I've been meaning to put this up since I did it last fall. I put in an S-10 front axle when I put in the 4.10's so I had to figure out a way to engage and disengage the axle.
Posi-lock makes such an item, but at $200+ I just couldn't bring myself to pay more for a cable then I did for the whole axle. So I McGyvered it. I ran this a bunch this winter in the snow and then again in the desert this spring; it worked great.
So first of all the axle came with a cable and end that looked like this (the hose clamp and mounting braket are "after market"
In the OEM application this is connected to, and operated by, a vacuum diaphragm. Note the little groove at the end for a c-clip, I'll use that.
So basically you just need to come up with a way to pull and hold that cable out to engage (a spring in the diff. at the other end will return it), preferably from inside the cab
I used a hood release cable from a junked Geo $5.00.
I didn't want to put a hole in the dash so I mounted it through the vent register under the steering column.
Next I had to hook the two cable ends together. I'm sure there are a bunch of ways to do this, but if you happen to have a vintage Stanley #21 3" bubble level housing, that will work well
Drill a 3/16"? hole in one end for the shaft end of the OEM cable and put the c-clip on through the "window" in the "Stanley". If your after market cable has a ball on the end like mine did, cut a slot the size of the cable from the "window" to the other end. Slide the cable in and voila! the cables are connected.
Now you need to mount the cable casings to something so they can't move; I used a piece of aluminum flat stock as seen in photo #1 and below. I know the hose clamp was kinda cheesy but it was easy and solid. On the other end I fabricated a small clamp.
