cold weather and 4wd issues

When was the last time the fluid was changed in the front diff'?

outdoor freak said:

well here in michigan we got a cold snap this week .Neg 20 wind chills and snow .Well today i went out and the 4x4 wouldnt work it did this the other day until it warmed up im guessing and worked great all day hauling firewood .Just went out and tried it again and no 4x4 again .any insight would help . Its a 2009 700 hd ranger

Click to expand...

I have no idea what might be occurring with the unit, but I do know for a fact that on my compact tractor when living in Northern Indiana one winter the fluid when drained from the front axle was milky, moisture (was new and never under water) and I assume it was simply temperature related (condensation), nice garage, worked it hard and had to occasionally leave at a neighbors outside to assist on some days. Perhaps you do have moisture via condensation, freezing up and preventing it from working, don't know but interested in knowing the condition of that fluid, good luck.

alloutdoors said:

.....Perhaps you do have moisture via condensation, freezing up and preventing it from working, ........

Click to expand...

Exactly. Thus my question about the fluid change history.

I changed my fluid in the front. Works fine now.

I have some play in the front diff input shaft. Looks like I need new bearings. Do the 500,700 ,800 ,6x6 and crew use the same front differential.

I think the lowest I've had my Ranger was 6° F. It started OK and the 4x4 worked OK. This was on the OEM fluids I believe. I've since switched them all to AMSoil but haven't run it in conditions that cold.

some play is not uncommon when you're talking about the input shaft into the front diff. All 3 of my rangers have "noticable" play To date, None of the rangers I've ever owned have ruined a front diff. And we get down to about -30f here at times, and the rangers are used every day with no differences in the AWD operation.

If you had water in the front diff, and you changed it, I'd run it a bit and change it again to make sure you got it all flushed out. An ok substitute for thefront diff oil is regular ATF (dexron)

I wouldn't pull the front diff apart unless you're starting to lose fluid out of the input shaft seal of the front diff. then you KNOW you have something starting to go wrong.

Yeah I'm losing fluid out of my input shaft seal

If you can change the seal without pulling the front diff, I would do that. As far as a good cold weather oil John Deere LowVis Hy-Guard is the way to go, its good down to -40 degrees.

I've plowed with mine in 30 below temps and no issues at all with Polaris oil