Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Ive had a noise in the right front of my Rocky for a couple of months now. It sounds like the radiator fan hitting the shroud, but with gobs of room between em, and no obvious marks on either, this was discounted. This was the opinion of others, fan and shroud. The noise was only noticable going down hills, and under sharp braking. Also, reversing up hills produced it.
I pulled my finger out and did a bit of investigating. I discovered the noise was only present when either the hubs were locked, or 4H or 4L were selected. Of course, this meant something in the front axle. With a front locker in, it complicated the matter further, as it could have been anywhere in the axle. Ideas ranged from stripped splines in hubs, to CV, to stuffed locker.
This morning I finally got a chance to have a real look, and started by removing the right hand free wheeling hub. All looked ok, and taking it for a short drive in 4L still made the noise under hard braking. So, I started pulling the RH swivel axle housing apart. Climbing under to undo bolts, I noticed a cracked splash plate on the right hand side of the motor. I gave it a hit, and it sort of sounded the same. Sliding under further, lo and behold, here on one corner of the plate, is fresh rub marks, where the bloody thing had drooped and was hitting the front uni of the front tailshaft on suspension compression. The plate was out in about 30 secs, thrown bodily onto the ground, and is now flat as a tack from being bashed mercilessly with the biggest damn hammer I could find. I then took great joy in running over it numerous times with the finally reassembled Rocky, and consigning the stooopid thing to the wheelie bin. What a waste of half a day.

easy there man... very interesting though. i'll have to take a look around on mine.. now i'm wondering.. did anyone tear off the plastic guards under their fenders? i took em out on my front fenders (but left engine cover there)... jus curious.

PV the thing to remember, of course, is my Rocky isnt the same as your Rocky. Here in OZ, read Feroza when you say Rocky. Our Rockys were not released in the US as far as I know.

SimplyPV wrote::rofl: easy there man... very interesting though. i'll have to take a look around on mine.. now i'm wondering.. did anyone tear off the plastic guards under their fenders? i took em out on my front fenders (but left engine cover there)... jus curious.

I'm not surprised your fender plastic guards have 'fallen' off after jumping your Rocky 20' Mine fell out when I broke my fender flares !!

Are you talking about the cover under the front diff ?? If so, the I can tell you that mine 'fell' off on a track....reversing in some mud....the mud got too much and ......ripped the thing off !! Haven't had one on for a couple of years now

I've actually still got all my covers on there! Too much mud round here for my liking

I learnt long ago to just ignore funny noises...a good offroad session will either replace them with something else or clear em up!!!

Ferwoaza wrote:Too much mud round here for my liking

You should try driving around Melbourne !!

Ya don't know what 'too much mud is' !!

Not enuf mud round here for my likeing, unless ya like saltwater flats.

Hitting it with a hammer seems like a perfectily sane reaction taking into account the frustration you must have felt at the time.

Its Nice to see more ppl from the USA taking interest in the boards. I was beginning to think I was One of the Only Rocky Owners Left in the US. "Now when I start cussing because I cant find a part or a mechanic to help with a problem I at least know.......Someone out there is at least sharing in my self inflicted misery"

And About Mud........I live in Louisiana no Mountians, No real Hills, No rocks, Mud is all i have.......lots and lots of mud

no i'm not talkin about the bash plates.. i'm talkin about the plastic guards that r spose to keep water from slashin into ur engine (like it works). an no they didnt fall off, in fact, they were a pain the ass to rip off. after i took 2 20' long jumps, some of the bolts holding the plastic guard to the fenders broke loose an was rubbin against the tire an gettin caught every time i backed up. what a pain... gone now though as for me.. i cant seem to find enough mud around here too many "private" properties but no ones wiling to share. it sucks.