removing drive shaft to run on RWD

[l3n0x]

I don't believe the wear is 95% of before the drive shaft is removed.

How much % would you believe?

 

[medtro]

Seems that I am missing something. How are you going to reduce the wear? These parts will still be spinning even with the driveshaft removed from the transfer case to the diff.

Wear from spinning is not the same as wear from being driven by t-case.

If you remove the front drive shaft (CV) then how are you planning to keep your wheel bearings from getting debris in them? As was mentioned before, I guess that you could machine the teeth off of the hub flange, but it seems like a bit of a waste. What would the wear of the front drive components matter if you cannot use them without a fairly large process of reinstalling/changing quite a few parts?

The debris issue and reduced wear is why everyone is recommending the part time kit from Cruiser Outfitters. This would be the only way I am aware of to disengage the front drive components without causing the issue of having a gaping hole at the wheel bearings. The Cruiser Outfitters kit seems expensive until you price factory front drive shafts (CV) and associated parts. Then it actually becomes much more reasonable.

Pulling CVs was not an option for me. You can buy/fab caps to close holes if you go with this option.

 

[gungriffin]

Wear from spinning is not the same as wear from being driven by t-case.



Pulling CVs was not an option for me. You can buy/fab caps to close holes if you go with this option.

Rock on then! It would seem that you are aware of the challenges posed and the pros/cons. You could easily reverse it too. Lets see some photos and videos!

 

[medtro]

How much % would you believe?

 

[jerryb]

the marks kit is cheap. I bet you could find it cheaper than than list if you look. It on'y gets expensive with new short toyota half shafts and the so called better hubs.
Don't drive around with the front propeller shaft removed and your half shafts spinning 100%, that's ghetto.

 

[Weezer]

The Mark’s PT kit cost me less than $600 US dollars delivered to Texas. Took me right at 5hrs to install in my garage. I had previously install new OEM axles and bearings. I absolutely love the PT. Much less vibration and super smooth at hwy speeds and of course, zero torque steer. I’ve had to lock the hubs several times in some pretty rough stuff and I’ve had zero problems....I really don’t see a downside at all unless you’re driving a lot in snow.

 

[Whiskerz]

Why not buy a RWD Sequoia ? Solves the problem

 

[Ager Venator]

I blew my front diff in january. Put probably 20k miles on it since then with the front DS removed and the flanges removed (I taped paper plates over the hubs). Can't wait till I come up with 2k to get it fixed!

 

[krispykritter]

On my 2001 Pathfinder, I went to manual locking hubs (vs the drive flanges that it came with) and saw a 1 mpg increase in MPGs by completely disengaging the front drive line (it was a part-time transfer case with drive flanges). We can't do that without a part time kit that costs a lot more than two manual hubs.

As for wearing CVs and front diff - hard to quantify. It still spins but with no load. The wear that used to occur on the front axle will be transferred to the rear axle (takes the same force to move the vehicle now as it did before the front drive shaft was removed), but that's unlikely to translate into any additional maintenance.

While diagnosing a driveline vibration, I've driven my 100 in both only front wheel drive and only rear wheel drive. It works fine and I don't realistically see how it could damage anything. Turning on your diff lock will disable your stability management, but it won't go anywhere without the diff lock on. When removing the driveshaft, make sure you use your hand brake or lock your center diff before pulling the shaft or you might run yourself over.

AWD is personally one of my favorite features of this vehicle (hard to find non-haldex AWD trucks or SUVs these days) and I'd never ditch it just to maybe save $1 per fill up or get an extra six months/year out of CV axles, but I'm not you. You can run it RWD and come to your own conclusions on whether it's worth it or not.