My neighbor a few doors down has a strange issue with his 99 Blazer 4x4... He has a grinding, rubbing kinda sound coming from the front axle somewhere. In 2hi you can hear it plain as day, but when he puts it in 4hi nothing, no weird sound at all! He has the same 3 button switch as my 98 Blazer. His lights work as they should on the 3 button switch. I know that it is locking in 4hi, no problem but in 2hi that sound is there... I have no answer for him but told him I would get on here and try to help him out through you guys He is an older fella, mid 60s and lives on a very tight budget with no internet... Any thoughts would be great Thanks...

 

Might be possible the vacuum actuator is leaking and pulling a little on the cable when it's not supposed to.

This is what the locking mechanism in the front passenger axle shaft looks like


I'm not sure exactly how the vacuum hoses are set up, I ditched the vacuum actuator and went with a posi lock setup a few years ago. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to give you better info

 

pull the 3 hose connector off the transfer case switch and see if it goes away...If it does, most likely you'll need a transfer case switch.....cheap fix if that is what it turns out to be...or on a real tight budget he could run it unhooked..no 4wd though..Jerry

 

Thanks man! That is a good start on the problem... I try and help him out as much as I can He is a trooper though, he always stands out there with me either holding a big umbrella depending on weather and bottled water or a thermos of coffee

 

Make sure to try Perumotors fix, that should determine if the noise is the gear partially engaging.

I wouldn't wait too long. The gear can get chewed up, and then it won't be able to engage 4wd at all. I had to replace mine


Not a hard fix, by any means, but it's better if you don't have to!

 

Thanks for the advice, I will check into that also

 

Seems there is a tech article written specifically on this very subject...

 

Thanks for everyones help on this so far The weather has not been kind so far for me too check out the advice from you guys... He has decided to just park the truck for now until we figure it out... He is a home body lol so he really dosen't get out much... Me and my wife took him to the grocery store with us last night so we all could do some shopping. He asked me to say "thank you to all of you who are trying to help me out and God bless you all"..... I admit, I couldn't help but kinda get a lump in my throat and get a tear or 2 in my eye...

 

I unplugged that hose you was talking about and sure enough, the sound is gone He will lose 4 wheel drive for now but he will get a new transfer case switch the first of the month... Many thanks to you and everyone else on this!!!

 

Glad this appears to have resolved the issue-sounds like your neighbor deserves a break-thanks as well to you for helping him out! Jerry