Hello, please forgive me if I've made the wrong decision by creating a new topic. I think there has already been discussion somewhat similar to my problem, but I wanted to kind of clear things up and start a new thread.
It's about a grinding noise, coming from up front, the passenger side (in this case, right hand side!) of the car. The noise is at its loudest when accelerating on 1st or 2nd gear, while turning left. It's not as strong when on 3rd or bigger gear. So, when there's more 'pressure' on the front right tyre, the noise seems to be at its loudest. You can also hear the noise when accelerating and driving straight forward, the noise might be a bit stronger when hitting little bumps on the road while still gaining momentum. The noise is the same, no matter if I'm driving on 2H or 4H!
Also, when climbing up a rather steep hill, the noise is there. There's a place where i like to crawl up a steep hill on 4L, 1st gear. You can hear the noise practically all the way to the top of the hill. The hill is gravel, and you won't get up it on 2wd only, just to give you and idea how steep it is.
Apparently, the hubs do engage and disengage, because I've jacked up one of the front tires, and it would spin freely when on 2H. I started the engine, switched to 4H, and the tire would only spin a few degrees now. Could the problem be about them not working properly anyways?
Also, the 4WD light on the dashboard hasn't been on for quite some time. I remember it flashing randomly maybe months ago.
Where should I try to start and solve the problem? I'm not too familiar with the engine compartment of jimny. Is the vacuum solenoid something I'd want to test and clean, or replace?
The jimny has nearly 156k kilometers on it, it's a 2001 model, 1300 petrol. NOTE: The driveshaft on the front right has been changed, it didn't solve the problem. Just to make sure, I'm talking about the shaft in this pic, the bottom one:
u.4.cf.nengun.com/290394/nengun-290394-0...shaft-83b5488ff7.jpg
I'm willing to try and capture the noise on video if it is any help. Actually I already tried, but the videos didn't save for some reason.
Looking forward to your help!
Edit: Been reading the forum some more, I don't think it's the rear engine mount at the tail of the gearbox, I can't seem to rock the gearbox at all. Well, it does move a few millimeters but it definitely doesn't make the sound.
