i have a 2001 r/t with awd can i remove the front driveshaft and still be able to drive with rwd or will it screw up the transfer case

 

is there a reason you want to do this? it wont save you anything (contrary to popular belief it will NOT improve your gas mileage, you are still pushing the whole front end, so your only savings would be weight) and will allow the oil to splash out of the front differential . . . which would burn up the gears over time, in an emergency situation, yes it can be done, but long term it will cause problems

 

This statement is completely wrong. You would remove the driveshaft at the u-joints and would leave everything else alone and it would not leak a drop more than if you had the driveshaft in.

Now on to the original question. I would say to be on the safe side no. You have an awd transfercase and it is definately not something I would try for fear of damaging the t-case. I know some of the subaru guys and Sy/Ty folks do it for short periods of time like dyno time but not for the long term.

 

Yes you can, but why on earth would you want to do it?


It's not advisable because the T-case transfers power from the front to the rear, with the front disconnected, well you do the math.

 

not that i really want to but the damn thing is broke and i need the truck while waiting for a new one. just as an update i pulled the shaft out and found it wont move with the selector in awd but it works just fine in 4 hi

 

i didnt think about taking it off at the u joint(i blame the captain for that), but you are correct

to the OP the awd is designed to allow the t-case to function w/ some slip between the front and rear differentials (similar to a differential), so with no resistance on the front its like trying to drive a truck w/ one wheel up in the air, 4hi locks the driveshafts together and will let you drive it for a bit w/ the driveshaft out.

 

I am tending to go with the majority on this one....You can but I wouldnt recommend it...if it was a matter of removing to get to a maintenance facility then o.k but I would discourage for long term use.....forget the fuel mileage...for a minute think of it ths way....your vehicle was designed with the shaft installed your center of gravity might be thrown off a bit.... center of balance on the suspension etc..... longshot but again I would not recommend it especially long term use.

 

.......Amen to that. I think we all have issues when liquor is involved, huh Sharps!

 

yea, mine is a relatively recent development, unfortunately this whole school think is finally getting to me

 

Every summer i remove the front drive shaft out of my 01 R/T and run the transfer case selector in 4HI. Done this for 3 summers now and doesn't cause any issues. I do this because I have a horrible whine in my front diff and one day it will need to be re-built. Just trying to pro-long the life of the front diff. The whine noise goes completely away with the front drive shaft out.

Also, it frees up a lot of power when the front wheels are not turning. Just watch out on wet payment the posi will put you side ways in the road. LOL.