Thanks for the correction
I had no idea that Jeep had gone back to using that again.
A former neighbor bought a new 4wd F-350 a few years ago, and it
did have a solid axle with lock-out hubs. But the TC shift was electric
(and of course it was a F**d ! )
I suppose one could just disable the disconnect somehow (like I have done in my old GMT400) so that the two front axles were always locked together. But that would probably be a warranty No-No on a new pickup. I was looking at buying one of the cable controls for my 89 but it just wasn't worth the added expense for a "ranch" pickup. Besides I wanted to get the 4wd working at least temporarily before I spent any more money on it, and once it was working in 4wd then why bother?
The problem (one of them!) that I have with these things is how long do they actually take to engage ??? For instance, let's say you are driving around on paved roads in 2wd and there are random slick spots. You stop at an intersection and there is ice because other people having been sliding and spinning and it hasn't melted there yet. So you need 4wd to get going but you are immediately going to put it back in 2wd as soon as you get back on dry pavement. So you have to sit there while all the gizmos whir and the computer figures it out?