4wd not working.

Recently bought a cheap W reg Jimny with Low milage as a spare car for the winter......
But the 4 WD is not working.

Intitially thought the problem was with the Vacuum hubs, replaced the rusty pipes with new cheap flexible pipes. (Was going to buy some manual hubs once i know 4WD is working)

Tested the HUBS, and they are now working...switching between 4wd to 2WD ...took HUBS off to check the collar was moving back and forward correctly. But still i couldnt get 4WD.

To test 4WD...I put the car into 4WD and left car in gear, then jacked up one front wheel, wheel didnt rotate as you would expect. But when i took the other front wheel's HUB off, the jacked wheel could then be rotated. So i think that the front drive is not connected to the rear.

Any suggestions to help narrow what is wrong, already spend a fortune fixing this car up. Hoping its not expensive to fix.

Regards

There is nothing wrong, that is how it is supposed to work.
Disconnecting the opposite hub means the differential inside the axle can rotate.

Thanks Facade.... I'm a complete newbie in how the Jimny works

But after spending lots of time fixing the damn HUBS, I am still unsure if the 4WD is working correctly. Simple tests on Road, switching it on for a few minutes, apart from a slight drop in power, i can feel no difference in driving in 2WD.

I know the HUBS work now.

What is the simplest method in proving 4WD is really working ?

Easiest is to find a grassy muddy or sandy surface and give it some welly, if the front and rear wheels go round faster then the car is moving you have four wheel drive

Jack up one side front and back chock the wheels that are on the ground put in fwd leave in neutral and hand break off rotate the rear wheel and if the front wheel on the same side rotates then all ok. Just dont drive on the road in 4wd.

jo king wrote: Just dont drive on the road in 4wd.

I did this today for climbing a hill that was covered in ice, did I do wrong?