PARK will NOT hold when the rear shaft is out in a 91 alltrac
What was the problem you were solving by removing the rear shaft?
Just an update for the record...I've done about 10000 miles on the locked transfer now and no issues. Since the front diff made noise just passively turning unless it was slightly overfilled with oil I installed 2wd hubs and removed all the front 4wd stuff.I'm happy with the changes since it solved my chronic 4wd issues, but I can report that a 2wd Previa certainly ain't no killer snow vehicle here in SLC.jw
I know this is an old thread, hoping that the posters are still alive. I had the viscous coupling on my 92 start acting up, so was very interested in removing the front shaft and just using it as 2wd. I have no use for the w wd, and the tc is ridiculously expensive. So having seen conflicting things about removing the shaft, I figured id give it a try. Pulled it out, and it seems just fine. no slipping all is great - except, Park, no longer locks the wheels. It kinda slows the van from rolling quickly, but not safe. So I tried locking it as described above, but for the life of me, I cant seem to find a spot where that pin will go in after I push the fork shaft in . Does anyone have any experience with that? and will that fix my "Park" situation. Also, someone said that they only got a mile or so without the front shaft, then it stopped. Why? I havent gone a mile yet, but sure feels right. What changes?
It was the absence of the rear shaft on my 95 that apparently caused the computer to panic and prevented me from driving it until I put it back in. The 91's arent as "smart" and mine had no problem operating as a FWD temporarily. In fact I drove it cross country.
Thanks for thinking I might be dead.
If you want a real solution this is what you have to do. You have to do BOTH the following, otherwise your vehicle will get effed.
1. Lock the transfer per the manual. This bypasses the viscous coupling and makes both the front and rear drive shafts turn together, like permanent AWD I suppose.
2. Remove the forward part of the front drive shaft (not the hinged bit which goes into the transfer case) When combined with 1. above this turns the vehicle into RWD. The Previa wants to be RWD NOT FWD. Do not remove the front drive shaft without locking the transfer - you will bugfger up the transfer in an unpredictable way. Do not remove the rear shaft to turn it into FWD. Same thing.
Mine is a manual and has done over 30,000 miles now with no issues. Also, with the manual trans I always use the parking brake. If you have to use it in your automatic after modding the transfer, you decide which is worse.
Update: 50,000+ miles on the *locked transfer/no front shaft* mod with zero problems.
That's pretty cool. You are pioneering new ground for Previas!