My Jimny got me out through some situations of rain and slush, but it never was in deeper water than 30 cm.
BHPian chsai recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hi all,
I am in a fix; during the last 2 weeks of heavy rains in Hyderabad, my Jimny got me out through some situations of rain and slush, but it never was in deeper water than 30 cm. Post which the 4WD drive light started flashing when the car is idle but goes away when the car is moving, I immediately took it a Nexa service centre near my place, they said due to water splashes right upto intake duct this might be happening but will go away, this was on a Saturday. They were not ready to take it up, requested them to at least wash it. They were busy, so I took it back on Monday to them for wash and insisted they check all fluids, but they were reluctant, but I insisted, so they check the front and rear differentials; the rear differential oil was normal. However, the front differential oil was milky white; the SA said that was normal. I insisted they change that and the engine oil to be on safe side, but they were not ready to and tried to convince me it is absolutely unnecessary, after persisting they just changed the engine oil which they said was unnecessary at 3100km, i asked them to do that atleast, so they just changed the oil and oil filter, i asked them to put synthetic which they didn’t have stock so put regular oil, the 4w light thing they had no clue and told me it will go away once i do a little bit of dry runs, Tuesday i was busy and when i took it out Wednesday morning again the light started coming, so went to them again and asked them diagnose the 4WD light issue and to change the diff oil as i thought water had entered the diff, don’t know how though, they were not keen to look at it and they then directed to me another branch of theirs where they had better Techs, I was not confident of them anymore based on the experience and knowledge level, took it to another service center belonging to the group i took delivery from on the opposite side of town, they immediately checked everything and found the front diff oil to be white, i asked them to change that and the airfilter, surprisingly they don’t have both and not available anywhere in Hyderabad asked me to keep the vehicle at service center till these come after 4-5 days and also to investigate further, which is a surprising response from Maruti Nexa service.
My query to 4WD experts is:
- Did the water get into the diff during these water and slush drives?
- If so, how did it get there? Did any of you guys experience something similar after some slush or water wading?
Or my initial fear that something was wrong in the drive train from the day when I took delivery was that the vehicle had a very high NVH, which I mentioned in my previous posts too that NVH was too high for Japanese vehicle; it was not moving freely and was feeling strained all the time, and I got it checked by at least five tech persons at diff service centres, and they all said it might be because it’s new and it will even out
Was it because they forgot to put oil in the differential at the factory, and the vehicle had been flushing oil throughout? And we discovered it now, as you can see from the picture, that it is not having the consistency of gear oil but is more like water.
Is the 4wd drive light flashing at a standstill due to this, or is it a separate issue?
I appreciate your input. Thanks
Here’s what BHPian Sankar had to say on the matter:
If the oil is milky white definitely water has definitely got into the differential, without doubt. Change the differential oil pronto. Stock Jimny diff oil is 75w85 synthetic light golden yellow, smells good too. Don’t ask how i know.
In the front axle there are two ways water could have seeped in 1) through breather and 2) through vacuum line. Since the 4WD logo is blinking and not lighting solid I suspect there could be a leak in the vacuum circuit. Without positive vacuum feedback light do not get solid, it should light up solid even at stand still with engine on once front hubs are engaged. So get that thoroughly checked for loose/disconnected/torn vacuum tube/fitting. Water could have got in through there. Differential breather is another suspect, check if its stuck open you can do it by hand it should move freely.
Since its under warranty if there is any issue with the transfercase/front differential claim in and change it. With customer Jimnys being used for test drives one cannot expect random guys new to 4WD to use it properly.
Jimnys don’t leave Maruti plant without oil in the tcase, differentials or engine, so you can rule that out.
Keyword: Water enters front differential of my new Jimny; Nexa clueless on cause