I got a buddy who put in a straight axle in his silverado 1500 z71. he had to take the front driveshaft out, b/c with the electronic transfer case it stays locked in 4wd. Why does that happen?

He said he tried automatic locking hubs and it still didnt work (still was in 4wd all the time). Will manual locking hubs allow for 2wd? He didnt think it would, but how not? Isnt that how all 4x4 Fords are?...straight front axle with hubs locks?

need more info, what year is the truck? what t-case? is it an autotrac case? I just rewired mine in my 96 suburban and it worked perfect. it all depends on the year and case.

I dont remember what year his is. definently post 2000. The truck im wanting to do it to is a 2003. Its got the push-button transfer case with 2 hi, 4 hi, 4 lo, and auto 4wd. im guessing thats the autotrac..?

If it has manual hubs when they are unlocked there is no way you are powering the front tires...think about it...

Yup you're gonna have to give more info here mikey.... if the transfer case isn't disengaging then NOTHING you do to the axle will stop the driveshaft from spinning.... You need to find out WHY the driveshaft spins... Jack up the truck and turn the front drive shaft.... will it turn? do the tires turn with it? Also chuck the auto hubs and get manual anyway..... auto's are famous for breaking at a bad time....

no matter what the front shaft is going to spin since it still has the autotrac transfercase in it. remove it and replace with np241 for manual shift or the non autotrac case thats pushbutton if you can wire it up.

no matter what the front shaft is going to spin since it still has the autotrac transfercase in it. remove it and replace with np241 for manual shift or the non autotrac case thats pushbutton if you can wire it up.

yea that seems to be the case, but im trying to figure why? i can see if you had the Autotrac AWD/auto4wd button pushed it might case problems, but why if you have the 2hi engaged would it just decided to run 4hi?

the way that auto case is designed, it has a clutch on the outputs and transfers power to a split for example 70 rear and 30 front all clutch engauged so your burning clutches when in auto mode. When in 2wd, the transfercase still has the clutch engauging the front axle so it sends the power to the rear, it needs the resistance to transfer the power. Those transfercases are perfect for stock tires, nothing bigger. GM designed them for people that just want to get in and drive and not have to worry about anything or hear clunks and can switch to auto on the fly without stopping or hearing grinding. My buddy at GM takes them apart all the time because of input seals going bad and clutches inside being worn out and 4wd not working. imo they suck.

I know a guy who burnt one up In 6 months. piece of crap. why do you need auto trac any ways. make it full time 4wd or part time 4wd. Any t case that doesnt have a lever sticking up through the floor boards is gonna cause you head aches eventually. I pretty sure the auto trac reads the abs sensors to decide when to engage and disengage. if the front axle has no abs sensors your auto trac case is useless.Ford rangers dont even have a tone ring on the output any more the speedo uses the abs ring in the rear axle. no rear abs. no speedo, no auto tranny. gotta love technology.

my burb had the 243 I believe, electric version of the 241. I just wired it to work without the front diff solinoid(sp), it worked perfect for years.