Alright so I got a 2000 bravada from a buddy and the front differential blew out and its stuck in awd (no lights on the dash, think its a clutch issue). Anyway I replaced the front differential with one from a blazer so it has the actuator cable. In stead of going through all the trouble of tearing apart the tcase to fix the clutches, can I still use the actuator cable and pull it manually while driving and have the front diff engage? I don't see why I can't but knowing my luck I'll blow this diff too if I try. Anyway just a thought. Thanks.

 

The NV136 transfer case always powers the front differential, (to some extent) via the clutch pack. If you're thinking it's stuck in AWD just because the front drive shaft won't turn by hand, that is normal. There is always some resistance through the clutch pack. Using the actuator on the donor differential won't hurt a thing. The original differential was always engaged.

 

The awd is fully engauged, it binds on sharp turns. So using the actuator to engauge the front differential while driving should be fine then? I know I shouldn't do it past 45mph like other blazers.

 

Have you changed the fluid in the transfer case recently? Should be done every 36K miles. If it hasn't been done recently, it might take a couple of fluid changes to free things up in the clutch packs. Fluid change takes almost 2 quarts of this stuff, available at any GM dealer, and there are no substitutions allowed:




Provided all 4 tires are the same circumference, (same manufacturer, same size, same tread wear) it should be fine to shift on the fly, on deceleration only.

 

Yes I changed it with that, been driving it around and going to change it again around 100 miles. I'm just wondering about the manual front differential in case the clutch pack wont free up.