Front Axle 4WD Disconnect

[intimadatorsquizz]

no word of kit yet

think i mite have to go see the dealer soon to get some parts...

Sorry the kit isn't available as of yet.

[Zero]

A4WD shouldn't be harmful to this part of the truck. A4WD is more dangerous to the transfer case itself.

Yep. That's the other maintenance-related issue.

The drivability issue is also important. A4WD used when descending slippery slopes is only going to give you compression braking on the rear wheels until they break loose, then the fronts will get engaged with some abruptness. It's the unpredictability of the engagement that bothers the heck out of me. But in steep descents I'm in 4LO anyway. But I wish the transfer case wasn't so clever. Someday my encoder motor will break and I'll just replace it with a lever/cable deal and be done with it. 2LO is a bit easier if it's done mechanically.

Im expecting to see a write up, so hurry up and break the part hahahahahaha JK dont break anything be safe and have fun.

I think its Roadies turn to come up north and visit Alekg and I

[bgwolfpack]

no word of kit yet

think i mite have to go see the dealer soon to get some parts...

Sorry the kit isn't available as of yet.

Have you looked to see if you can order the parts here? http://www.gmpartsdirect.com

[Hatchet669]

Have you looked to see if you can order the parts here? http://www.gmpartsdirect.com

yea theres are cheaper then a regular dealer... fork is 38 bucks oppsoed to 67...

what sucks is i dont know what is broken in there... is it better to take it all apart see what is broken put it together then order the parts and rebuild it again.. to me no...

i rather order the parts first then take it aparts... replace what needs to be replaced... replace what mite need to be replaced.. or just throw all new parts into it and rebuild it all together so in essence u would have a new splined disconnect..

ok i'm gunna work on getting a total count of the parts need. how many of each, and the price of each from a couple of different places... that way its not scattered through out all the thread...

[bgwolfpack]

yea theres are cheaper then a regular dealer... fork is 38 bucks oppsoed to 67...

what sucks is i dont know what is broken in there... is it better to take it all apart see what is broken put it together then order the parts and rebuild it again.. to me no...

i rather order the parts first then take it aparts... replace what needs to be replaced... replace what mite need to be replaced.. or just throw all new parts into it and rebuild it all together so in essence u would have a new splined disconnect..

ok i'm gunna work on getting a total count of the parts need. how many of each, and the price of each from a couple of different places... that way its not scattered through out all the thread...

Great idea! We would all appreciate that I'm sure.

[Trail X]

There's a list of parts in the article: http://www.offroadtb.com/articles/tech- ... disconnect

I didn't want to post prices, because they change, but you're looking at a minimum of ~$350 for all of the internal parts.

[Hatchet669]

There's a list of parts in the article: http://www.offroadtb.com/articles/tech- ... disconnect

I didn't want to post prices, because they change, but you're looking at a minimum of ~$350 for all of the internal parts.

never saw that....

[Hatchet669]

uggg i gotta do more testing on mine... tried it to today to see if the disconnect was working... well it was i made a slight turn to see if i could feel the resistance and my front axle was connected... i dont know if power was getting to it or not... but i'm really starting to think it mite be transfer case or front diff... cause i can feel this viration rite under my feet while driving that i use to never feel before....

[irishboy02]

Not to raise a dead thread but just want to put my $.02. Unfortunately, i have had an intermittent 4wd system been plaguing me for the past few months (even before i sank) but i just let it go to the wayside. There would be times where i engage it and it would sound like spinning grinding gears as i gave it power. I let it go because i had more important things to worry about with the truck. Now that im up and running again, and with snow quickly approaching i needed to fix this asap. I dont wanna be stuck slipping and sliding in 2wd on 33s, then id really be the talk of the town. Not to mention that i have a redic large amount of wiggle room where my cv axle connects into my disconnect.

I looked all over for the alleged kit that Dorman was producing, but found nothing. So, i wound up purchasing all the necessary parts from GMpartsdirect.com. I dont have the availability of down time so i needed to do it in one shot. Also, i took into consideration the noises and grinding and definite water seepage mixed with the wiggle room of the axle and purchased every component within the housing expecting complete carnage. Total shipped to my door it came out to 366.25 - much more than i expected to spend but alwell.

Ill be finishing my fuel pump in the AM which will be followed by this so ill keep everyone updated to any hiccups that might occur (with my truck, theres always something)

[The Roadie]

We don't mind necroposting like the OS because we don't have a million posts.

I'm the one with the Dorman contact and they aren't shipping anything yet.

Good luck!

[mrtsobe]

I recently got all the new parts I ordered to repair my 4WD disconnect and have a question. Everything looks pretty straight forward and nothing other than the outer thrust washer show signs of wear to other parts. The outer thrust washer seems to have become concave in the direction of the needle bearing from pressure from the outer gear. It has worn the disconnect housing in a matching manor (concave towards the bearing) and when compared to the inner thrust washer, it looks like the washer is seated more firmly against the needle bearing. My question is, could the needle bearing that the outer thrust washer rests against be seated too deeply allowing the gear to force the washer down flush against the bearing thus causing it to become concave? I have thought that when replacing the bearings I could simply not seat this bearing as deep or I could cut out the concave section out of the bad washer and use it as a shim between the bearing and new washer, filling the gap. Any thoughts? Here is a picture of the new washer sitting on top of the old washer. You can see how much the old washer has sunk down by how the two washers do not sit flush. Thanks.

[Trail X]

Mine has shown similar issues. I believe there are actually two issues going on. First, is that the outer gear isn't supported enough, and once the outer bearing goes bad, the outer shaft can jack sideways, putting a ton of force from the outer gear forcing on the outer thrust washer. Even if the middle needle bearing was seated closer to the lip, I don't think the press force would keep the thrust washer in place. The other issue is that the washer probably spun in it's position. This is indicated by the worn down aluminum key-knobs. I think it is one of the worst parts of the disconnect's design.

You could possibly cut some of the old washer to fill the space between the bearing and the new thrust washer. However I don't know how long that will last. You want to make sure the big thrust washer keys properly into the aluminum knobs, otherwise it will just spin and not serve it's purpose.

I've considered holding the thrust washer in place with two screws into the key locations. You could try this if there's clearance, but I honestly haven't looked into this option in detail.

[mrtsobe]

Yeah you are probably right, the outer bearing and seal went bad on me, so that is why I have had to dig into the disconnect. At first I thought it might have been the fork not engaging the gears b/c I would get a loud popping noise after hearing the actuator engage. The fork has groves worn into either side from the gear shift collar and I am replacing it. I suspect that extra slop was not allowing the gears to line up properly and when they would, they could be kicked out under heavy load. I will check and see if there is room to counter sink some machine screws into the keyed spots so they sit flush and prevent the washer from spinning. Other than locking the passenger half shaft to the differential what purpose does the disconnect serve? What would happen if it was engaged all of the time? Just curious. Thanks

[fishsticks]

What would happen if it was engaged all of the time? Just curious. Thanks

This.

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1227

[Trail X]

Some of us are testing having it engaged at all times.

The theory behind it's existance is that with it disengaged, it allows the front prop-shaft to do whatever it wants. Keeping it engaged may allow the pinion components and the FWD components in the TC to wear faster.

[fishsticks]

Some of us are testing having it engaged at all times.

The theory behind it's existance is that with it disengaged, it allows the front prop-shaft to do whatever it wants. Keeping it engaged may allow the pinion components and the FWD components in the TC to wear faster.

FWIW my pinion bearings looked great when I had my diff apart recently. I reused them.

I haven't had my TC apart...

[Trail X]

How did your pinion seal look? That's more what I'm worried about. It looks like a PITA to change.

[fishsticks]

How did your pinion seal look? That's more what I'm worried about. It looks like a PITA to change.

Old pinion seal was fine. I thought I had a leak from it but it turned out to be my intermediate shaft seal.


My NEW pinion seal on the other hand may be starting to leak already.

Yukon Gear install kits are crap BTW. The Motive one I got for my rear axle was far better.

[mrtsobe]

Thanks for the link. That looks pretty official but since I have all the stuff to repair mine, I think I will just try rebuilding. I have about 95,000 miles on the TB and if it gives me trouble again I think I might try this trick. What is the longest anyone has run this set up? .............It is tempting though.

[mrtsobe]

Mine has shown similar issues. I believe there are actually two issues going on. First, is that the outer gear isn't supported enough, and once the outer bearing goes bad, the outer shaft can jack sideways, putting a ton of force from the outer gear forcing on the outer thrust washer. Even if the middle needle bearing was seated closer to the lip, I don't think the press force would keep the thrust washer in place. The other issue is that the washer probably spun in it's position. This is indicated by the worn down aluminum key-knobs. I think it is one of the worst parts of the disconnect's design.

You could possibly cut some of the old washer to fill the space between the bearing and the new thrust washer. However I don't know how long that will last. You want to make sure the big thrust washer keys properly into the aluminum knobs, otherwise it will just spin and not serve it's purpose.

I've considered holding the thrust washer in place with two screws into the key locations. You could try this if there's clearance, but I honestly haven't looked into this option in detail.

I took a look at the inside of the outer housing and it seems like the walls are pretty thin to allow for threads to be tapped into the key locations. In order to get adequate threads I am afraid I would have to pass through both sides of the housing and I would rather not create any possibilities for leaks. Too bad the housing is not steel and I could tack the washer in place. Any other ideas as to what could be done to keep the washer from spinning?