Flat towing and the CAD diff?

Gilaguy23

YJ Enthusiast
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Apr 12, 2021
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Q town New Mexico
Just curious here as Ive read when shifting the T case into N for a flat tow, it also engages the front diff CAD. That being the case if it was shifted into N when the engine was not running I assume it would not engage the CAD/front diff. This is specifically for my 91 YJ, 5 spd. Any good or bad doing this?
 
Hmmm I don’t think it does engage the front cad but it’s been so long I don’t recall for sure. I thought the 4wd light turns off when in tcase neutral and back on when you get to 4L.

IF it does engage the CAD, then yes shifting with the motor off would not engage the CAD.

I’m pretty sure the CAD is not supposed to be engaged with tcase neutral. The reason being the tcase neutral is not true, the front and rear outputs are locked together in N. If the CAD were engaged while the tcase outputs were locked together, then the wheels would be locked together like 4wd and wouldn’t make turns smoothly. I think the whole reason they didn’t care to give the tcase a true neutral is because they had the CAD to break the connection so the outputs could be locked together but the wheels not bind when rolling. Then when the TJ came out they made the 4wd system always turning but the tcase neutral became a true neutral so either the front or rear axle turning the tcase at different rates didn’t matter.
 
Ah yeah, now I remember reading that the T case when in N puts the front and rear outputs together. It had no effect on the front diff. I do believe it only applied to early Yj's or something like that.
 
Ah yeah, now I remember reading that the T case when in N puts the front and rear outputs together. It had no effect on the front diff. I do believe it only applied to early Yj's or something like that.
The neutral keeping the outputs together is true through the whole YJ run. They changed it when the TJ came out and ditched the cad so the TJ could have an always spinning 4wd drive system.
 
So I guess this is where the True Neutral plate comes in, to disconnect the TC from the transmission as well as separate the front and rear driveshafts.
 
So I guess this is where the True Neutral plate comes in, to disconnect the TC from the transmission as well as separate the front and rear driveshafts.
Yes, all true neutral does is break apart the front and rear driveshafts when tcase is in neutral. TJs got true neutral, YJs got no true neutral but did get the front axle disconnect.
 
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