One Wheel Spins

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Hello,



I have a '96 Suzuki Sidekick sport that has already been through a lot in its life. It is now sitting in an icy, uneven parking space and won’t budge. One rear wheel spins but the others don’t move. Putting it into 4wd doesn’t help. Will pushing it onto flat, dry ground (maybe in July?) make a difference or has it finally kicked the bucket?



Thanks

2

I had a Suzuki Sidekick with auto hubs…so my answer is not necessarily. Have the hubs serviced first before it still doesn’t work, then you may make the statement.

3

Without limited slip and primitive 4wd(you likely have) basically only one wheel should spin per axle. I have a feeling putting into 4wd you need to budge a bit to lock hubs. Even with car finally in 4wd, one wheel will spin on front and one on rear.

4

Have the hubs serviced first before it still doesn’t work, then you may make the statement.

…yeah …and until you pony up …keep quiet about this. You may not make a statement. LOL!!

5

It has manual hubs.

6

Is there anyway you can jack up the front wheels with car in neutral, spin the wheels to see if it spins the front differential. That could eliminate the hub question.
Will pushing it onto flat, dry ground (maybe in July?) make a difference or has it finally kicked the bucket? I agree with “andrew j” and would also be good to do now instead of waiting if possible.

7

I had an old pickup truck once ('79 Toyota) and one winter while on ice one of the drive wheels would spin and the other site there. I went nowhere.

As it turned out, I had a dragging brake shoe. I offer this as a suggestion. A dragging shoe can cause this. Perhaps jacking up the corners of the vehicle and trying to spin each wheel by hand will find the cause you seek.

8

Then I’d suggest you may have blown one. Easy enough to figure out. Carefully see if one of your half shafts is turning while the rear tire is spinning. The one spinning has the blown hub. Note I said “Carefully” :smiley: Chock the front wheels and be prepared …have someone you trust behind the wheel (spouse, if so equipped, is NOT recommended unless relations are in good standing).