[rumrunner]

I had a similar but not exact same occurrence. Yeah 2wd kinda stinks. haven't tried mine again like you did. have you tried just plain "Auto" mode? personally I like "Snow" mode on the beach (I only have ADI)

side note - would love to have you add to this thread sometime! I've heard Assateague has extensive trails & is gorgeous
see post #41 where I lost my 4WD

Beach Trips

anyone getting their Cherokee out on the beaches? would love to hear & see about it! this is from a cpl months ago I was out for a short drive, a cpl days ago. looking forward to more trips, as the protected birds get through their nesting & fledging in July figured I'd start this thread...

www.jeepcherokeeclub.com

 

[rumrunner]

@sanghill



I used to dabble w/ salt water in my 4Runners, but wound up replacing too many seized brake calipers. not sure it was was the salt, but better safe than sorry. now I'm diligent about staying above the high water line despite what TomTom thinks

& getting a car wash after every beach trip & paying for, or using the self serve, to do the undercarriage

and then there's the vacuuming ...

 

[rumrunner]

My new nickname for you is "The Sandman"...LOL!!! Which one do you like better, "The Sandman" or "Beachcomber"???😁😉😎

night fishing trail just opened, just got my recreational saltwater fishing permit, $0.00 fee for over 60, $1.75 convenience fee

hehe nice, either / or or maybe "Old Salt"?

regardless, better not loose 4WD at night, w/ an incoming tide. oh darn, where's my tide chart?

gee the OP isn't getting much help here

 

[rumrunner]

I guess the OP found better answers elsewhere. got DING! early on my beach drive yesterday but completed the trip in 2WD just fine

I let Son's Girlfriend drive. we're on the back dune trails, we're in Auto mode & she's doing fine & I open my mouth to tell her we might use another mode & told here what the mode dial does & then DING! 4WD temporarily unavailable

tried a few things, nothing brought it back. after beach & airing up there was no msg. even tried snow & sport modes, on pavement no msgs. back home the day after, went to a local dirt road, tried all modes, no msgs. annoying. this car has the original 2014 battery (I think) so that might be worth a random try ...

 

[rumrunner]

took some random photos in the general vicinity of the rear end. nothing really looks shiny & new & there may be signs of oil like liquid. might be worth having a mech look into it

wonder iff these wiring connectors ever get wonky, casing a erroneous error msg. is that black thing the "actuator"?

 

[rumrunner]

This Post should help: Rear axle weep

Thank you. What do you use? I little pump of some kind? The squeeze bottle it comes in? I’m trying to remember what I used on my old 4Runner diffs. I have some old ramps & Jack stands but wonder if I can do this w/o all that. the 4Runners had lots of working room under. this sport is a tight squeeze for old man Sam here

 

[rumrunner]

It probably wouldn't hurt to top off the fluid level in the RDM. I think that‘s what's going on, the RDM is overheating, and it's going into "protection mode". Driving on sand is definitely the most common terrain that could cause this. I don't think it's PTU related. You can do this fairly easily yourself, just make sure that you use the proper oil. I personally would stick with the factory Mopar stuff. @sanghill and @Gary Kline have posted simple instructions on other threads. Maybe they'll chime in with some help...😎

thank you. found this thread with a little info on just that

AD1 RDM fluid change write up

Hello everyone, My 2014 V6 AD1 Cherokee is about to hit 100k miles. So decided it would be a good time to change out some of the fluids. Mainly the RDM (rear drive module) and the PTU (that write up will be added later) After visiting 3 dealers in metro Atlanta because they do not bother to keep...

www.jeepcherokeeclub.com

 

[rumrunner]

OK sounds doable. thank you guys

I'll look at the RDM from the front tomorrow, I think, & see if I can locate the 3/8" fill plug, on the right, passenger side

maybe swing by the local auto parts stores & see what they have on the shelf for pumps, but we do have a harbor freight near us. @Gary Kline I'm guessing that pump can also be used to pull some out of the RDM, to take a peak at it's condition, or maybe just stick a finger in the fill hole & wipe it in on a card, for color, etc

there's a dealership near my office where I can ask about the oil

maybe before buying anything, I should see if I can even turn the drain plug

& I'll look at that exhaust pipe & think about wrapping it ...

gotta get this done before the nite fishing trail reopens!

 

[rumrunner]

got back under the KL, from the passenger side in front of the rear wheel. that's not how to access it. went back to the rear of the vehicle & had access, tho not great. suspension arm(?) makes a good resting place for a flashlight

tried a 3/8 breaker bar. had room for another 4" of pipe but didn't have one handy. can't quite get the nub all the way in altho, the hole doesn't look particularly deep. tried another hand pushing the ball in w/ a flat head screwdriver but couldn't really get the 3/8 square into the square hole any deeper. gave it a shot a cpl times. trying not to break any expensive dental work, hehe. no luck

blasted it w/ PB Blaster & will let it sit overnight. maybe blast it again in the morning. I'm not laying bets on my chances in my driveway & thinking my local mechanic will be called

feeling a little annoyed that at 39, 414 miles I need to do this, when my last Cherokee went 204K w/o the need. grrr

is there a 3/8" tool that doesn't have that little ball?

 

[rumrunner]

@Mark_ ok thank you, I won't kill myself then. don't have one of those anyway. might give her another try tomorrow anyway, but won't kick myself if I can't get it off

 

[rumrunner]

I bet my handy dandy Dewalt Atomic 20V 3/8 impact would have it off in about one second...😉😎

thank you

what would you use as a bit? something like this?

3/8"DR. Drain Plug Bit (Female Square)

Tien-I manufacture and supply Drain Plug Bits, Automotive Repair tools.

www.tien-i.com

3/8"DR. Drain Plug Bit (Female Square)

 

[rumrunner]

• Hmmm, strange position. I've always seen the plugs on the aft-facing section of the housing, not the side as it looks like in your photo. I assume you have AD1? Maybe that's an AD1 thing? Anyone else out there with an AD1 that can confirm the fill plug is on the side like that?
• As to the question about the Harbor Freight pump, yes, you can use it to take the existing fluid out and then pump new fluid in.

First photo below is the oil gear oil pumped out.
Next two photos are the RDM filled with fresh 70W-80 Mopar oil.

yes, AD1
thank you, I saw those cool photos inside the RDM in another thread!
I did not see anything remotely resembling a fill plug when looking at it from the front of the vehicle

 

[rumrunner]

Oops sorry, didn't notice in post above it's been PB'd already

yup twice yesterday
tried this morning, no luck
blasted it again after coffee
before I whale on it, I want to use the best bit or tool I can figure, w/o an impact wrench which I don't have. hoping for a diff. angle w/ a length of pipe

 

[rumrunner]

@Gary Kline or should I be be working on this?

 

[rumrunner]

Hey @rumrunner ,

Can you confirm you don't have a plug in the position shown below? I'm wondering if that side plug you've found is the drain for the clutch pack, not the gear oil.

I'm not familiar with an AD1 unit but that plug is very close to the clutch pack area.

View attachment 225878

oh boy, hmmm, wonder if this is it

 

[rumrunner]

BTW, are you AD1 or 2? AD2 has two holes but both are on the rear face.

AD1

 

[rumrunner]

That looks like it. Look at the car from the rear. After the muffler is the RDM. The plug above is on that face, correct?

found it
will edit w/ pics
I can't work on that. can barely place my breaker bar on it but can't rotate it enough for the head to go in the hole. there's like no room to work on it, the way the exhaust pipe bends around
not only do I have AD1 but I also have the 2.4 so my exhaust may have a different bend

is this the sneaky bugger?

 

[rumrunner]

Hi everyone,There's mentioning of needing bits etc. Assuming you have a standard 3/8" ratchet (or a 1/2" ratchet with 3/8" adapter), you have everything you need, no additional bits are neccesary. The 3/8" square ratchet end fits the RDM plug. Depending on how tight it is (and how long an extension you have - from the photo below mine is 3 or 4"), you may need a swivel but all of this is the 3/8" ratchet size.

thank you. very kind of you to show that. really appreciate that. only wanted a dedicated tip to avoid that ball in the wrench tip & extension tip

 

[rumrunner]

decided to throw a battery at it today

see post #25 here
@Mark_ "4WD temporarily unavailable and power steering assist not available warnings on cold morning starts, for instance"

guess I'm replacing the 2014 battery

cuz I needed a jump start tonight. EDIT: jumping was interesting. 1st we tried connecting directly to the batteries. always worked in the past, but no luck so we detached the cables & reconsidered our plan. wasn't sure if the KL had some trick like it was in safe mode meaning I would I...

www.jeepcherokeeclub.com

the batt that came with this used unit was in question but not failing. a cpl very minor suspicions popped up the last few weeks such as

• clicking a button on the fob & an almost imperceptible delay or lag before actuation in the car, like door locks
• same w/ turning the fob/key to start the car. like as-if the car was thinking, "should I or shouldn't I". but if you didn't live with the car every day, you wouldn't even notice the delay
• did not rule out the fob/key battery (should have). should change that maybe, but now there is no delay, response is instantaneous again

thanks to @Gary Kline I will have to give that plug another look-see. wish I had a pit I could drive over

 

[rumrunner]

thank you @Gary Kline for some encouragement. no luck yet but at least I'm looking at the correct little bugger. pretty decent spot for pressing the tool into the hole, even if it won't budge (yet). pretty sure I exceeded the 26 lbs it's spec'd to be tightened to, while trying to unscrew it

I can add some pipe & maybe put a foot on the left rear wheel

I have sheared off those nubs on ratchets before, so safety glasses & gloves for sure. blasted it w/ PB

no luck this morning but I've got my eye on you

wonder if it makes sense to replace this plug w/ a new one, especially if this is gonna be a regular check up & top off ...