Consider the example of one of the most popular all-wheel drive vehicles on the secondary market – Renault Duster.
Based on the Duster, several models have been created: Nissan Terrano, Renault Kaptur and Arkana. At the same time, Duster is unified in many transmission details with the Nissan X-Trail and Qashqai crossovers, as well as Renault Koleos.
And this means that the weaknesses of these models are the same.
Traction
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Duster has this node, in general, reliable. Its resource exceeds 150 thousand km, provided that the car does not leave every weekend for serious off-road.
The release bearing works up to 200 thousand km. Usually it fails due to the fact that the lubricant dries out.
Frequent malfunction – the clutch pedal stops returning. Caused by wear and damage to the connection between the pedal and the clutch master cylinder rod. All parts are plastic, and therefore break prematurely.
On Dusters after restyling, a hydraulic clutch damper appeared. It starts to leak at high mileage. Because of this, the clutch is not fully depressed.
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Mechanical boxes
With a 1.6 engine, a reliable five-speed JR5 gearbox was installed on the monodrive Dusters. Rare failures were associated with insufficient oil in the unit or the fact that the owner neglected to change the oil.
The six-speed gearbox with the TL8 index was intended for all-wheel drive vehicles. The weak points of this unit often manifest themselves when working in conjunction with a two-liter engine. In particular, the front bearing of the secondary shaft wore out faster.
Mechanical gearbox with six steps and a mating plane for an angle gearbox.Mechanical gearbox with six steps and a mating plane for an angle gearbox.
automatic box
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The four-speed automatic DP8 for all-wheel drive models is an upgrade of the old and whimsical DP0 box.
A modification of this box was installed on the Duster, to which the rear wheel drive angular gearbox was docked.
Typical malfunctions of the machine: leaks of the working fluid, leakage of the heat exchanger and rapid wear of the shaft bushings – lead to a drop in fluid pressure in the hydraulic system. And this entails accelerated wear (and even burning) of friction clutches and a decrease in the resource of solenoids.
Drives and bearings
The designers took care of the high strength of the front wheel drives by installing eight-ball external CV joints. Internal hinges (tripods) also have a large margin of safety.
The eight-ball joint is a guarantee of a long service life of the front wheel drive.The eight-ball joint is a guarantee of a long service life of the front wheel drive.
The rear wheel drives, loaded with significant moments only in rare cases, have a more delicate design, but they also have a commendable resource – more than 150 thousand km. But provided that the anthers remain intact and sealed.
But wheel bearings cannot boast of reliability. Sometimes they give up already at 60 thousand km.
True, unlike the related X-Trail and Qashqai models, these Duster bearings are changed separately, and not together with the hub.
Angle gear
A shaft passes through the angular gearbox, transmitting torque to the drive of the right front wheel. The weak links are the seal and the bearing of this shaft.
Therefore, check regularly to see if the stuffing box is leaking. And if there was an unpleasant vibration when the car was moving.
The right wheel drive shaft passes through the bevel gear.The right wheel drive shaft passes through the bevel gear.
cardan shaft
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Often the rear crosspiece fails. Its wear is facilitated by dirt flying from under the front wheels, as well as significant mobility of the rear gearbox.
In addition, a broken and vibrating cross quickly “sentences” the propeller shaft outboard bearing.
Replacing the crosses on your own is difficult, since the needle bearings are fastened in the forks by punching. So, after carrying out such work, balancing the shaft is necessary. You have to go to specialized workshops.
Rear gear
It consists of a hypoid gear with a differential and a drive clutch. Each element has its own oil bath. But an oil change is provided in the hypoid gear and differential. And this operation should not be neglected.
The rear gearbox combines an angular gearbox with a differential and a rear wheel coupling.The rear gearbox combines an angular gearbox with a differential and a rear wheel coupling.
The electromagnetic clutch is a more delicate knot. Firstly, it can be burned if you plant the rear wheels of the car in the mud and start to slip in place. It is especially dangerous if chains or bracelets are worn on the rear wheels.
It is also possible to disable the clutch during prolonged slipping in 2WD mode.
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At the same time, the friction discs of the clutch are not loaded, but a small bearing rotates with frantic speed, standing between the input and output elements of the clutch. Naturally, this negatively affects its durability.
The rear axle clutch lasts the longest if you constantly operate the car in the winter in Auto mode. And in summer, on paved roads, it is better to use 2WD.
How to increase the resource
Duster has few weaknesses in the design of the transmission – count on the fingers. Much more often, malfunctions occur due to careless operation. For example, when this car is driven onto impassable off-road, forgetting that it is (after all!) A crossover.
Or because of annoying maintenance errors – they didn’t change the oil on time or didn’t check its level.
In many ways, therefore, on some machines, the transmission does not require repair for several hundred thousand km. And on others, the first problems appear after a year or two.
5 crossovers with the most reliable machines – more details here. “Behind the wheel” can be viewed on YouTube.
