dakota front axle...

[kunar]

well a guy i work with just bought a 92 (ish) dakota, knowing that the four wheel drive was inop. since im really the only guy at the shop that works on his own vehicles, i told him i would help him figure out whats going on with it. my first thought was locking hubs, figuring they are either auto, or vac, and junk either way. now that i have started a little research, it looks like there's actually a center disconnect. does anybody know anything about these axles or common problems? i havent seen the truck yet, but from what i hear, the t-case engages the front drive shaft, and the front shaft spins under power from the truck.

 

[kunar]

anybody??

 

[Hahnsb2]

I believe 92 does have a CAD, no idea what triggers it, CAD failure is usually bad vacuum lines. My 95 is a live axle setup with no CAD or hubs. Just like any other IFS it's not super strong if you want to wheel it, the CAD on the earlier trucks seems to be the worst part.

 

[kunar]

I believe 92 does have a CAD, no idea what triggers it, CAD failure is usually bad vacuum lines. My 95 is a live axle setup with no CAD or hubs. Just like any other IFS it's not super strong if you want to wheel it, the CAD on the earlier trucks seems to be the worst part.

alright, thanks. that pretty much confirms my suspicion. i still havent seen the truck though. they arent gonna wheel it, he bought it for his kid to get back and forth to school (i know, lifted truck with 31's and a v8... not good for a teen's first truck)

 

[Mudhound]

Dakota trucks don't have hubs, only unit bearings, so you can rule out a bad hub right offthe top. I agree that the cad is having issues. I would start by checking the vacumn lines on the housing, then the vacumn pot itself for a blown diaphram. If those pass, then I would pull the cad assembly off and check the slding fork that engages the axle halfs, plus the sliding collar itself. With V8 power and bigger tires on this truck to start with, I wouldn't be surprised if the sliding collar is popped.

 

[kunar]

Dakota trucks don't have hubs, only unit bearings, so you can rule out a bad hub right offthe top. I agree that the cad is having issues. I would start by checking the vacumn lines on the housing, then the vacumn pot itself for a blown diaphram. If those pass, then I would pull the cad assembly off and check the slding fork that engages the axle halfs, plus the sliding collar itself. With V8 power and bigger tires on this truck to start with, I wouldn't be surprised if the sliding collar is popped.

yeah, i was gonna use a small vac pump to check for vac at the line, and also to pull a vac on the cad. if neither of those find the problem, how big of a job is it to pull the cad and check it out/replace whats needed? and are parts available at just a normal parts store?

 

[Mudhound]

The CAD itself should be held on by 2-4 bolts, and the vacumn pigtail. As for parts, most of them are going to be either a junkyard or dealer item.