It's funny you post this, because I am having issues with my CDL engaging all the way. It will act like it's in lock when turing in grass, dirt, or gravel, but then if I get to a point where one wheel leaves the ground, the CDL gets to slipping.

Any ideas about what I should do?

 

The CDL only locks the front/rear axle to each other by means of the differential built in your transfer case, if your front were in a muddy creek, you were trying to back out, it'd give traction to rear as well, hopefully increasing you success.

Without it you'd only spin your front wheels (even on a rover)

When you round a turn, your rear wheels track a smaller turn radius than your fronts, causing stress to drivetrain if in lock on good surface.

What your describing, (one wheel in air, spinning) tells me your CDL is not engaged, since all force is going to that wheel.

Is the Transfer lock light on? - Do you hear any grinding, racheting noises?

If you put it in lock, the internal linkage puts compression pressure on a spring which tries to shove the shift fork and spool over the xfer diff gears, locking them.

The fork movement turns on the light, not the linkage.

In my case, the linkage worked, but the spring would not push the frozen (probably NEVER used by PO) fork.

After untold amounts of trying, it finally worked, although was reluctant both ways

Now works great, ready to change xfer fluid

luck,greg

 

I will catch TON"S of flak for this, but I fixed mine basically the same way after I bought my truck.
The shifter was frozen, carb cleaner and Liquid Wrench alternated from day to day and force freed the shifter.
Then after engaging the CDL and driving around for a couple of miles then unlocking it.
Then the next day repeat the light came on on the dash and she started working.
It took several more times of locking/unlocking the CDL to get it to work like intended.
Now I use it once a month to keep it working well.
I go through all the gears while in my driveway.

 

Lol Spike. That is my ritual also, at least once a month. Pull in driveway and make sure front wheels straightened. Engage diff lock. Engage low range. Disengage diff lock. Repeat in reverse order.

My wife always asks what took me so long to pull into the garage every time I do this.

 

You people kill me (in a nice way)

I've got 130k on mine, bought with 67k, I'll bet the po didn't EVER use the xfer case (What's that silly little shift lever?)

luck,greg

 

After lots of wiggling it around after I first got the truck back on the road, I finally got the CDL light to come on.

As for the grinding and the ratcheting, yes, I am getting that. That's what leads me to believe that the CDL is not fully engaging.

 

Feel free to correct me on this one but isn't this what is supposed to happen. I was under the impression that cdl locks all 4 wheels but if you have a slipping wheel all the power will move there as it is the path of least resistance. Hence the need for lockers which take care of that problem and keep equal power distributed to all 4 wheels while cdl is engaged.

 

With the CDL engaged, it splits the torque between the front and rear axles, 50/50. Even with only one wheel off the ground, 50% of the torque is still going to the axle that has traction (The one with both wheels on the ground).

 

duh! (directed at me) My bad. I thought we were only talking about one axle. So you are saying with a rear wheel in the air you lose your front axle power and vice-versa. Just didn't understand the situation. I will shut up now.

 

no if a rear wheel comes up the other rear wheel loses power but the front axle still has power if one wheel on both axles are slipping you are sol