4WD to AWD Swap

OK, project done. I got the NP149 driveshaft and installed it today. Found out my park brake sticks lol so I had to free that up to move it in the garage. I also removed the actuator, and installed a 3/4" long piece of PVC pipe to keep the front axle locked. I kept wondering if the actuator may back out, so I just did that to make sure it wouldn't possibly happen. Drove it around the neighborhood and everything feels good, no noises or anything.

i prob wouldnt rely on pvc to maintain that fork pushed out, front diff would prob get hot enough to deform the pvc after a bit of driving.
someone sells an aluminum plug that threads in and keeps the front axle disconnect pushed
cant seem to find where i picked it up from but its this:

That thing is $100. The whole actuator is plastic and it's held up for........ who knows how long. It's pretty thin plastic too. This PVC will outlast that actuator plastic.

Hey OP on a side note can you post a better pic of your grille? I've been toying with the idea of blacking mine out but want to see how it looks. We have the same body color and headlights.

tooleyondeck said:

Hey OP on a side note can you post a better pic of your grille? I've been toying with the idea of blacking mine out but want to see how it looks. We have the same body color and headlights.

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I didn't have the front emblem done yet, this is the only front view of it I can find. I plastidipped an old one from the junk yard to see if I'd like it or not. I have another one that I'm planning a bit of a hybrid project for. I'm going to keep the grille from the denali, but remove the honeycomb and insert the horizontal black bars from a 00-02 Yukon/Sierra. I never liked the honeycomb, but like the rest of the grille, and parking lights. So I'll see how that goes. I'll also be painting that one black, not plastidip.

Now this is a project. I suspect there will two or three fails down the road until someone gets it right. I had a 2011 Yukon with AWD. Put 208,000 miles on it and loved it. It was not intrusive at all. Never failed. Gave me piece of mind since it was the Wife's car.

Now I own a 2023 Yukon now and had to get 4WD. I have no clue what the definition of 4Auto means, but would love to use it as an all wheel drive. I can see no agreement as to what it is, much less how it can be used. Such is life with "progress"? I feel certain that GM knows much more about the cars they sell and how they will be used than I do. My general thought is that most buying Yukons do not pinstripe using cedar trees.

Anyone that can point me to a definitive GM source on 4Auto would be appreciated. Owners manual does not help much. These forums are all over the place on this subject. I feel for the guy that wants to convert to AWD. I would do that if it were easy to do and I knew I could go 208,000 miles on it, just like any other well maintained rear end, including my 2011.

drdave81 said:

OK, project done. I got the NP149 driveshaft and installed it today. Found out my park brake sticks lol so I had to free that up to move it in the garage. I also removed the actuator, and installed a 3/4" long piece of PVC pipe to keep the front axle locked. I kept wondering if the actuator may back out, so I just did that to make sure it wouldn't possibly happen. Drove it around the neighborhood and everything feels good, no noises or anything.

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You might think about using a galvanized pipe piece piece. Buy the right sized internal diameter then cut to fit.

I may get around to upgrading the CPVC pipe in there, still going fine though right now.

4auto is automatic 4wd. When you have that selected, you drive normally in 2wd, but once the vehicle detects wheel slip it automatically engaged 4wd.