Tranny whine, AWD not always engaged
 

During the snow tonight, it felt like my car was only fwd until almost flooring it. I would spin for a few seconds then awd would "engage". Also when I'm spinning I hear a whine from the front somewhere.

Where are they and how hard are they to replace?

It's either the clutchpack or the duty solenoid sticking/failing. Either way both should be replaced. All are in the transmission extension.

Got a picture and/or part number?

I never said it would but that's one cause of a malfunctioning AWD.

Transfer problem.
 

Gid'ay Brian, As the transfer clutch does engauge,eventually. I'd say the transfer valve is sticking, may not have had to work for a while. I'd give it a while to see if it frees up and fixes itself, as it works. If not it will have to be renewed.

The whine from the front could just be the differential gears, as one wheel may just spin faster that the other. If it is ok when driving normal, thats what it is, so don't worry about it, its normal.

Harvey. ;)

So just keep driving it to see if it fixes itself.. well since that sounds like the cheapest fix I'll try that first :)