I found this last night. The switch is a Dorman part # so use retailer of your choice.

He links to a DuraLast (ie AZ house brand) solenoid connector and I was unimpressed with $20. However through some sleuthing AZ's site will hint at what vehicles that came on (their part # alone didn't help me with interchange).

One option (of many) would be a 1980 square body GM, so I put that into RA, scrolled thru electrical connectors and the first solenoid connector i came across (for "mixture control" for a "varajet carb") looked identical. This at least got me options closer to $12-15

 

Possible connectors

 

Sorry to rez up an old thread but it seemed applicable. My 95 ram 1500 started making a grinding noise. I took it to tranny shop and they said it was the front axle trying to engage 4 wheel drive when driving. He think the fork is bent or the vacuum or maybe actuator is bad. They dont work on that. Seems to make sense cus my 4 wheel drive hasnt worked in about 5 years. So would it be unreasonable to remove actuator, look at a fork and/ or replace actuator. I feel like I need to check all vacuum lines because I know from years ago they looked iffy. Any reccomendations?

 

You can remove the four small bolts on the front differential cover to remove/inspect the actuator and shift fork. Most of the problems occur with the vacuum lines being broken. I ended up replacing my vacuum lines (the vacuum line harness is still available from Dodge) and that fixed the issues I had with my 4WD not working.

 

Thanks! I will do that this weekend. However the more pressing problem is that it seems like its trying to engage randomly while driving causing this grinding noise. Would that fall into this category and if so also would a posi lock system fix this issue?

 

Careful with those four bolts though, they hang out in a rather unfriendly environment, and tend to rust up. If you break one off, they are fun to get out.

I would verify that you are getting vacuum to the correct port first, outboard port in 2wd, inboard in 4wd. (need the engine running, put trans can still be in park.)

 

Lock it permanently, relying on vacuum for 4x4 to work is a poor concept.

 

Do you mean remove the actuator and install a bolt for the fork to rest on so the front drive shaft always spins? I just saw a video on that and it looks easy and reliable. Any issues come with that that I should be on the look out for?

 

Yes you don't need to put a bolt in it though, just take the e clip off slide the fork over and put the clip back on, or you can put washers or a spacer on the shaft. Won't cause any problems as long as your front axle, differential, drive shaft and u joints are all in good shape.