I left my rear shaft connected this weekend bec we were going 30miles to a BBQ place to eat. I was gonna disco it after.

I got out to check the Zuk after about 5 miles bec. I thought it was pulling a little odd. When I got out of my Truck, the smell of diff fluid hit me. Oh FAWK, oh no!!!!! :eek:

I looked underneath and there was diff fluid dripping from front diff, xfer, and rear diff and the fill plug was gone on the xfer. I was freaking! After getting it home it looks like it was just the fill plug coming out and fluid spewing everywhere (forwards to the front diff even) , everything else seems fine. Both axles were full, the tcase was half full and all the fluids looked good. Whew!

Here is what I think happened and what I learned. When the tcase is in neutral it locks the front and rear axles together so if your rear shaft is connected the front shaft spins too! My front axles vibrates bad past 40mph! I can imagine how bad the vibes were at 65MPH. I bet all the vibes caused the plug to come loose.

So the obvious best solution is to pull the shaft, but I'm wondering if it would be OK to leave in in 2H for short trips with the rear shaft connected. This would keep the front from spinning, but would spin the output of the transmission.

i accidently left my front hubs locked for 150 miles of the same type of speed driving. it hasn't caused any havoc that i have yet to see. my KAD shaft does like to wobble the bolts loose when i hold a constant 80mph which it never sees driving itself around:D anyway another warning it to make sure if you flat tow that the tow bar angle is either flat or down towards the tow vehicle. in other words, if your towbar angles upwards toward the hitch, you can have a potential hazard on your hands. the vehicle in tow can actually lift up on the rear end of your vehicle causing you to jackife VERY EASILY!!! i have throughly tested this with a jeep cherokee towing a jeepster commando. it was not a pretty sight. anyway if you can have a downward slope towards the tow rig, it tends to puch down on the vehicle during deceleration causing increased tongue weight. flat towing is in some ways risky but the only viable way for a lot of us to get back and forth. be safe and watch those angles!!

Another reason for the 2L mod on the T-case. It gives you 2N as well. :)

I tried towing in 2H and the transmission in Neutral. After about 2 hours I went thru a small town. Pulling away from a stop light I felt something funny, like jerking. It felt like I was turning the motor over on the sami! :eek: I put the t-case back in N and went on slowly. Don't know for sure if that's what happend, but it bothered me.... Right after that I bought a trailer. ;)

Originally posted by Shrock


major snippage.............

When the tcase is in neutral it locks the front and rear axles together so if your rear shaft is connected the front shaft spins too!

more major snippage............


Is this true?!?!?!?

I have never really paid any attention to this detail, but I cannot think of any reason why the 2 to 4 wheel drive fork would be actuated by the gear lever when shifting the t-case into neutral.

It just don´t make no sense, dammit!!:flipoff2: :D

:beer: :beer:

Now that I´m thinking about it, I would suspect that the two shafts are NOT in fact mechanically connected to each other. The oil inside the t-case is prolly acting like a viscous (sp) coupling between the two stub output shafts...

Or I could be full of shite...:p

:beer: :beer:

I started removing the rear shaft after the front came off and bounced down the freeway at 60Mph. Luckily other folks in the convoy noticed and picked it up for me.

When the tcase is in neutral the front and rear outputs are locked together.

Originally posted by billj
Is this true?!?!?!?


Yep, on a Sami T-case the first movement you do is DOWN with the lever. That engages the front. Then you move over and up for N and L. All of which has the front engaged (locked to the rear output). So yes, the front spins with the rear! :(

I just happen to have this pic handy (of my GRSII case).... :)

On the left is the input shaft. Right is the output shaft with the top splines where the rear output flange goes. The shift fork shown is for the L-N-H selection. The ring couples from the low range (top gear) to the shaft, or the high range (bottom gear) to the shaft, or Neutral the slider is in the middle. The front shift fork is on the bottom (not shown) and couples the front output to the end of the right hand shaft (same as the rear). (that 's also what makes a rear only output difficult - you have to cut the shaft between the gears (shift fork) and the top splines) :eek:.

When the front is engages, it is mechanically coupled to the rear output!

You can also see where the flat tow with drive shaft in place concern is. In neutral position, none of the gears are spinning, only the shaft. Therefore, nothing is circulating the lube. However, if the fluid level is above the rear output shaft, the bearings would be immersed.... I can't tell from this pic (the level plug is on the other case half). Something to look at later. ;)

Anyway, for the few of you who have not seen the innards of a Sami t-case.. :)

Originally posted by okcrawler


Yep, on a Sami T-case the first movement you do is DOWN with the lever. That engages the front. Then you move over and up for N and L. All of which has the front engaged (locked to the rear output). So yes, the front spins with the rear! :(

Good to know these little tidbits of info, thanks:)

But actually, for my rig, I don´t give a fawk about this, cuz I got lock-out hubs on both my axles!!! Flat tow?? Just turn the knobs!!

:beer: :beer: :cool: