Ignorance is Bliss.

[BlueCollar89]

As little as I actually drive the thing, I don't think I'd notice honestly. The farthest I typically drive is a 300 mile round trip to visit family and that's only a few times per year; all other times of the year it's either sitting or all local 30-60 mile trips, and those are rare since I work from home. And with this solution, it seems if I did need to make a long trip where every bit of fuel counts, I'd just have to pull out the socket/shaft to allow the front end to do it's thing.

I recall my dad had a 97 Ford that had locking hubs; good times.

I truly appreciate the tips ya'll! Always good to learn something new; and I appreciate ya'll being gentle about it haha. I look forward to making future inquiries and sharing the journey of this truck.

 

[95C1500]

You'll find this place is pretty laid back. Unlike the facebook groups, you generally don't get **** on for not knowing something.

 

[BlueCollar89]

You'll find this place is pretty laid back. Unlike the facebook groups, you generally don't get **** on for not knowing something.

I actually just requested to be a part of a facebook group with like 21k members. They got 3 questions, 1 about a vortec, one about whether or not I owned a chevy OBS and another about whether or not I acknowledged refusing to answer would result in declining. I havent been approved yet. Probably didn't like my smart ass answers lol

 

[95C1500]

The key with facebook is to be a potential, seemingly upstanding member and once you'e in... let your inner smartass out. Get removed, wait a couple days, reapply, get removed...its a process.

 

[BlueCollar89]

You've been fun to converse with, but I had a feeling you might have a sinister side hiding subtly in the shadows ┌П┐(◣_◢)┌П┐ LOL.

Anyway, back to topic.

I was discussing the idea of shoving a shaft into the thermal actuator space and capping the hole with my dad as we'd been talking about here. He expressed concern about possible ujoint wear. Ya'll got any input on that?

He figures if the thermal actuator is as much of a common problem as I have made it out to be (explained to him that pretty much all of us seem to have had the same problem), that someone would have built a surefire fix by now. I told him about the electronic actuator, but aside of that, shoving a socket or some kind of shaft into the diff is the 2nd best option.

Personally, I don't see shoving a shaft in to lock the differentials as any kind of problem. As mentioned previously, I might loose a bit of MPG, but as little as I drive it I can't imagine it'd be enough to concern me. I get what, like maybe 13-14mpg hwy? Might drop me to 11-12 tops I figure? These are guestimate figures as my odometer and trip meters don't work so I have absolutely no idea how much MPG I actually get haha.

Keep in mind my dad may not be considering the fact that I work from home and average far less miles per year than most people; so even if locking the diff permanently with a shaft does increase ujoint wear a little, or drop my mpg, I won't notice near as much as someone commuting to work daily or making long trips regularly.

 

[Supercharged111]

Someone here shoved a socket inside to keep the front diff on. It works.

 

[BlueCollar89]

Someone here shoved a socket inside to keep the front diff on. It works.

Yea it was mentioned on page 1. I'm a bit too OCD about things, so I'd rather find a pipe or bolt of perfect length and diameter to do it right lol. I have no doubt it works; I'm just concerned about any potential additional wear, and if any, what to expect in terms of additional maintenance. I.e. my dad thinks it might cause additional wear on ujoints (not a big deal imho).

 

[RichLo]

My first reference to the socket trick was because you seemed to be on a budget and you didn't drive the truck enough to have a need to disengage it but there is also a cable actuated fix below. With this you can also have the benefit of '2-LOW' for maneuvering trailers and whatnot around at low speed. The downside is the cost vs a free socket.

http://4x4posi-lok.com/app_chevy-k.html

http://zoneoffroad.com/4x4-posi-lok...ty-k-series-cable-operated-shift-actuator/800

 

[BlueCollar89]

You were 100% right on the budget part lol. I don't have $160 layin round but all good things come in time with hard work. I appreciate you sharing this link as I'll definitely invest in it sometime. I'll likely stick to the original suggestion of socket lock for now haha.

 

[94burbk1500]

There's no real harm in doing the socket trick until you can afford a more orthodox solution. Welcome to the forum BTW!