98 4wd is locking the front axles together
 

I'm gonna sound stupid here I'm sure but that's fine. I was going through town and hit some snow and ice so I put it in 4 hi. About a two miles later, I went to pull into a gas station and could barely turn the thing in the driveway, I ended up cutting it WAAAAY wide and into the other lane just to get it around the corner. The road was obviously dry at this point and the thing acted like both front axles were locked together. I was like OK, that's weird but didn't put a ton of thought into it. I fueled up and then tried to disengage it but it wouldn't unlock. The lights showed that it had but it clearly hadn't. This is not my big concern but if you have some insight, feel free to share it. Anyways, I was like screw it and went to pull back out of the station. It was fighting me so hard, I ended up driving across the street into another business to avoid hitting an oncoming car in the opposite lane. I finally got it to disengage but am afraid to use it now. Is this normal for these to fight you turning on dry pavement? My 2500 sure doesn't do this. It fights you turning a corner a little bit more than when in 2wd but but nothing like this. What could be the issue? It really really acted like the front axles were locked together. Now for me sounding stupid; are they supposed to be locked together? How about locked together in 4 lo? If it's gonna act like this, then it's not drivable in 4wd. Share any insights besides recommending I search for the answer, I already did and can't find anybody having this issue. I see posts about not disengaging but nothing on the axles locking up or at least acting like they're locked up.

There is no locker up front from the factory, but maybe the previous owner put one in the front diff? I don't have the problems you described when I sometimes forget to go back into 2HI once back on the pavement.

Is there anyway the axles could become locked besides someone modifying the diff? I can't believe anyone would since the truck is all stock. Is there any other reason that my truck would act that way besides the axles being locked? It only did it in 4wd so I know it's something to do with that. I just got the truck this past summer but have never used the 4wd until now other than making a trip down the drive to check if it engaged, which it clearly did and does now.

What you experienced is normal when in 4wd on dry roads. When the system is locked into 4wd, both front and rear driveshafts are locked together. While turning, each wheel travels in a different path, thus traveling at different speeds. The front end normally takes a wider path (further distance) than the rear end. Since the transfer case was locked in, the drivetrain bound up.

Moral of the story, if the roads are dry, put it back in 2hi.

Swart is right. It's not just the front end that's binding, it's the front vs rear. If you're turning right the wheels on the right are traveling a shorter distance than the driver side tires so they are traveling at different speeds causing binding. Really hard on components when on dry pavement which is why it's fighting you. There was probably a lot of pressure on the system when you tried to unlock it and it didn't disengage until that pressure was relieved.

I suppose you must be right. I don't experience that on my full size though so I was baffled as to why this thing is so jerky. Perhaps the the higher miles on the 2500 has allowed some slop in the driveline and causing it to be a little more forgiving. I went out and drove both today and the 2500 takes a corner in 4wd like nothing. The Blazer wants to fight you even on wet pavement. It's not near as bad as when I was on the dry pavement but it's still very noticeable. The blazer has 125K and I don't think has seen a lot of 4wd usage. The '97 K2500 is a CN rail road truck from Ontario with 218K and you can tell it's been put through the gauntlet. When bought, it had three newer tires and one that had about 70% tread but yet looked like they drove it through a shredder. The trans had lost reverse and the entire front end was 50K miles past shot. They clearly use their 4wd trucks as they were intended and certainly didn't baby this one either. It's been a great truck though and lead me to try out a Blazer for a daily driver.

I got a 97 blazer and i cant adjust the headlights someone help!

Heck of a first post in a topic that has absolutely nothing to do with your problem.

Oh, welcome to the site.

could also be more noticeable due to less weight up front and a shorter wheel base?

s-series have a pretty even weight distribution where as your 2500 has almost no weight in the rear, allowing your rear tires to 'ease' the binding a lot easier then the s-series

My original belief was correct, my front axles were locking together in 4Hi. They're now trying to lock in 2wd. I was cruising down the interstate a while back at 70 when they tried to engage. It sheared something off but is still clicking like it is trying to engage. I had to remove my vacuum line to get it to quit clicking. My 3 button lights are always blinking and were since the day I got it. It really was never an issue, it would always engage and disengage just fine until this past winter when I made the above post and then in spring when it did this. I've just been driving with the vacuum line off and trying to buy time until I could fix it. I don't know if blinking lights and the half engaged locker are related or not but I would love some direction on this matter. Thanks