man i am messing up with my words

ok i mean the left (drivers side should turn all the time)

take what i said above and insert Drivers side

in 2HI
i can rotate the front diff drive shaft freely and the drivers tire does not turn at all

i believe the transfer case is fine because when i put it in 4hi i can not rotate the front diff shaft anymore.

but im 100% for sure in 2HI
i can rotate that front diff drive shaft and it doesnt move the drivers tire at all

 

I understood what you meant, not what you wrote or something like that

The problem is with the right front axle engagement mechanism. Gonna have to take it apart and go exploring. Too many posts to fumble through, so I'll just ask again.... did you disconnect the cable from the actuator and try pulling on it, or was it still connected to the actuator?

 

iif you are talking about the actuator under the battery then yes
i disconnected the vacuum line and plugged it right there
i also unbolted it and completely removed the actuator
i then attached vise-grips to that cable
in 2HI:
i pull the cable with medium pressure and rotate the Passenger tire i can feel the cable (my vise-grips) pulsing with what feels like would be the sleeve over that gear
but when i pull harder it feels like it locks and i feel no more pulses AND the front drive shaft still does not turn and the Drivers side tire does Not turn

now i put in 4HI
i pull the cable again but no matter how hard i pull i still feel the pulses (i can see the vise-grips move in and out

now i know you are going to say its probably in that sleeve (which i really hope it is) but you told me the drivers side axle should always turn with the front drive shaft in 2HI

in 2HI the actuator is not engaged right?
so if its not engaged and im rotating the drivers tire and im in 2HI
then i should definately see the front drive shaft rotate right?

 

Yes, I'm talking about the actuator under the battery tray BUT, "did you disconnect the cable from the actuator and try pulling on it, or was it still connected to the actuator?" In other words, is the actuator limiting the distance that you can pull the cable with the vice grips?


The teeth might not line up and become fully engaged if both wheels are off the ground. Similar to trying to shift into reverse with the engine off on a manual transmission, gotta roll a bit to line up the teeth so they will mesh.

Correct. There should be zero vacuum at the actuator.

The left axle is always engaged with the differential: With a locker axle the driveshaft turns whenever either wheel is rotated. Your axle doesn't work like that. For your differential to be able to put power to either wheel, both wheels need to be on the ground and the right axle must be engaged. It has to do with "applies power to the wheel with the least traction".

If you go back a few posts I explained a simple test: jack up only the right front wheel, select 4WD, the right front wheel should not rotate. If it does not rotate, the axle is engaged. If it rotates, or clicks while rotating, the axle is not engaged. You're over-thinking this thing, pull the right axle apart and inspect the clutch mechanism.

 

ok will try that test tomorrow
i actually think i tried that test but i never tried with the actuator completely removed and its vacuum cable plugged and with vise-grips

to your Q above about when i pulled the actuator cable was the actuator still connected.
i originally tried pulling the cable while it was connected to the actuator with a pair of needle nose pliers but i couldnt to get what i think is in a lock position so i removed the whole actuator and put a pair of vise-grips on the cable so i could pull pretty good if needed.

i put the vehicle all back together and took it off the stands today but i will gladly raise the passenger front tire and do that test you mentioned.

is there anything else i can do or test before ripping apart the passenger axle to get to the clutch sleeve?

thanks for all your help and patience

 

Captain Hook

I jacked up the right tire and put in 4WD and started car and took battery and battery tray out
i then left the actuator hooked up (both vacuum and metal cable) and then grabbed the cable with vise-grips and tried to pull on it more and rotate passenger front tire at same time
the tire would spin and make the clicking noise and the cable would push in and out like the sleeve is not locking on the axle shaft spline or clutch gear BUT
how do i test the right axle (the drivers side axle) eventhough i can engage the passenger side clutch?

i really would like to make sure nothing in broken inside the front diff like a ring or spider gear or broken drive shaft spline or broken inner cv axle on drivers side

if i had the 36mm socket and the gear puller i would prob do it just to do it but since i dont have those i would like to be able to test the drivers side axle and make sure it is in working condition with the ring gear and drive shaft

thanks for any info

one more thing you posted a nice high res picture of the transfer case and its part list
that wasnt the one i originally asked for about 5-6 posts back
you originally posted a pic of the front diff with the axles that showed the clutch but i asked if you could post a higher res picture so when i zoomed in i could see the parts better but you posted the transfer case
i think the TC is prob good like you said so i was wondering could you post the higher res pic of the front diff with the axles again but with the complete part lists
i think the one you originally posted only went up to parts 23 or something
it wasnt complete

i looked for the pic on google but am having no luck

 

anyone around?

 

Left side = driver side
Right side = passenger side

Left front wheel on the ground, right front axle locked in, right front wheel should not rotate. If the right front rotates, or clicks when it rotates, you need to inspect the right axle clutch mechanism.

 

I understand that part.

dont forget what i said before

in 2HI the cable DOES lock when i pull hard while rotating passenger tire
in 4HI it "feels" like it locks but it pulses in and out when i rotate passenger tire

see it does lock remember
you said its probably because the drivers side tire is not down all the way or something

so what im asking before i tare into it is

01 could it be the ring gear or spider gear
02 is there any way i can check the drivers side axle "without" locking the passenger axle so that the drivers axle "will" lock with the front diff drive shaft?

i know im probably gonna have to do the passenger axle inspection
but before i do is there some other check i can do for the drivers axle locking with the front diff drive shaft without having to lock the passenger axle?

what i mean is this
say the passenger axle is locking and the sleeve and gear is fine.
then what is it?
spider gear?
ring gear?
busted inner cv joint?
busted front drive shaft spline?

arent there some checks i can do to see if there is something else wrong with the drivers side
pretend the sleeve lock is working correctly
then what would be the problem and how could i check it

thanks

 

Captain Hook

i think i finally understanding what you were telling me
ok if i want to get these parts from the junk yard without buying the whole differential what do i ask for

I called up a salvage yard and he said he has the passenger (RH) output shaft but he dont think it has that sleeve on it

is it part of the differential?

i called up GM and they dont even sell the sleeve and the clutch gear is 225 and the cluch shaft is $137
cant imaging how much the sleeve would be but i know for sure i will just sell the truck if i had to buy those parts from gm as i only paid $600 for it

here is a great pic i found on the net that maybe other people could use along with the diagrams you posted in this thread to help visualize what it looks like

if i wanted to buy the exact assy like in the pic below how would i say it to the junk yard guy?
in the pic below does that whole item remove out of the differential like that or did the guy re-assemble it for the picture?