new guy old questions

[puck_dog]

Brand spanking new to the forum but from the looks of things I came to the right place. I have several questions that I'm sure have been answered on this forum but just where has aluded me. So here we go.
First I have a 78 wagoneer all stock. I am planning on rebuilding/replacing the engine and tranny after the winter. I have a donor 85 wagoneer. Can I simply rebuild the 85 engine and bolt it onto the 78 thm400? Will the hp be about the same? Ideally I'll find a 4 barrel intake and carb for it as well as adding dual exhaust so that it can breathe like a 360 should.
Now for something completely different. My brother has an 84 with selec-trac. It's stuck in 2wd. We replaced the engine a few years back and notice the steel lines that go to the front differential were rusted so they were replace but even then the 4wd didn't engage. Some vacuum gets to the valve with the switch on 4wd. I tried removing the vac switch on the differential by unscrewing it but couldn't get it out. What is the trick here? And am I missing something? With over a foot of snow on the ground he finally needs the 4wd and I think it should be a little embarrasing to have such a superior vehicle stuck in the driveway because of a little ice.
Thanks in advance.
frank

[trssho]

It will bolt right up to the bell housing. The only thing you will need is a bushing installed in the end of your crank where the torque converter goes in.

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1989 GW Tan w/106K miles

[andy d]

make sure that you hve vacuum at the front axle when the paddle is in 4 wd. also make sur there is vacuum at the vac motor on the t/case. could be a bad hose between the manifold and the reservoir.

[scotty]

when your in 4wd,and youre not moving,is your front driveshaft spinning? you could be in 2wd because the vaccum motor is not sliding the little coupler over in the fornt axle,or you could be in 2wd because your t case does not shift.

assuming its the former,have you tried applying vaccum to the ports on the vaccum shifter thingy on the diff cover?you can either use a vaccum pump,a vaccum line from the running engine,or your mouth http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/smile.gif (just kidding-dont really suck on a vaccum line going into a differential) put the truck in 4wd,and make sure its there.you should not be able to spin the front shaft with the truck in 4hi.now jack up the driver side wheel.if the coupler is not engaging the outer axle,you will be able to spin it freely.apply vaccum while spinning the wheel slowly(to ensure the splines line up) to all ports on the vaccum thingy.if you hit the right one,and it moves over and engages the outer alxe,the wheel will stop spinning.

if nothing happens,you may need to remove the front cover and check it out. the vaccum thingy and shift fork come out with the cover. again,spin the wheel slowly while prying the coupler toward the driver side of the rig and see if you can maunally move move it over. hopefully you can,and life will be good.its been awhaile since i took one apart,so i cant remember if there was a good way to ensure that it would not move back over. if you cant figure out a way,hopefully it will stay in place with no vaccum,at least until summer!

if you can get vaccum to move it,id highly reccomend simply connecting it to a constant vaccum source,so it stays engaged. this is how we did a buddy's girlfriends rig. this set up is completely assenine in conjuction with the 229 xfer. they tell you "dont put on lockouts,youll burn up the viscous coupling in the 229 if you forget to lock them",so what do tehy do?they install the same problematic shift motor on the fornt end to disengauge it-esentially,its a very unreliable factory lockout!what!? as youve discovered,when it quits working,you got no 4wd,and guess what happens-if you give it hell,you may now have a dead 229,in addition to an unlocked front end.

if the vaccum keeps it permantly locked,youre in the same boat as all other 229 equipped rigs tht dont have this feature-everything spins.no biggie.even if this is a prollem,you can now install locking hubs,the disconnect axle uses the same hub and rotor,so any good internal mount hub will do. at least when you get out and lock them,you wont wonder if theyre working or not,and if you forget,its at least your fault,and not the fault of a mechanical component that you didnt realize wasnt working.

my $.02 on disconnect axles.on the other hand,they could have some potential good uses in a front locker or spool equipped off road rig-sort of a "poor mans ARB" but i wont go into that here... http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/biggrin.gif


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scott
85 grand wagoneer
258 with motorcraft 2bbl/904/twin stick dana 300/dana 44/welded amc 20
38x15.5 gumbo mudders
snorkel/dual batteries/onboard air/"custom" convertable
3 inch body lift/mostly stock suspension/"modified" fender openings
custom front/rear bumpers and brushgaurd

T18/dana-spicer 18 with drum E brake and PTO swap very soon
searching for offset QT rear and PTO winch

[puck_dog]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I guess first I'll have to see if the front axle is spinning and take it from there.