Oh, dont remove the bolts, there is a back plate thats on the far back, there is a drain plug, unscrew that bolt. let all the fluid drain out! u don't need to remove the bottom plate!

 

ur gonna have to rig up a funnel, to add new fluid in your transfer case, just above the bolt were you drain it, there is a bolt you add new fluid to. Working on these transfer cases are pain in the ***.

 

Ok, got it jacked up and ran it. Started in 2hi, everything is normal. Went to 4low and one front tire spins as you would expect. BUT, it has no actual grab to it. Meaning I put resistance on the tire, by grabbing it, and it stopped spinning. The other tire did not kick in either. I could feel it sort of jolting, but not enough force to break my grip (not even close). The front drive line continued to spin throughout. Same thing in 4HI.

Front diff or TC?

 

CAD not engaging properly. Or at all?

When you had it off, were all the E clips still there? Does the collar slide easily back and forth? Got good vacuum at the lines on the actuator?

 

I dont think the CAD actuator is the problem. It had a good vacuum and seems to move properly. When I put it up on the stands, I took the CAD off and manually slid the collar over into the 4x4 engaged position. So mechanically everything is switched to 4 wheel drive. There is just some slip going on mechanically either in the TC or front diff. I don't have a good enough understanding of the TC. If it's a chain drive that is out, then why am I getting any front spin at all?

 

With nothing holding the collar in place, it would not surprise me if it didn't just slide back over, to the 'disengaged' position. You tested the CAD actuator itself, so, you know that is working. If all the e-clips are still there, and the light does indeed come on, you 'should' have four wheel drive. If you still don't, and the front driveshaft is still turning, might be time to yank the front diff cover, and see what you see.

It sure sounds like everything is doing what it should... but, something is missing somewhere.

With the truck up on jackstands, 4x4 engaged, engine OFF........ trans in neutral. Turn the front driveshaft, and maybe have someone hold the rear, and see if they are indeed locked together. there should be a bit of slop between the two, an inch at most. If there is more than that, or, if you can turn the driveshafts independently from each other, T-case is smoked.

 

Great idea, I shut it off and spun a front tire with 4x4 engaged. This does spin a back tire. Tried it on the other front, and this also spins a back tire. I should have also mentioned I found a disturbing amount of metal shavings in the front axel when I took the CAD off. Seems more relevant now.

Just to be sure on the CAD I had my wife shift the transfer case back and forth while I held the fork. It had great force behind it, I couldn't stop it from switching positions.

You're right, its probably time to take the front diff cover off....

 

Let us know what you find.... The metal shavings are indeed a bad sign™.

 

this particular symptom is an telling me that the axle locking coupling is either not doing its job, or an axle is broken, or the splines in the diff side gear or collar are stripped out. the fact that only one tire is turning tells me that the t-case output is turning the drive shaft, but then when you hold the tire, the rotation is dissipated out through the spider gears rather than the side gears.

i've been assuming all along that you have a stock, open, front differential. if you have a locker or lsd, then its another potential point of failure.

back to the basics - if the front drive shaft is turning, then the t-case is ok.

with cad and fork removed, you should be able to slide the collar back and forth manually. i think it will stay whereever you slide it.

remember that the spider gears are easily activated by blocking one wheel, which will shift all power to the other wheel, which - if axle is locked will cause visible tire turn. if not locked, then the inner axle only spins.

please be careful with all these rotating parts. i about ripped a leg off one time by not paying attention for a 1/2 second.....

 

Sorry, got busy over the weekend, but back at it today. So is it a relative certainty that the TC is OK because there is output through the front drive shaft? TC couldn't be slipping, it has to be the front diff?

A little history on this rig. It's my dad's farm rig. He uses it to haul water etc, I would guess it gets less than 1k miles a year. He noticed this problem several years ago and took it to a dealer. They put in all new front axels, so they claim, put it up on a lift and saw front wheels turning. "Fixed" according to them. They didn't test it beyond that and neither did my dad (he's kicking himself now).

With all the metal shavings I found under the CAD collar, I gotta think something is tearing things up in the front diff. Is it money well spent to have a shop go through the front diff at this point? I started taking the cover off and thought better of it, because I can at least drive it to a shop now...don't know what I would do if I crippled it at my house....

Getting the re-upholstered seat today, putting the seat and interior back in....after the 4x4, on to fuel gauge and other electrical problems. Lot of fun working on this thing though...stout rig!