Hey whats goin on. Finally got the truck in decent enough shape for me to be comfortable doing some light off roading. Been in the dirt since i could walk, but wanted to get a feel how this truck reacts off the beaten path. Locked the hubs, put the transfer case in 4H, and started down the path. Wasnt really muddy, ground was covered in wet leaves and what not. Started going up a hill, almost immediately lost momentum. To make a long story short, my front wheels werent getting power. First thing i thought, hubs (aisin) arent working. Went to take them apart today, and instead of a snap ring like i've read about and watched on videos, i've got a zinc bolt and a big flat washer? And absolutely no grease in the hubs. No biggie, i'll remove the bolt, and see what i've got. No bueno. I turn the bolt, one cv axle spins one way, the other opposite. Forgot to lock it into 4wd. Move the shifter to the 4L position. Axles still spin. Driveshaft will not spin. If i get a pry bar and put a little pressure on the front driveshaft, the rear wants to spin. This tells me the transfer case is locked in 4wd, but something in the front diff isnt working. I removed the 4wd shifter, and can manually move the pieces to the desired position (2/4H/N/4L) If the axles are spinning opposite, that sais my ring and pinion are atleast working right? Could the pinion gear inside the front diff have sheered off? I would imagine its unlikely, since a pinion gear's shaft is a pretty thick piece of steel, but I could be wrong. Now a little background on my transfer case. At 3am one morning after a night at the bar and a little detour to pound town, im on the interstate doing 70 and outa no where the engine rpms wind up rapidly. Look under the truck, every bolt holding the transfer case to the tranny had fallen out. I know, shoulda checked everything over when I bought the truck, but I didnt. There were present mechanical issues that i was focused on, 4wd wasnt on my mind at the time. Regardless, they seperated. I get towed home, get the bolts replaced, truck runs and drives. I did notice a drop in gas mileage, but what the hell, it was moving and I could get to work. So here's what im wondering. When I put the transfer case back together, the shift selector was bound up. I pulled it out and reset it after putting everything back together and it moved freely as it should. I dont know what position the actual transfer case was when i put it back together. Should it have been in N before i mated it back to the tranny? If it was in 4wd, and now is in a position where it can disengage itself? And why the heck do I have a bolt in my hubs instead of a snap ring? Im telling ya, whoever worked on this truck previously shouldnt be able to assemble bicycles at Toys R Us. I've done some redneck engineering, but some of the shit I've found done to this truck as a "fix" is mind boggling. I've searched the forums, searched google, searched pictures, and im kind of lost. If this issue has already been addressed i apologize, and ask to be pointed in that direction. I'll put a picture of the bolt in my hub that im talking about as well. Thanks for reading.
Oh well, rather be lucky than good anyday! Thanks again for the help, really lookin forward to seeing how deep in the woods this thing will go stock!
