Third, you don't seem know what you're talking about.
Based on your above description, your experience with driving in "2WD" on your H3 was different in a few ways. First, you removed the front drive train components completely, resulting in a large weight loss from the front suspension. This "sprung" weight loss over your front IFS more then likely caused under steer, poor handling, and alignment issues.
Yes, and no. Yes the weight loss would potentially affect handling. Except for the fact that the ThorParts front bumper and 12K winch I have on more than equal the weight loss of the front drivetrain (the effect is even more since they are farther from the axle centerline), so the handling would actually have gone back to stock compared to where I was before I took out the front axle. The reduced overall weight would have affected alignment but only slightly, certainly not enough to have the amount of impact I observed. I can guarantee that my bumper and winch combo weighs more than the entire front drivetrain (driveshaft, differential, CV axles). Plus reducing the front weight would have shifted the weight distribution more toward the rear which induces more oversteer than understeer.
Second, if you removed your front CV axles from the hubs, your hub bearings were doomed to fail- Fast. The hub bearings on a 4WD vehicle are designed to support the vehicles "Sprung" weight in the following order: Upper control arm- Steering knuckle- Hub/Bearing- CV Axle- Bearing/Hub- Lower control arm. The CV axle carries/distributes the majority of the vehicles weight while inside the bearing assembly. Additionally, an unsupported (Rear- Outer Axle Housing) bearing could drift in/out of the hub; everything I have read/researched about this topic is constant.
Lots of misinformation here. First, the upper control arm does nothing to support the sprung weight of the vehicle, it only keeps the knuckle in place. The lower control arm on the H3/T is what is actually supporting any weight since that is what the torsion spring bar attaches to, the other end attaches to the frame. The CV axle also does nothing to support the weight of the vehicle, it only drives the wheel, and in the case of the stock setup applies clamping pressure to the unit bearing, presumably to ensure that it doesn't come apart and fail. The tire, wheel, unit bearing, steering knuckle, lower control arm ball joint, lower control arm, torsion bar, and the attachment point for the torsion bar on the frame are what actually support the weight of the vehicle on the front. Even the wheel studs don't really support much of the weight when using the factory wheels, instead it's the flange on the hub that fits into the wheel that mainly supports the weight. The studs and wheel nuts primary purpose is to hold the wheel in place. Once you switch to aftermarket wheels though then you probably will see the studs holding weight primarily unless the wheels have been milled to fit onto the flange properly.
I really have no idea what you're going on about with the rear outer axle housing bearing. We're talking about the front axle. Unless you're talking about the unit bearing coming apart since nothing is clamping it together like I already mentioned?
You do understand that you're using the same unit bearing assembly for your setup as the stock H3, only modified, right? That's why I brought up the bearings potentially coming apart since there is nothing on your setup to keep the unit bearing together aside from the rollover crimp in the inner side of the assembly, which may or may not be strong enough to keep the bearing together properly over a long period of time. When I took my axle out I used a couple spare junk axles and split off the outer CV stubs from them and bolted them in place, torqued to the 190ft/lbs spec, to ensure that I had no issues. Not sure why you seem to be assuming that I didn't and had a hub failure since I never said anything about my hubs failing. You might have failures though, but I sure hope not as that could be catastrophic. Maybe it will just have a much shorter lifespan and you'll have to replace it more frequently? It'd be interesting to see since all I've really seen on it is speculation, no one has really been brave enough to try it for very long that I know of.
Second, you mentioned no improvement in your fuel economy/performance. I would agree with you, given your approach. I also debated on physically disconnecting my front drive-line (front drive shaft removal), when I was completing some repairs/improvements. How would this affect the vehicle? Very simple- You now have only 60% of your engine HP/torque going to your rear wheels. The remaining 40% is wasted on the disconnected transfer-case front input shaft. I realized, no matter what, the factory 4494 was designed with a planetary gear set with a fixed power distribution 40/60. Given this information, its possible your MPG got worse even with the weight savings.
You do understand that in order for me to drive at all in RWD only I had to have had the transfer case in 4hi locked, not 4hi unlocked, right? Which means 100% of the power is going to the rear. If I had left it in 4hi unlocked then I would have gone nowhere since the diff in the transfer case would then be an open diff and the front output would have just spun like mad with nothing attached to it. The rear output wouldn't have moved a millimeter. The 40/60 or whatever GM spouts is ONLY if both axles are hooked up to the transfer case AND the diff in the transfer case is unlocked. It is not like AWD systems that use clutches or other methods to control power transfer, it is a plain old open/locking differential. Once you lock the center diff then it becomes 50/50 because there is zero slip inside the center diff at that point (except when the front is completely unhooked, then it's 100% to the rear of course). This was the whole point of you having to modify your transfer case so that 4hi unlocked becomes 2hi. I didn't have 60% of my power going to the rear and 40% disappearing into the ether. So no, that was not the reason I did not see any MPG increase. The reason I didn't see any real increase is because the amount of drivetrain power loss on the front is so low, especially with the V8, that it's difficult to measure any change in MPG from it. Yes, it is less inertia and parasitic/frictional losses to overcome. However, it has far less effect than the mass and rolling resistance of my 33" tires which the engine still has to get moving even if it's not through the front drivetrain. Maybe if I was running 28" highway tread doughnuts it'd be more perceptible, but still unlikely. Don't forget the H3/T is about as aerodynamic as a brick.
