Hey, I'm still a newbie around here and not too familiar with where to find what info, so I'll go about it this way.
I just bought a 95 blazer for a winter beater. I am familiar with the whole vacuum,cable locking system,that's not where the problem lies. Through process of elimination, I have come to the realization that the problem is actually inside the front diff. I am a diesel mechanic and the whole shift fork system is exactly the same way that a power divider locks in on a big rig, only on alot smaller scale. :0) My problem is that the shift fork is not pushing the locking gear over far enough. If I jack the front wheel up and engage the T-case, I should be able to engage the front diff. by pulling the pin(where the cable hooks onto the front diff) coming out of the housing right? Well when I do this and spin the wheel, I can feel it wanting to engage, but it seems like it's just riding on the outside of the gear. The pin will only pull out roughly 1/4" rather than the 1/2" - 3/4" that it should. Could there be something in there jamming it up? Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem and how they solved it.
Thanks !

 

its possible that the gears inside are knicked up. ive seen this on a couple other vehicles like on fullsized dodge or the locking hubs on a k30.

are you sure youre able to get a full pull from underneath? i know alot of times with s10s if you just put it 4x4 it doesnt engage till you roll a little bit. maybe try pulling the wire from under the battery tray. ive never tried pulling it from the axle but have done so at the actuator under the battery tray to see if thats why its not working.

 

I have tried pulling it from that end as well. I actually went as far as taking the housing off of the diff. and hooking a pair of vice grips onto the pin and holding pressure on it with a pry bar while spinning the wheel. Something is definitely keeping it from engaging inside the diff. I know it's a pretty simple system with a fork, and a slip gear but I was kinda hoping somebody else had the same problem and way to fix it. I'm planning on installing a posi lok type of system ,which is what I was in the process of doing, but it's useless if I can't get it engaged to begin with.