshaft spins, rear driveshaft spins, no power to front wheels.

I wouldn't be surprised if the previous owner drove it for with the diff-lock engaged."

Has anyone else had this happen? no idea where to start.

any ideas i really need help. ive got 2.5 ft of snow and cand pull from my drive.

 

[Danny]

If I drive it without the diff lock engaged (lower right position) it will drive for a little while and then suddenly the engine will rev up and there will be no power to the wheels.

What's a 'little while'? A foot or a mile?

It won't go back into gear after putting it into neutral either

Which won't, the gearbox or the transfer box? Is is a manual or auto box?

 

[sctrep]

if i select diff lock , put the transmission in drive so it wants to move forward, and without letting off the brake shift the transmission to N,and then shift the transfer selector to normal high and then the transmission to Drive , it will continue to drive in normal high as long as it has a drive line load "giving it gas" as soon as i let off the accel pedal the wheels stop pulling. like its in neutral but the driveshaft still spins .the wheels wont propel the RR untill i shift to diff lock

its an auto trans.

 

[Danny]

Ok, well I'm going to suggest it's a problem in the front axle. I'm guessing that when you are doing all that with the transfer case and transmission, the centre diff isn't actually unlocking because you are keeping it under a bit of torque, until the point at which you lift off the power, and the lock disengages itself.

Once the diff is unlocked, any breakage in the drivetrain will result in no drive. My suggestion is to remove the propshafts, one at a time, and see if it will move. You will have to keep the centre diff locked. If your symptoms are exactly as per the text , ie no apparent drive to the front, I'd expect it to move with only the rear prop in place, and not to move with only the front in place.

If so, you will be able to drive fine if you leave the front propshaft off, and keep the diff locked, albeit with only 2 wheel drive.

Once you confirm which end has the problem, you'll need to see what's happening inside the axle.

 

[eaglefunk98]

I was the one to originally post this problem. Unfortunately, there is a foot of snow burring my car and I don't have a garage to work in so I haven't been able to find the problem in the front axle. I am guessing that I have at least one blown CV. What I don't understand though is that all 4 wheels were working when the diff=lock was engaged because the car had weird handling associated with 4 wheels moving at the same speed. Now it only works in 2wd none of the front wheels are spinning at all. Before and now the car only drives for about 100 yards in un-locked and then the motor revs and no power goes to any wheel, the front driveshaft spins but no forward movement. The 'jumping' out of gear is referring to the transfer-case not the transmission.

 

[sctrep]

I am just learning about the rover so i dont know tech. names so i'll do my best at explaining. ok so i took a look inside the front diff and everything turns. i also took off the wheels and peeked inside at the axles . i could see it turn on both sides. inside the "wheel hub" you can see the end of the axle mated into splines. im thinking that what i see is the cv joint. if so on one side it turns and the other it doesnt. but i still only have the rear wheels spinning when jacked up. sorry if this doesnt make sense

 

[Danny]

Yup, sounds like you need a new CV joint.

 

[sctrep]

ok thnx i thought so. also the rover will only drive with the diff lock engaged. when its in "normal" high only the front shaft turns. and if im on a hill and let off the brake it will roll even when its in drive . any ideas

 

[Danny]

It's all because of the CV joint. When the centre diff isn't locked, if any one wheel starts to spin then all the drive goes to that one wheel - that's the reason for having diff locks in the first place. Your broken CV acts as a spinning wheel (albeit the drive never gets as far as the actual wheel), so all the drive goes to that corner and only the front driveshaft turns.

If you remove the front shaft and lock the transfer box, you can drive normally as a rear-wheel-drive car, notwithstanding the potential for more damage as the CV disintegrates due to the front wheels turning as you move along. And the potential long-term issues of putting all the drive through the rear axle and the potential for increased wear in the back end.

 

[sctrep]

ok . thnx