Thanks, for the input!
I saw my friend that I purchased the truck from last night and asked him about
the two times the light stayed on while he had it and did he know off hand if
the switch that was replaced was the light switch or the vacumn switch on the
transfer case. He indicated that it was the vacumn switch and described how the
ball plunger stuck in (same senario that Chris Siano described).
I have done a quick check with my wife moving the ransfer case in and out of 4wd
and I do not seem to have any vacumn at the lines on the disconnect solinoid. I
could not see/trace the vacumn lines easily at the time.
My first order of business this Saturday is to make sure there is not a vacumn
line problem, then check the vacumn switch and then move to the axle.
Dave Clement
_______________________________________________________________________________
To: Clement_D
From: dzavetsky@earthlink.net@INTERNET on Tue, Mar 5, 1996 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: 4x4 Axle Disconnect Question
At 09:41 AM 3/5/96 -0600, you wrote:
>
>The 4x4 indicator light started staying on in my Dakota when the lever was
moved
>back to 2wd a couple of weeks ago. My first though was it's just a sticking
>switch (my friend that was the original owner stated he had the switch
replaced
>twice) and I did not worry to much about it.
>
>When I was under the truck checking out the axle for my upcoming
replacement of
>a CV I noticed a vacumn solinoid and switch on the axle. I did a little
reading
>and discovered that there is a vacumn switch on the the transfer case that
>routes vacumn to this solinoid on the axle to move a coller back and forth to
>disconnect the axle from the differential when the transfer case is moved
in and
>out of 4wd.
>
I had this problem a while back and thought the same damn thing..."Oh its
just a light switch stuck 'on"......So I unplugged the bulb and left it go a
while....Well, I started a-thinkin and a-lookin and realized the same as
you...that there is a solenoid disconnect...
Here's the kicker.....Try this:
atop the solenoid (almost visible from the left engine bay) as seen from
below, there is a switch...This is the switch that activates the
light.....Disconnect and screw it out....Jack up the front end and turn the
engine on...leave in park...Put the truck in 4wdhi....now, get a flash light
and shine it in that hole that you opened up.....have an assistant turn the
front wheels (either-or) forward rotation....You SHOULD see the top of the
shift fork move in or out of the hole's viewing area.....Have the assistant
shift in and out of 4wd, rotating the front wheels after each time....The
shift fork is in the sealed section of the disconnect-solenoid
assembly.....It slides teh collar back and forth over the two axle pieces,
thus disconnecting or connecting.....The top of the shift fork pushes UP on
the bottom of the switch you took out and turns the light on and off.....If
the vaccuum solenoid is bad, the fork will not move and you will not be able
to disconnect the front axle, thus the light stays on....
Now, it could be that the vacuum switch on the transfer case is bad....I
would try that first..Its relatively cheap and is a 15 minutes job as long
as you can bend like a carnival pretzel......If that doesnt do it, (like
mine didnt), it is the solenoid (almost 100% sure...).....It too is an easy
job, about 15 minutes or so, but is messy since you end up dribbling out
some diff lube in the process...I think the part was in the $40-$60
range...cant recall for sure...It was a dealer only part at the time....
Whatever you do, DONT disregard that light!!!
Another way to check would be to jack up the front wheels with the truck in
2wd and see if the axle is locked......If it is, try the vaccuum switch
first, then the solenoid...
Good luck!!
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