Xterra 4 wheel not working

[nw trout]

Greetings. I'm hoping some could provide some insight on a distrubing problem with my 03 Xtrerra.

Snow blanked the Seattle area last night, making the roads slick as... and while venturing out I was disturbed to find my Xterra fish-tailing like the '73 Olds Cutluss I had way back in the day - this even though I thought I had engaged the 4 wheel drive, the green light was on.

I tried various things to get it to engage - shifting at recommended speeds, disengaging, backing up, etc. Nothing seemed to work. Any suggestions?

One concern I have is the shocks were recently replaced and tires rotated. Any chance the shop could have missed/messed with something in the reassemble that wouldn't be evident until I tried to use 4-wheel?

Thanks-Johnaka NW Trout

[hsckris]

1) You can fishtail in 4wd.

2) Replacing shocks and tires shouldn't affect your 4wd system.

3) Only way I really know to test if 4wd is working (besides looking, which is scary and dangerous and not recommended) is to put it in 4wd (not on dry pavement) and crank the wheel all the way to the lock. Then try to go and you should be able to feel if the front wheels are engaged b/c the wheel is turned all the way to one direction.

[Desert Rat]

The nice thing about pre-2005 modes is that they have a real Tcase shifter with positive engagement.

As long as your auto hubs are locking as they should, you're in 4wd if you shift it there.

You don't have manual hubs, do you?

[hsckris]

The nice thing about pre-2005 modes is that they have a real Tcase shifter with positive engagement.

As long as your auto hubs are locking as they should, you're in 4wd if you shift it there.

You don't have manual hubs, do you?

yeah -- i forgot about that. my 06 has the e-switch.