EBay car, 4wd doesn’t work

[randomeddy]

We had an ancient CRV, got it to 200k before a bad fail on the MOT test sent it on its way.

The part time 4WD was excellent in snowy conditions.

It started making a strange noise from the rear, a simple fluid change sorted it out.
Still miss that car.

[Smint]

Have read that whatever the system is that works the rear drive it needs its oil changes, unfortunately by the time its due it's in the hands of people who have no interest in paying out for preventative maintanence.

[Caddyshack]

Smint said:

Have read that whatever the system is that works the rear drive it needs its oil changes, unfortunately by the time its due it's in the hands of people who have no interest in paying out for preventative maintanence.

Every 36,000 miles, I think.

[Caddyshack]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Honda sold the CRV in 2WD for a while in the UK

The pic shows rear drive shafts.

[Caddyshack]

TeaVR said:

Caddyshack said:

I think maybe you are over expecting what a crv can do, if the front wheels are spinning and you have rear drive shafts (as per pic) then you have 4wd.

Without locking diffs the unladen wheel will still spin - a Landrover defender it is not.

Road tyres are pretty useless on grass.

We had a friends BMW X5 wheel spinning on a gentle slope in our garden…my Rangie goes up it on tickover and my wife’s Mini Cooper goes up it and that is a 2wd road car.

I will do a google, maybe there is a proper 4wd switch?

I dig what you’re saying. I’ll try and get a proper look underneath later.

If it is working and that easily defeated, it’s ste!

It’s a Haldex type system - there isn’t a switch. My S3 has better bloody traction ??

Interested to hear if anything has been removed.

What tyres are on it. A lot of people walk in to tyre shops and simply ask "what is the cheapest tyre?" Cheap tyres are utter ste and it could be as simple as rubbish tyres that are 10 yrs old.

[TeaVR]

See (slow motion) video. Pretty conclusive prop shaft is in place and turning

https://youtube.com/shorts/DelRt_MXJa0?feature=sha...

[Ice_blue_tvr]

The prop moves and turns an oil pump. The rear wheels also turn a pump, when the pumps turn in sync there is equilibrium in pressure. When the front wheels slip they turn the "front" pump (contained in the rear diff/awd casing) faster which creates pressure to close the clutch.

Great fuel efficient system in theory, but only sends a small percentage of power rearward and requires constant slip from the front wheels for any power to be sent rearward at all.

[ninjag]

The CRV AWD system is more of a road driving aid.

[Mikebentley]

Re tyres my 76 yr old mom has Yokohama Geolander tyres which are a nice compromise on her 2007 CRV.

[Evolved]

The first question should be. Do you ‘need’ 4 wheel drive?. If so, you’ve probably picked one that probably suited to your usage anyway

[TeaVR]

Evolved said:

The first question should be. Do you ‘need’ 4 wheel drive?. If so, you’ve probably picked one that probably suited to your usage anyway

Definitely need 4wd unfortunately

[TeaVR]

ninjag said:

The CRV AWD system is more of a road driving aid.

Is it less capable than VAG Haldex? As far as I can see, my S3 would do better off road than the Honda in its current form!!!

[ninjag]

TeaVR said:

Definitely need 4wd unfortunately

The CRV probably isn't the best for anything more than assisting in poor weather road conditions. What mileage is it on?

[Bobupndown]

Does it spin its front wheels taking off from a junction on tarmac? If haldex is working properly it shouldn't.
I've got a Freelander 2 which works properly and my wife's VW Tiguan which doesn't, its currently a 2motion!

[TeaVR]

Bobupndown said:

Does it spin its front wheels taking off from a junction on tarmac? If haldex is working properly it shouldn't.
I've got a Freelander 2 which works properly and my wife's VW Tiguan which doesn't, its currently a 2motion!

Just spinning the fronts. Tried it on gravel tonight.

I reckon it needs fluids changing

[TeaVR]

ninjag said:

The CRV probably isn't the best for anything more than assisting in poor weather road conditions. What mileage is it on?

180k

[ninjag]

TeaVR said:

ninjag said:

The CRV AWD system is more of a road driving aid.

Is it less capable than VAG Haldex? As far as I can see, my S3 would do better off road than the Honda in its current form!!!

I'm not sure, but similar to you I have an Audi AWD system at the moment and if it weren't for the ride height then yeah it's far better.

I could only do very mild off roading with the 3rd gen. If a wheel on both axles had slippage, such as the left side going into a muddy verge then there would be traction problems because of the open diffs.

The 4th gen I had was worse when it came to AWD, very lightweight system that had crazy overheating protection. It really was just a road driving aid.

The 5th gen I believe was far better. It's strange because the old Legend had their SH-AWD so you'd think they'd have put that in the earlier CRVs.

It could be worth changing the diff fluid first and it's a very fast and easy job on the 3rd gen. It's going back some time now but I think if you do a hard lock whilst reversing and it makes a strange noise then the fluid needs changing.

[ninjag]

TeaVR said:

ninjag said:

The CRV probably isn't the best for anything more than assisting in poor weather road conditions. What mileage is it on?

180k

Definitely should have had at least two rear diff fluid changes by that mileage. If you've not got solid evidence of it being done then I'd change the fluid. Best of luck with it, will be interesting to know what it is.

[sunnyb13]

Our CRV was awful too for any 4wd related activities. A cheap freelancer did a much better job

[Caddyshack]

TeaVR said:

Bobupndown said:

Does it spin its front wheels taking off from a junction on tarmac? If haldex is working properly it shouldn't.
I've got a Freelander 2 which works properly and my wife's VW Tiguan which doesn't, its currently a 2motion!

Just spinning the fronts. Tried it on gravel tonight.

I reckon it needs fluids changing

From what I read the fronts would spin before the rears got powered.