Whirring/grinding noise on 2003 Montero

[Badgy]

Hello, new here..
I just picked up a 2003 Montero Limited. It is replacing a 2008 Xterra which my wife is no longer happy with on account of lack of space and amenities found on her previous SUV, a ‘96 4Runner which treated us great over the years. We love the room in the Montero, the huge sunroof and the comfy seats. It also rides and handles very nice compared to the Xterra, but is noticeably less powerful which she’s fine with. At 160k miles I hope it has lots of life left. It was owned by an older gentleman who provided a stack of oil change receipts and other paperwork with it. In the immediate future I plan to change all the fluids and the radiator hoses as they are looking a little weather-checked, as well as get a fresh set of tires under it as the ones on it are 6 years old.

My issue is that we have discovered an occasional noise coming from the front right side (noticed in 2HI.) The noise appeared when slowing down and starting to turn for a corner. Sounds like the front axle is partially disengaged? A whirring clashing noise followed by a clunk. I am still researching exactly how this thing works but understand there are some VSV’s on the inner fender which can be suspect in a case such as this. Information for this vehicle isn’t as easy to come by as many others so I’m hoping someone here would be able to pipe up. Unlike some other instances of noice I’ve read about on the net, the lights on the dash seem to be properly indicating the transfer case shifter selection, but the front wheel lights stay on for longer than I would think they should when shifting from 4HI to 2HI.
I did pull back the boot on the axle actuator and it looks nice and clean and did move when the shifter was moved from 2HI to 4HI. I hope to have some time to dig further into it this week but if anyone has some experience with this issue I’d greatly appreciate some more information. Thanks!



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[nwoods]

Just throwing this out there, but it could be something simple as loose lug nuts. Or perhaps a loose caliper?

 

[Badgy]

Just throwing this out there, but it could be something simple as loose lug nuts. Or perhaps a loose caliper?

I pulled the front wheels off first thing and checked wheel bearings, brakes and lug nuts. Other than the lug nuts being way over tightened nothing was amiss that I could find. I’m certain it’s front driveline related.


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[Michael Brown]

I would check the movement on the free-wheel clutch actuator. Mine had a leaking diaphragm so it was slow to engage. If it is worse on yours, then it may be holding the clutch in an intermediate position.

 

[plh]

sounds like a CV joint

 

[offthepath]

No idea what the fix is, but my 2003 does it too. Generally when slowing down (not sure about a corner). My wife mostly drives the car and said it does it about once every few months. Grinding noise lasts for a few seconds and then stops. I have only heard it once over the past 2 years, but I believe its the same thing you are describing.

Please post up if you get it fixed.

 

[Badgy]

So I pulled this critter out (it’s located down on the right inner fender at the front of the air box.) The vehicle had been sitting several hours and upon disconnecting the hoses I heard air rushing back into the lines, so I assume the vacuum canister at the front axle and associated lines are still holding tight. Unfortunately I also noticed that both radiator hoses were collapsed so I suppose I need a new radiator cap!
I bench tested the vacuum switching valves and found them seeming to work OK. The little white piece at the top of the picture is a check valve, which I found to be sticky and blew a bit of tarry oil out of it with the help of some WD40. I sprayed some WD40 into the VSV’s and cycled them while applying vacuum to them as well. I reinstalled it and took a drive for about 20 minutes on city streets with a lot of turns and starts/stops and zero noise! I will tell the wife to go ahead and run it in 2HI and report back, but I am cautiously optimistic that this issue is fixed.

Couple of tips for this job:
You’ll notice I removed the short pieces of vacuum hose along with the valves - they were stuck on pretty good, and you run the risk of breaking the plastic nipples if you try and disconnect them at the plastic connection while in ackward positions. The flat screwdriver/cap lifter tool on a Swiss Army knife is perfect for sliding down the metal vacuum line to pop the hoses off of the hardliners without damage. I also use some silicone grease on the hose ends upon reinstallation, it makes getting them apart very easy and makes for a better seal.

 

[coffeegoat]

Great fix.

On your collapsed radiator hoses I wouldn't assume you need a new cap just yet. It's very easy to accidentally leave some air in the cooling system which can give you the same symptoms. There are a couple of bleeder screws that might just fix your problem for free, check around on the forum for a post about it.

 

[1morebike]

I'm having this same problem Everytime I drive it. I can make it stop by going into 4hi. It's been driving me nuts. I'll give this shot tomorrow. Thanks for posting the fix

 

[1morebike]

Totally did this fix this morning and the noise hasn't come back. Mine still takes a pretty long time to disengage 4wd but at least the noise is gone. Pretty stoked I thought is was spend big money on a new t-case.

 

[1morebike]

Just a follow-up if anyone else needs help with this. I thought I had the problem fixed but it came back so decided to replace the whole vsv. I used this one Conpus MB620532,MR430381,K5T47776,K5T81794 Vacuum Switch Solenoid Valve For Mitsubishi Pajero 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Mitsubishi Montero Xls Sport 4-Door https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078QY1R67/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_b9gABb0563024

And cleaned my check valve and used some new vacuum hose and hooked it all up. The noise seems to gone. The truck goes into 4wd so much faster now but when I take it out the lights blink for a pretty long time still but at least the grinding noise is gone !

 

[1morebike]

Update: after a few weeks of driving the noise has not returned so think this is a decent fix that takes 20 min. I recommend you take a picture of of the set up before you disconnect everything. The replacement unit I bought did come with the color coded marks so I just used a paint marker to mark one of the plugs . Hope this helps out

 

[jdk1138]

Ah Ha! I had flashing center dif light on long trips and the odd noise on decel and turning, cleaning this and "exercising" the 4WD by shifting into 4hi for a bit then back has taken care of both problems! Thanks!

 

[SampaGuy]

I also had this problem recently so I will add some things I found out:

1. The Montero's "default" state is 4Hi. The solenoid and vacuum are used to hold the drivetrain into 2Hi. If the solenoid valve is bad or starts to leak, the car will try to slip back into it's default mode of 4Hi even though the lever is set to 2Hi. That is the grinding noise you hear. The grinding disappears in 4Hi, so I suggest you drive in 4Hi until you fix the problem.

2. Along with flashing transfer case light and the grinding noise, my check engine light also went on with codes for the engine running lean. This was due to the vaccum leak of the transfer case solenoid valve. Check engine light also went away when I replaced the solenoid.

3. The replacement solenoid valve part for the Montero is mr430381 which goes for $120 or so. You can use instead one for another Mitsubishi vehicle, part number MB937731 which is the same exact part but can be bought on Amazon for $22. I just installed it on my 2004 Limited and can confirm it works.

4. It is possible to have this exact same problem but the vacuum leak is not on the solenoid, but on the hoses or other part of the vacuum system.

3. Here is extensive text on this issue and other transfer case issues: http://4wd.blogeasy.com/