Long story short. Lost REAR universal joint. 30 miles from home middle of the night.... so find it hanging, pulled it out. Drive home in part-time 4wd. Drive fine, I was not pushing, trying to limp home. Home now and do not have the money to fix it immediately. This being only vehicle and a self employed service tech I need to be on the road.

Questions.
Will it damage anything?
Should I use part time or 4 high?
Should I cover the output from the transfer case?
Am I going to damage anything?
Do I need to drive at reduced speed? 65-75 mph?
Minor question. Does it effect gas mileage?

I do not drive long distances but I drive 10-20 miles per trip and drive 4-6 times a day. Local street and traffic stop and start stuff.

Help please.

 

With the rear driveshaft out you'll have fluid coming out of the transfer case. I wouldn't suggest driving it like that, you'll end up damaging the transfer case running it out of fluid. If you just need a ujoint they're only 12 bucks or so.

Now as for having it in 4wd, no that won't have hurt it because the rear drive shaft wasn't there to cause any binding between the front and rear axles.

 

Something like this works for a limp home. But I agree, not something you want to keep driving on. That front differential I've heard is not very strong and now you're putting the full load on it. Not to mention your transfer case chain is probably not the strongest in the world anyway, it's a chain