Remove front drive axle from FWD truck?

[meanjoe75fan]

Hey, it's been a while since I posted a thread here...my Contour died of a cracked block, and I now am the owner of an '88 Dodge Dakota 4X4, that I use primarily as a work truck.

What I was thinking...I'm moving from Pittsburgh, PA to Tampa, FL, with all my worldly possessions in the bed. Now, the 4-wheel drive option (truly old-school "locking diff" 4WD that can only be used on dirt/snow etc) was necessary 3 months out of the year in PA, but won't be in FL. Add to that the fact I need new half-shafts anyways (torn CVs), and what about just deleting the front drivetrain?

1. Would I realize noticeable +FE?
2. Would this damage the truck in RWD? In 4WD?
3. Would I still have "on-demand locked-diff RWD?"

[ex-x-fire]

The outer part of the axle keeps the wheel bearing tight.

[Rick323]

Are you going to remove the axle and all of its parts and replace with a 2wd front end? Or are you going to just remove the cv joints and front drive shaft? Are you keeping the transfer case?

You should get better mileage just by reducing weight and parasitic drag associated with 4wd. How much ...? What engine do you have?

You won't damage anything on your truck by using only 2wd.

I don't know what on demand 4wd lock diff is. If it is truly old school then its just either clutches/ springs in the diff carrier and won't affect anything. If you mean 4wd low range then that will still work just in 2wd.

FYI-- if you want to see how things work, just take off your front drive shaft and see how it works.

[DonR]

I don't know the specifics on your 4wd system. You may need to leave the outer portion of the front cv joints to hold stuff together.

On removing the front drive shaft: It depends on your set up. If you can slide the drive shaft out of the transfer case you will need to plug the hole with something. You don't want the slip yolk to come out of the case, spewing fluid everywhere.

I'm assuming when you talk about using 4wd with stuff unhooked, you would really be trying to use 2lo. As long as you can keep the fluid in the transfer case, you should be fine.

Don

[jamesqf]

Much, much easier to sell the 4x4 to someone who wants a 4x4, and use the money to buy a 2x4. Not only value of your time, cost of parts, and risk of totally wrecking the job, but the 2x4 will probably be cheaper, so you'd wind up a few bucks in pocket.

[Frank Lee]

Pull the rear driveshaft out and then you really will have a fwd truck.