with the concern that folks have about cracking the front aluminum differential housing....
there are no front lockout hubs to manually disengage the front axles... so the axles, ring-gear/pinion gear, and the front propeller shaft always turn whether or not the 4x transfer case is engaged....this is because the front wheels are splined to the front cv axles....
so on the trail, if I should ever have the misfortune of busting my front differential, I have been concerned about a temporary fix to get the liberty home.....I carry the tools to remove my front driveline and I know how to do it now since I installed a front true-trac last year....by removing the two steering knuckles (spindles), it's not difficult to pop out the two cv axle half-shafts....
here is my question....can the steering components be reinstalled without the two cv axles and still be safely driven?....it would then be much like a two wheel drive liberty.....are the two wheel drive steering knuckles different?....does the large axle nut centered in the brake rotor serve any other purpose besides fastening the axle stubs?.....if the axle nut is required to keep the brake rotor mounted, then is there a two wheel drive liberty stub shaft or other part that I could carry in my tool bag to temporarily rebuild the front rotors, etc?.....
a trail side removal of the front differential components would be a pretty difficult job and I don't see how you can pull the KJ with the guts chewing themselves up....
with the axles removed, the differential and the front propeller shaft would not turn when the wheels roll....I could drive home, locate a replacement differential housing at my convenience, etc....
I want to run with the dogs in the local jeep club and I want to be my own saviour if this event ever occured....
anyway, something besides lift springs to talk about here....
