Hello all, I've been reading this board for a week now but just registered. I have had my H3 since Oct. 2005 and haven't had problems until about 10 days ago. My vehicle has 48000 miles on it.

Basically, I had put the H3 in 4 wheel Hi lock and when I switched it back to normal the light on the dashboard shows that it has switched. However, when I turn the wheels to the right or left they give a lot of resistance. I took it to a dealership two days ago. They told me the transfer case fluid was extremely dirty and drained and refilled it. They claim it is fixed but the binding is still there although not as bad.

Now I read on this board 3 main causes: plastic fork, transfer case, and actuator. What confuses me though is that it switches from Hi to Low just fine and I can hear it engage and disengage but all I hear when trying to put it back in normal is a small faint click half the time. I've tried backing up in straight lines, circles, etc...

Has anyone else had this problem? I don't want to throw money blindly at this problem. An hour of service to diagnose it and then the transfer case fluid cost me $170.

 

I had the same exact problem. I even had my dealer change the plastic shift fork out to the new aluminum one under warranty, still no luck. Then they started looking at the steering. They said that the power steering fluid was extremely dirty and needed to be changed. Still not better. Then they said that it might be the steering rack. They changed that and voila...all better. Check your steering rack. Mine had no leaks, no noises, no indication of malfunctioning. Good luck

 

@wvuengr12
I know it's been a year but curious how you made out with the problem you described as I've had the binding while turning issue on and off for years without a diagnosis. I'm reviewing some comments before tackling it and curious regarding 08xcab's solution involving the steering rack.

 

Mine was wheel hub

 

Same problem here. Ended up being the transfer case.

 

After a full week in two different shops, one being a dealer and the other a speciality place in town, no one was able to figure out what it was. They eliminated plastic fork, transfer case, any type of fluids, and steering rack. They wanted it another week to start taking it more apart. So...I traded it in and got a 4-Runner. The toyota dealership was convinced they would be able to fix it and I got $16000 tradein on it. It was 5 years old so I was happy with the tradein amount.

 

Hello from Spain. Sorry for my english, but i have an 2006 hummer h3, and if you read your owner's manual, you will see that when you switched 4 Wheel High Lock, and then you switched back to normal, it's needed 7 metres to disengage. This happen to me and i fixed. I hope that help you, again sorry for my english.

 

Guerrero~you fixed what my friend, explain what you fixed, I don't have the issue when switching out of any 4WD settings or after any "7 metres disingage."
People have said it's a steering rack problem, a wheel hub problem, and the infamous broken plastic fork lift in the transfer case. Yes I've read that if the fork breaks while in a locked position the motor turns the shifter cam back to normal 4W so you might not have a clue it remains in 4W lock where it was broken. Not sure about that but...
The point is I've driven for years with this on and off binding problem not knowing if it's just normal or not, I wouldn't think it's normal to feel your H3 has the emergency brake on at times when making a slow sharp turn even if it goes away and even if it's a fulltime 4WD. And over the years though I'm not an off road enthusiast I've tested switching into and back from the locked 4W high and low with seemingly no problems but still this binding issue continues like today when I turned out of the gas station.

 

Yes, I tried that about a hundred different times with no luck. I also was told putting it in reverse and going around in circles could disengage it but no luck.

 

Just for the record, my steering was binding when turning the steering wheel to the right sharply. It was due to it being in 4hi locked even though the dash said 4 hi.