LUKE44

Any help would greatly appreciated. My 90 power ram has thrown two lights in the dash. The brake light and abs light. Pedal became spongy.i have checked fuse it was good, replaced speed sensor on rear axel, brake fluid was low, filled it. Dont see any leakes in break lines.

The second issue is this past winter we got 30 inches of snow in one storm. Went to get the truck out of my drive way. It has manuel locking hubs. Locked hubs shifted transfer case into 4wd the light that is supposed to come on in th dash when its in 4wd did not come on and front wheels did not lock in, couldnt get truck out w/o pulling it with my hummer. Got stuck at the dump the other day after it rained. Any suggestions . Thanks bob

sorry about the long winded explaination, wanted to get everything out.

MrFusion

Welcome to DTR! Lots of good people here.

The loss of brake fluid with no noticeable leak is very likely a leaking rear wheel cylinder. It leaks inside the drum and smears all over the brake pads, backing plate, etc then it starts to leak out of the bottom of the drum. The other possibility is that the master cylinder is leaking back into the vacuum booster. Pull your drums and see whats what.

Sounds like your transfer case is not engaging in 4x4. Assuming you have Cummins truck with an NP205. The NP205 is pretty rugged. I would look at the shifter linkage first to make sure it is not frozen up and is completely free to move. I occasionally have to let my truck roll at walking speed to disengage the 4x4. Sometimes, if your truck is already stuck (for example the front wheels can't be rolled) it's easier to get the transfer case into 4x4 BEFORE you lock the hubs in. This is because the driveline is unloaded before you lock the hubs in.

You don't have to appologize for long posts. More info gets better answers.

Fill out your truck info in the sig line so we know what you have so people can help you better.

LUKE44

Thanks for the response. My truck has the 318 cant kill it. The transfer case shifts in and out no problem. 4h to n to 4l then back to 2wd. Just wont engage the front wheels. The last time i used it was last winter in the snow no problems. Go to use it this winter, nothing.i live in northern md we got smacked this past winter. Sucked not to be able to drive it for some fun. My h2 went through no problems. I did put a photo of big blue with my info. Love that truck. Wish i could find some tube bumpers for it.

patdaly

You say it has manual locking hubs, those would have been aftermarket ( assuming since 318 V8 we are dealing with a half ton ), are you sure they either locked in the CAD or replaced the axle?

j_martin

So far we know it's a gasser. Don't have a clue for the year, or the model of truck. All these answers assumed it was a first gen CTD.

My first gen era Dakota has a vacuum shifter on the front differential. It's fussy and sticky.

mknittle

I forgot about that. I was thinking hubs.I know 1/2 tons have them. Don't know what years though.

LUKE44

Thanks for the response. I put the locking hubs in several years ago. Didn't want to wear out front end parts and to help with mpg

LUKE44

It is a gasser with efi w150 long bed. 6 inch skyjacker lift. 36 in m/t baja belted.FORGOT TO ADD IT IS A 1990

LUKE44

There is a picture of it in my photo gallery

bannerd

vacuum actuator. Good system, just make sure the hoses don't leak or no cigar.

MrFusion

If you have lock out hubs installed I would either find a solid replacement axle shaft without the center axle disconnect (CAD) or permanently lock the CAD in the engaged position. The vacuum lines get brittle with age and crack. When this happens the CAD vacuum solenoid won't work right. There's not much point to having both lock outs and CAD. They both do the same thing in different ways.

I have a 1987 Jeep Comanche yard truck with CAD. The vacuum system failed in relation to the CAD and I converted it to be permanently engaged. Cheap and easy fix. There are lots of write ups on how to do this if you google it. I don't have lock outs but it doesn't matter because the truck sees very little paved road.

If you're running 36's and beating on it I would look for a solid axle shaft because it's a stronger set up. The CAD collars have been known to break in half.

patdaly

^^^^^^ There you go, solid advice.