A.D.D vacuum nozzle broke off

Hello,
I'm looking to put the truck in 4wd after 10 years of non-use by previous owner. I did read the stickys and did some searching. In addition to that many years of inactivity, I noticed the air/vacuum/vent tube nozzle has completely broken off (who knows how long ago), and the broken bit is still in the hose. The truck didn't get driven in the rain or off-road (I know lol), so maybe not a ton of moisture got in there? Did have some muddin as shown on the surroundings from an apparent ferris bueller style test drive from a service tech.
Is the tube required to be hooked up to engage 4wd (is it a vacuum actuated system?), or is it just a matter of water ingress?
Am I wasting my time (and risk being stuck in 4wd) by trying the 4wd buttons if that hose being unhooked will stop me short anyways?
Of the owners that has a cracked etc vent hose, did you all have to pull open the actuator and sand down the contacts etc?
Has anyone had any good luck at all with the cheaper $100 versions of the front actuator, or the $400 Napa stuff, or just stick with the $600 OEM options only?

 

The transfer case actuator is easy to clean out and make sure you have good contact. Many here have done it with some posting pics like @BroHon. The front actuator isn’t so easy peasy. Some have banged on the housing to get it unstuck but obviously that’s not very scientific enough to say it’ll work.

If you got a 2nd ride and free towing, I say go for it. Stick with OEM, BTW.

 

I do have a second ride but no free towing. Hopefully if it's not able to function well enough to engage, that means it won't get stuck engaged either.

 

There more of a chance it won’t engage then get stuck from others who have posted here. I say go for it.

 

That line is just a breather, no vacuum. It wont keep it from engaging/disengaging. I would go for it and try to get it working.
Cover that hole though (Gorilla tape?) until you figure out a fix for the broken off hose fitting. For me at least, that would be something involving JBweld haha.
If no one else posts I'll look for some more info tonight...

 

One again Faye has a solution!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MTZTtvNVR-0

 

I’d just install a threaded hose barb into the plastic and throw on a new tube. Done done.

 

Yeah, that was my first thought except it's so small. You'd have to do some drilling /tapping I guess.
At least it's the front actuator, easy enough to take on and of and not worry about clocking it correctly.

 

As you said the plastic cover for the ADD actuator is removable. I'd recommend taking it off using a hand impact to avoid rounding out the screw heads, then drill the hole and add the threaded barb and reinstall the cover.

I broke this nipple off of my donor differential. Since I had another ADD actuator handy, I just took the plastic cover off my old differential which still had a good nipple.

 

Working on my ranger, my cousin and I broke a nipple off the power steering pump. We ended up drilling both parts to fit basically a thin metal straw between them and used jb weld. It worked well

 

All this talk of broken nipples.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2g5A4FKAmw​

 

Lube those nipples! Haha

 

My alternate title was to be My nipple fell off! but I kept it lame. Good to know that it's not crucial for activation. I think I'll cover it for now with tape, then figure the best fix for it. I think I was confusing the rear actuator cover because I kept seeing about extensions and wobble sockets etc. I'll have to pull off the front and see what's up in there.

 

Tits nothing man, glad you could get it off your chest. Don't think anyone here has a good mammary, so they'll probably forget in no time flat.

 

Shifty- Good points! Those couple things were really weighing me down.

 

Here are a few snaps of what I found. There is a thin O-ring under that cover, so be careful.
Notice I broke two of the fasteners heads off... be prepared if you go in.
Took my sweet time scraping all the corrosion off and cleaning those traces.
Then dialectic grease on the contacts/traces/and gear. Red&tacky on the cover and O-ring.
(this is on my 2000 AC, 288k at the time, front actuator)

 

Thanks for the pics BroHon. That gives me an idea of what to expect going in. And W666, I'll probably go that route with Faye's method of repair.