i recently bought a 97 blazer with all wheel drive, is it feasible to convert this to part time 4 wheel drive which was an option, i can do all the mechanical work no problem, just need to know what parts would be involved, there is a salvage yard nearby that would do some trading on parts, thanks!

 

The transfer case used in the 97 and older AWD s-series trucks was a self contained unit in that there were no outside controls for it. It was a dedicated 35/65 F/R split in power. About the only choice you would have would be to swap to the NV231 manually shifted transfer case. To switch to the NV233 would require all of the wiring, etc. Even with the NV231, I believe you would need to run a 4LO wire to the PCM and hope that it had the programming to use it. Otherwise, your PCM may not control the transmission properly if run in 4LO.

Your front axle is also not able to be disengaged which a lot of people wish for when they have trouble with it so you could leave that alone.

 

i would definately use the nv233 transfer case and the 3 button control for it as i have the floor shifter for the automatic, i assume the factory harness has part of the wiring allready installed or am i wrong there? as for the front end not disengaging, i would assume i would need the hubs off a donor or would it take the whole differential? and how on earth would i know if the pcm has the programming allready in it?? i got a really good deal on this blazer but quite honestly i just don't like all-wheel drive!

 

Unless you are worried about the miniscule difference in fuel mileage, I would leave the front axle alone. The disconnect is in the axle itself, not the hubs. So you would need to swap in the passenger side extension housing with all of the parts inside to get it to disconnect. Again, I wouldn't bother as you have a dead nuts reliable system now.

I actually would doubt that the wiring is there.

You could make up a cable shifter for the NV231 and run it to another lever in your center console.

 

Thanks for the reply's, i will give this some more thought before i proceed, sounds like it might not be worth the effort!

 

Not worth the effort? There is no such thing. I have a transfer case available for the vehicle in question that would work. Have you familiarized yourself with the operation of the front hub assembly? It may seem complicated, until you break it down. It's a simple cable system with a vacuum actuator added on the passenger side wheel well under the battery tray. Since this vacuum system is the weakest link in the system, it's not an awful idea to bypass it. You can actually run the cable up where the other shift cable comes through the floor. You could even run it from any old vacuum control, such as a heater control or something similar. Keep in mind that a Blazer is a small vehicle with a lot of relatively big parts, and just be patient in the confined spaces you will encounter. I wish I'd read your post a couple of days ago. I had a hog's head from my old Blazer that I wound up scrapping. Be creative, and let us know if you come up with something different.

 

i am still interested in doing this conversion, i would use the transfer case with electronic shifting and find the necessary wiring associated with it, i am not familiar with the front hub assembly as this an all wheel drive, but am definately interested in doing this, what would the transfer case be worth to you?? i assume it is the electronic shifted transfer case....Thanks, Tim