Dag Blum thing gets stuck in the snow

Got a 95 Chevy 3500 dually sitting in my driveway that has an issue with the 4WD. Took it out a couple of weeks ago, engaged the 4 high and made it about 1/2 mile then it dropped out. Turns out the 4WD fuse blew out and the replacement fuse blew immediately. Obviously a dead short somewhere.

Under about 3 feet of snow right now and crawling around underneath the truck is not high on my "want" list.

Any immediate suggestions come to mind? Anything typically to look for?

Any help would be appreciated.

Bill

Quick and dirty (since you're crawling around under it)......

Get the front diff plug, install it in a few minutes, and deal with the selectability when the snow is gone and it warms up some. The plug forces full time diff engagement. The transfer case will still work normally, so you can get in and out of 4x4 as necessary. Info on the plug is in another recent thread.

HERE'S the thread. Some good info on what is probably your issue, with some other solutions included.

Thanks:

Now all I have to do is use the plow to tow it out of the snowbank so I can get under it. Who would order a 3500 dually with two open center axles. Even with 4WD the thing is useless in the snow and now with only the rear working, it may end up being a lawn ornament till spring.

Thanks again.

Bill

Duallys are notoriously bad when it comes to traction in rain or snow. 400 lbs of sand bags over the rear axle will help. I think you have more of a traction problem than anything else. Back when I was a kid, I plowed snow for the town highway dept. We had a few Chevy dually C30 2wd mason dumps, 292 6cyl, 4sp trannys with 9ft Fisher plows on them. We would load them to the gunwales with 2-1/2 to 3yds of sand and salt and never got stuck. We would rarely have to put chains on them either. Im not saying you have to load your truck to that extreme, but some weight would help drasticly.

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Originally Posted by wpdozer

Duallys are notoriously bad when it comes to traction in rain or snow. 400 lbs of sand bags over the rear axle will help. I think you have more of a traction problem than anything else. Back when I was a kid, I plowed snow for the town highway dept. We had a few Chevy dually C30 2wd mason dumps, 292 6cyl, 4sp trannys with 9ft Fisher plows on them. We would load them to the gunwales with 2-1/2 to 3yds of sand and salt and never got stuck. We would rarely have to put chains on them either. Im not saying you have to load your truck to that extreme, but some weight would help drasticly.

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Truck was never meant to plow. At close to 20 feet long, it would never make a functional plow vehicle. The PO used it in south Texas to tow a fiver for a church group. My big question is why did they even want 4wd and if they foresaw a need for 4WD why didn't they at least spec a posi on the rear? Cost would have been marginal at the factory level. Checked the VIN number on Compnine and the open rear axle was actually an option and would have needed you to check off a box on the original order.

Fully agree about the weight in the back. This one currently has about 200 lbs. of snow in it and still won't move. Unloaded, most older pickups are useless in the snow, especially the long wheel base ones.

Going to pull it out today and move it into storage. Current owner won't need it till the spring so will address this issue then. Just thought there would be a quick and dirty fix to at least get it back into 4WD without having to grovel under the truck to get it out of the snowbank. Scratch that idea.

Bill

You hit the nail on the head as far as the trucks specs being poorly thought out. They probably figured it would never leave the pavement. I can understand the dual wheels for towing, but four wheel drive in south Texas seems strange to me unless it's used as an off road constuction work truck.

Still useless with the open axle as it will get stuck after a five minute rain. As you said, those long trucks need at least a posi, or in my opinion, a locker to be of any worth in the snow. Check out that Posi Lock setup for the front axle, I did one on a friends S10 and it works great. Throw a locker in that rear and you'll be all set.

Ever consider a GOV truck like mine? 6.2, 205 TC , rear Detroit locker, limited slip front, and old school locking hubs. You'll never get it stuck, and it might be a better fit in your neck of the woods. It will top out at 55mph , unless you throw a 700R4 in it as I did. Good luck. Wayne.

Got that part covered. Have an 88 GMC 2500 6.2 regular cab. Two manhole covers and a 45 gallon tank of home heating fuel in the box and that thing will pull stumps. Use it only to plow the laneway in the winter and to supply fuel for the house (all my fuel tanks are stale dated so can't get anyone to deliver fuel for me...provincial regs :confused:).

Was just storing the dually for a friend. Used it to pull my RV south last year (Myrtle Beach) and poured over 1,200 dollars in gasoline into it. Best mileage for the whole trip was 6 MPG. That's not going to happen again. Should have spent the money on fixing up the Caddy. Would have reduced the fuel bill by at least 600 bucks.

Bill

Send that gas guzzlin pavement queen dually back to Texas, LOL. That truck still must have cost a fortune new. A gasser with axles like that? what a waste:rolleyes:.

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Originally Posted by wpdozer

Send that gas guzzlin pavement queen dually back to Texas, LOL. That truck still must have cost a fortune new. A gasser with axles like that? what a waste:rolleyes:.

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Current owner wants it to pull a gooseneck with his backhoe on it. Seriously looking at doing a 12 valve Cummins conversion. Truck is still very nice with no rust. Going to have ceremonial burning of the Chevy rat engine out in the back yard. :D

Bill

Bill, Im an Operating Engineer with 30 yrs in the seat and beleve me, towing anything bigger than a compact type tractor with that truck is insane. The smallest industrial size backhoe like a Deere 310 or a Cat 416 weighs in at nearly 16000 pounds. Add the weight of a goosneck trailer capable of carrying that kind of weight would require at least a GMC 5000 series truck with air brakes. A gooseneck trailer with electric brakes is even a little light for a compact, Deere, Kabota, or New Holland TLB. Be carefull.:eek:

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Originally Posted by wpdozer

Bill, Im an Operating Engineer with 30 yrs in the seat and beleve me, towing anything bigger than a compact type tractor with that truck is insane. The smallest industrial size backhoe like a Deere 310 or a Cat 416 weighs in at nearly 16000 pounds. Add the weight of a goosneck trailer capable of carrying that kind of weight would require at least a GMC 5000 series truck with air brakes. A gooseneck trailer with electric brakes is even a little light for a compact, Deere, Kabota, or New Holland TLB. Be carefull.:eek:

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Understood and I agree but have no idea what size machine he intends on hauling with it. Do know he picked up the gooseneck from a custom builder and I will suggest he installs a set of electric over hydraulic disc brakes on it. The truck is rated for 16,700 lbs. so that is going to be a limitation.

Bill

Keep me posted, I would be interested with the outcome.

Will do Wayne. By the way, where is Ossining in relation to the rest of the world? Know upstate NY pretty well but have never heard of your home town.

Bill

As a process of elimination once you start testing I'd suggest that you simply unplug the solenoid for the CAD on the front diff and test in 4x4 to see if the fuse still blows.

Hea Bill, Brewster NY is my home town, so Im a Putnam Co hillbilly by birth, LOL. I moved to Ossining about twelve years ago. Ossining is in northern Westchester Co, and approx 30 miles-by the crow flys, north of NYC on the eastern shore of the Hudson river, and 10 miles north of the Tappan Zee bridge. The famous terms "up the river" "old sparky" and "the big house" originated here as Sing Sing prison is located here. It is one of the oldest prisons in the United States-1826. It occupies 137 acres and about a half a billion dollars worth of prime real estate right on the rivers edge.:eek:.

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Originally Posted by Kennedy

As a process of elimination once you start testing I'd suggest that you simply unplug the solenoid for the CAD on the front diff and test in 4x4 to see if the fuse still blows.

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Forgive my ignorance but what pray tell is the CAD? I assume the solenoid is in the underhood fuse panel.


Wayne:

A total departure from the original topic but a few years ago I had probably the best steak I have ever had in the town of Catskill, somewhat north of you. Was dropping off a friend at his boat to continue a trip down the inland waterway to Florida. Was the first week of December and being a vacation town, Catskill had rolled up the sidewalks for the season. Even the marina where his boat was docked had brought in the docks for the year and were waiting for Paul to leave before shutting the place down. Had to break the ice out of the harbor to get him out into the Hudson. The only restaurant still open was a nice little Italian place on the main street and I was pleasantly surprised with the meal.

You sir live in probably the nicest area in the north east. Have always loved the Catskills. Wonderful country.

Bill

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Originally Posted by convert2diesel

Forgive my ignorance but what pray tell is the CAD? I assume the solenoid is in the underhood fuse panel.......Bill

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CAD = Center Axle Disconnect. The system that disconnects the powertrain at the front diff.

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Originally Posted by DmaxMaverick

CAD = Center Axle Disconnect. The system that disconnects the powertrain at the front diff.

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Thanks. Way too many acronyms around for this old brain to process.

Bill

The plug in is on the diff housing itself. The old heater and wax activators were pure crap. The replacement electric ones were incredibly reliable and the concept is still in use today.

Hea Bill, The Catskills is well north of me, real nice area. the Adirondacks is more my cup of tea. My area, ok to not that great. Rush hour traffic and the citys influence give it the not so great factor. When I retire, I want to move back upstate where I can enjoy the warmth of a tightly packed wood stove, have a decent shop to work on my junk, and be able to take a pee off my porch without my neighbors seeing me. HA!

How is it going with the front dif problem? Did you go with the Posi Lock setup?

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Originally Posted by wpdozer

How is it going with the front dif problem? Did you go with the Posi Lock setup?

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Solved the problem. Got it unstuck and drove it over to a friends yard and parked it till the spring. Out of sight, out of mind. Bigger problem is the brakes. can't see any leaks but the rears haven't been off the truck since new. That and it seems the master is fubarred.

Got my work cut out for me once the temps get to the point that frost bite isn't an issue.

Bill

Your TLA (thermo linear actuator) probably isn't up to the task anymore.

It's a wax like plug that the truck heats up and when it expands it engages the front axle differential. It's in the front diff itself.

As it's heat activated, you can see where it probably caused problems in snow. If it's too cold or buried in snow they've been known to disconnect because they cool faster than the heater can keep up with and disconnect the front diff.

There are a couple manual options out there as well as the newer servo actuator style (my 98 has a servo, there's a retrofit kit for earlier trucks) but everything requires you to crawl under the truck and change it out.

Nothing wrong with a rat, heck of a strong and reliable engine. They're very thirsty though.

Brakes issues and another ball of wax (pun). Unfortunately, that's another area where you just have to crawl under the truck and hunt it down....if the master is bypassing though, that would sure explain crap brakes. You can try a bleed procedure first though. It will only cost you an hour of so of your time....