My front diff is busted, and I mean bad.. I can barely even run the truck 5mph, and it's very loud. The diff casing is even busted. I want to just disable it to drive in 2wd.

What's the easiest way to do it? It won't disable using the push button control.

Can I just remove all the locking stuff in the front wheels, so there's nothing for the axles to grab on, and manually turn the solenoid at the transfer case to shut off the front wheel axle?

 

My Ranger is 2WD so I can't look to verify, but on my 97 Mountaineer with AWD I removed the front driveshaft at both flanges. I drove it like this for about 50,000 miles. Sold it at 200,000.

On the AWD models, you have to use the parking brake or the vehicle will "creep" down a hill pretty quickly.

 

Is your transfer case shifting in and out of 4wd ok? If so, keep it in 2wd. If it's stuck in 4wd, remove the front driveshaft.


Do you have automatic or manual locking hubs? If they're manual, just unlock them. If they're automatic, make sure the transfer case is in 2wd (or make sure driveshaft is removed - see above), put the truck in reverse, and back up about 10 feet. That will unlock the hubs. If you can't back up for whatever reason, jack up the truck so the front wheels are off the ground, hold the axle shaft in place with your hand, and use your other hand to spin the wheel backwards. Confirm the hub is unlocked by spinning the wheel in both directions and see if the axle shaft also turns (it should not turn.) Repeat on the other wheel.