3rd Gen 4X4 issue

[Ram Lover]

Have an 02 (late model) half ton ram 5.9l. I think ive finally found that the front is supposed to be locked all the time and you get four wheel drive capabilty through engaging the transfer case. Our first snow and try the four wheel and loud clunk and felt kinda half engaged like 2 low or something as it would still kick out the rear end if i got on it but would still go not just spin. Loud clunk back out of four wheel and a couple more times in and out. Now no clunking shifts nice and quiet and smooth like before but no front wheel action. Believe the transfer is shifting fine, watched the drive shaft in two wheel lazily turn and then in four it spins fast, also it crawls if i put it in four low. Spun the drive shaft by hand in two wheel and spins free no binding, resistance, or anything, then spin the wheels themselves and they turn the front driveshaft. So this leads me to believe a front diff issue but what? There's no crunching binding noise from the diff either like the pinion or ring gear are screwed so what could it be? Thanks for any help, need to figure it out before we get real weather, and my road kinda sucks sometimes anyway being 3/4 mile in the woods down a dirt road.

 

[Ram Lover]

Still no one, really?

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[usaf2006]

Can't help ya bud, but I'll bump the thread up for ya.

 

[Ram Lover]

Thanks.

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[SilverStreak88]

(This is probably rhetorical), but did you check the fluid? Just to be clear, the rear wheels will spin faster than the front in 4HI, but in 4LO the gear ratio is the same, thus the wheels spin the same speed. I'm guessing you have a floor shift? The linkage could be a possibility.

 

[Ram Lover]

(This is probably rhetorical), but did you check the fluid? Just to be clear, the rear wheels will spin faster than the front in 4HI, but in 4LO the gear ratio is the same, thus the wheels spin the same speed. I'm guessing you have a floor shift? The linkage could be a possibility.

Yes all fluids are good, knob shifter of the dash, sorry thought I put that in but must have been post in general when you said start a thread. Didn't know they spin at different speeds, but what I was referring to was the difference in speed of the front drive shaft in two wheel and four wheel while rolling on the driveway. Thinking that eliminates the transfer.

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[Ram Lover]

Think I figured it out, front is always locked, no actuator, put it up on stands and in 4hi heard slight grinding from the front, figured yup differential, but crawled under to look and the stub shafts are spinning inside the CV shafts, just read two hours before I went out to snowblow and look at it that they like to rust there and get brittle and chew each other up, looked on rockauto and about 200 for all four Cardone brand shafts, on another site these are an upgrade, are they good on our truck? Anybody have them on theirs?

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