Surfer Sam,
I read that you have tore down your front wheel drive assembly. I wish to take out the front wheel drive system on a seasonal basis. 4x4 for mudding and snow but I'd like to shed the weight for the spring and summer. Is this possible without damage and how long of a task is this going to be?

 

About the only thing you can remove is the front propeller shaft and it is not the worth the hassle. You can't remove the front axles because they are part of the seal for the front strut housings and front wheel hubs.

It might be possible to replace the 4X4 front strut housings and wheel hubs with 2X4 versions. Then you could remove the front axles, front differential and front propeller shaft. It is liable to get quite expensive unless you could find the parts used. New parts would probably cost you a small fortune. Post on the forum and see if anyone has attempted to do this.

SurferSam

 

I think youre only talking 3 or 4 pounds by the time you remove the guts of the hub, hardly worth the hassel as far as I can see.

 

Actually the "wheels"dont have to loose traction the sensor is in the tranny.I found this out when i broke a rear drive chain and limped it in with the front wheel drive.And if I m not mistaken your AWD stays engaged once it engages till you hit the button.

 

Yah you don't need to loose traction to engage the front wheels at least not technically. IF your AWD is engaged , then your front hubs are locked magnetically. However if you are going downhill faster than what your drive speed is--coasting so to speak--then your wheels spin freely. Think of it in the same way as your pull start on your chainsaw, lawnmower, boat motor. It is the same principle but a different way to get the same result.

 

just a little more on this awd deal. I hit a culvert and bent one of my front rims. Well the tire held air and I was able to continue riding. When I got to the next mudhole I hit the gas and the dam thing tourqe steered so hard it pulled the whole wheeler dam near sideways and nearly rolled. Well it didnt take long to figure out I only had one front wheel engauged. It was a bitch to ride. I got home and disassembled the hub and everything looked fine cleaned it up put it back together filled the fluid. Still didnt work. I was very frustrated. Well to make a short story long,It turns out when I bent the rim it sliced the wire that goes into the strut and gives the signal to engage that wheel. The cut was so small and clean it took me forever to notice it anyways spliced the wire envirosealed it siliconed it back into place and tada awd is back. That was last winter and its been fine ever since. So if ya have a wheel that wont engage dont forget to look at the wire.