Front Axle - Hose Clamp Method Question and is this a dumb idea???

[jrpentolino]

My daughter and I are restoring her birthday present...an '82 Eagle SX/4. It does not have shift on the fly. Vacuum shift motor on axle as well as transfer case. As I'm getting ready to try and fix the plumbing for that system, I've been on the forum and keep seeing posts about people who have permanently locked the front axle with a hose clamp. This seems like the way to go. My questions are:

1. Is there a how-to on this procedure? I can't seem to find one.
2. Are there any down sides to this?
3. If I wanted to keep the select drive switch and vacuum shift motor on the transfer case, will that work? I'm thinking it will as the axle shift motor seems to act as a switch, sending signal to the transfer case letting it know it is locked before the transfer case actuates. And in reverse it won't matter as the transfer case unlocks first.

And now for the potentially dumb question. What about wiring up a weatherproof solenoid on the transfer case with a relay and switch and taking all of the vacuum out of it? It seems this would give me shift on the fly, and make it more reliable.

Any help, advise, and particularly a how-to on the hose clamp method would be appreciated!!

[Trooper]

Here's some info...

http://amceaglesden.com/guide/Front_Axle_Lock

[jrpentolino]

Here's some info...

http://amceaglesden.com/guide/Front_Axle_Lock

Awesome! This seems pretty straight forward. Thank you for the link. Has anyone tried replacing the transfer case shift motor with something like an electric solenoid? I'm thinking about getting rid of the entire vaccum system, but I don't want to convert to full time 4WD.

[jrpentolino]

I am soooo stoked. I decided to try and get the select drive working as the Good Lord intended before modifying anything. So I replumbed the vacuum lines using as much of the original components and replacing what I had to. I was absolutely floored when I tested it and it actually works!! The car is 40 years old and still both vacuum shift motors and the in-dash vacuum switch work flawlessly.

Needless to say, the purest in me is going to keep that bad boy stock.

Crazy, right??!!

[vangremlin]

Crazy awesome!  Way to go for taking that on!  Very cool!

[AMC of Houston]

I like stock.   Both of mine are stock -- well, except I did away with pulse air tubes on the waggie due to holes, and the plastic valve cover, and the AIR pump on the Sundancer, and............. we'll call them "stock plus" now.   Its all marketing......

[jrpentolino]

Crazy awesome!  Way to go for taking that on!  Very cool!

Thank you! I bought a shop manual on eBay and it has been an invaluable resource if for nothing more than the wiring and vacuum diagrams. I've now replaced every single vacuum line in that entire car (except for portions of the hard lines that are part of the select drive...I kept as much of that as possible).