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2nd Gen Ram Tech1994-2001 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.
Extremely helpful guys my father passed when I was 11 I'm 26 now and I'm on my second trial run doing a motor swap on his 99 2500 and thanks to you guys I know why I have no 4x4 consider I melted the white line when I did the first motor swap 5 years ago screw that junkyard motor bs she's all brand new now 4 grand later
If you don't have one yet, get a service manual for your truck from here. Pretty sure there are diagrams of the vacuum lines in there. (finding them might be fun....) This is something I get to play with soon as well, as my 4x4 has become reluctant to engage.... but, it's COLD out, and snowing... don't have heat in my garage, and I am in self-quarantine for a few more days yet, as I was exposed to sick people...... (I have no symptoms as of yet, and it's been more than a week......)
Does the cold have something to do with the 4x4 engaging? My 4x4 takes a while to engage but once it does the 1st time it will do it no problem after. I thought I may have a mild vacuum leak and started checking to which I found the green line. The breather on top is broken off so I thought it was a broke line until I saw this forum. Other than that all lines are fine. I know my truck has an issue with not reaching operating temp so could this be a cause?
Engine temp shouldn't matter, that's gonna be a separate problem. (probably as simple as a bad thermostat... don't use the safety stat fellers, they are notorious for premature failure.)
My problem was water in the lines. When it got cold enough, the lines would be restricted, if not completely plugged, and I would end up with slow, or NO engagement. I had to borrow a buddies torpedo heater, thaw it out, then blow the lines out with air. After that, the system worked perfectly.
There are also a couple bushings on the passenger side axle, if they get worn enough, the axles halves are misaligned, and engagement gets delayed. If they get bad enough.... no engagement.
The metal lines that run along the frame rails are also notorious for rusting... .and you can get leaks, or broken lines.
Need to inspect the entire system, see what all you got.
There are also a couple bushings on the passenger side axle, if they get worn enough, the axles halves are misaligned, and engagement gets delayed. If they get bad enough.... no engagement.
Between the axles is a bushing, inside the outer shaft where inner rides, IIRC it's plastic. Inner shaft has needle bearing on the housing, if it goes bad enough it'll take the shaft, too.
Between the axles is a bushing, inside the outer shaft where inner rides, IIRC it's plastic. Inner shaft has needle bearing on the housing, if it goes bad enough it'll take the shaft, too.
Depending on model year, wind direction and day of the week they used a bushing or a bearing. Theoretically both are available
Engine temp shouldn't matter, that's gonna be a separate problem. (probably as simple as a bad thermostat... don't use the safety stat fellers, they are notorious for premature failure.)
My problem was water in the lines. When it got cold enough, the lines would be restricted, if not completely plugged, and I would end up with slow, or NO engagement. I had to borrow a buddies torpedo heater, thaw it out, then blow the lines out with air. After that, the system worked perfectly.
There are also a couple bushings on the passenger side axle, if they get worn enough, the axles halves are misaligned, and engagement gets delayed. If they get bad enough.... no engagement.
The metal lines that run along the frame rails are also notorious for rusting... .and you can get leaks, or broken lines.
Need to inspect the entire system, see what all you got.
I know my metal lines are good, I checked everything leading down to the transfer case and basically all other visible lines lol. Is it possible for me to clear them out just using and air nozzle to blow any possible water out? And another question, this bushing would be inside the front differential I'm guessing, so would that cause the very loud clicking noise I'm hearing when I try to engage 4x4? It clicks repeatedly before finally engaging. My truck is a 1999 1500, so hopefully that clarifies anything for you.
Yep, I just used an air nozzle to blow out the lines, worked great.
The bushing is where the two axle halves come together, right inside the cad housing. The clicking may also be a bad U-joint though, so, check those as well.
Yep, I just used an air nozzle to blow out the lines, worked great.
The bushing is where the two axle halves come together, right inside the cad housing. The clicking may also be a bad U-joint though, so, check those as well.
Yeah, my driver side one went out a couple years ago. I've been checking them religiously ever since. Both are still good, which is what confused me about the clicking sound. I remember when the u joint went bad, I would hear the clicking even in 2 wheel drive while I was rolling. This time I only hear the clicking once I move the shifter to the 4 hi position, and it stops when the 4x4 actually locks in. My guess is that the bushing or bearing you mentioned has gone bad and caused misalignment, but I'm still going to blow out the vacuum lines to make sure. Since the breather line to the transfer case has no cap, I'm going to get one to help prevent water getting in the lines further.
Not a cap, just a filter. Supposed to keep dirt out.... Not sure how effective it is at keeping water out. In my experience, if falls into the 'not very well', or possibly 'useless' category.
Yeah, my driver side one went out a couple years ago. I've been checking them religiously ever since. Both are still good, which is what confused me about the clicking sound. I remember when the u joint went bad, I would hear the clicking even in 2 wheel drive while I was rolling. This time I only hear the clicking once I move the shifter to the 4 hi position, and it stops when the 4x4 actually locks in. My guess is that the bushing or bearing you mentioned has gone bad and caused misalignment, but I'm still going to blow out the vacuum lines to make sure. Since the breather line to the transfer case has no cap, I'm going to get one to help prevent water getting in the lines further.
The vacuum switch is not open to t-case atmosphere. It's just a plunger that gets bumped when you pull the lever and redirects vacuum to the CAD from "stay sucked unlocked" to "stay sucked locked"
