Converting from 4wd to 2wd temporarily

I have found several temporarily convert a Jeep Cherokee to 2wd. Some times it is chasing a noise or vibration. Other times it is working around a damaged part. In this most recent case, it is waiting for proper gears to arrive to complete a re-gearing. Whatever your reason, here is the procedure I used.

First remove the front drive shaft. Depending on your reason for converting to 2wd, this may be all you have to do.

If you need to concern yourself with the rotating assembly, either obtain some 2wd stub shafts or some normal outer shafts. If you have broken a U joint on the trail you probably have an outer shaft with the ears broken that you can use. I used the 2wd stubs shafts from the ZJ I just scrapped. I keep them in my trail spares just in case.

Remove the hubs and replace the axle shafts with the stub shafts. Be sure to torque the 36mm nut to 175 ft lobs to set the bearing preload properly. Reinstall the hubs and brake assembly.

In this most recent case, the carrier is out of the diff. So I put on the cover and stuffed some rags in the pinion end and tapped in an old seal to keep most of the trash out.