2nd Gen Ram Tech 1994-2001 Rams: This section is for TECHNICAL discussions only, that involve the 1994 through 2001 Rams. For any non-tech discussions, please direct your attention to the "General discussion/NON-tech" sub sections.

What does the vacuum canister do on the front axle 4x4?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old May 7, 2008 | 12:05 AM
  #11  
rabbler's Avatar
rabbler
Record Breaker
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,488
Likes: 3
From:
Default RE: What does the vacuum canister do on the front axle 4x4?

With the factory system only the axles and pinion gears spin when not engaged.
The ring gear and drive shaft don't spin until you engage 4x4.
It saves you some MPG this way and you don't have to manually engage the hubs.
Most shift on the fly systems are similar this way.
 
Reply
Old May 7, 2008 | 07:24 AM
  #12  
dhvaughan's Avatar
dhvaughan
Hall Of Fame
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 12,204
Likes: 10
From: Gainesville, Ga.
Default RE: What does the vacuum canister do on the front axle 4x4?

with the stock 2 piece axle, the left wheel/axle turns, and that rotation ends somewhere in the pumpkin, at the spiders/right side stub axle, i'm not sure exactly where... the 2 piece right axle ends inside the cad, so the right wheel/hub/half axle turns independent of the left.

i'm just saying that if you replace the 2 piece axle with the 1 piece axle, you'll connect up more pieces, and increase the amount of iron thats turning, which will decrease mpg a tad, and you'd have to get out of the truck to engage the manual hubs. i don't think that would be a big advantage over stock unless you were breaking front axles in hard core offroading.

for most daily drivers, i'd either fix the cad or replace with posilok. what i like most about the posilok is being able to creep along in 2wd low range w/o fighting the harsh steering that you get in 4wd.
 
Reply
Old May 7, 2008 | 09:04 AM
  #13  
DPR250R's Avatar
DPR250R
Professional
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 218
Likes: 0
From:
Default RE: What does the vacuum canister do on the front axle 4x4?

ORIGINAL: dhvaughan
what i like most about the posilok is being able to creep along in 2wd low range w/o fighting the harsh steering that you get in 4wd.
That does sound like a neat feature....
 
Reply
Old May 8, 2008 | 12:21 AM
  #14  
insanehewey's Avatar
insanehewey
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 28
Likes: 1
From: Royston,Georgia
Default RE: What does the vacuum canister do on the front axle 4x4?

I just installed a posilok on my 99 3500 and it works great and easy to install.
 
Reply




All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:11 AM.