My 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4 x 4 is chewing up front drive shafts, CV shafts, and differentials

[Barnstormer]

my 2004 ram 1500 4.7 is destroying the shafts and differential that I replaced maybe two months ago. Its the left front wheel that started out sounding like brake noise, then went to grinding, then locked up, and front drive shaft caught fire.
All i can think is it must be a alignment issue. I replaced the drive shaft, cv shaft and differential a month ago, and its already all destroyed again. It drove fine for two years, no problems. I am a rancher and use 4 wheel drive all the time, can anyone tell me what is causing this? I like the truck, but I hate working on it, the engineering on this truck is unbelievable. The cv and driveshaft are throwing the ball bearings right through the housing, And the differential left shaft is pushing out the bearing. The left side shaft is loose and I cant get it to release at the cv conection. I will get it off if i have to use a saw zaw, the differential has to be replaced again, matter of fact everything has to be replaced except the right cv shaft. Can someone please tell me what causes this, and can it be repaired, or should I just scrap the truck?

Thanks
Jonny

 

[smithwessn]

Silly question, but are you sure the new front diff ratio is the same as the rear diff ratio?

 

[Harley Harrold]

 

[Joe w.]

Welcome

 

[Barnstormer]

I ordered the same ratio that i pulled out. I will post some pictures of the shafts today.

 

[Papa Red]

Welcome to the forum.

Red

 

[WireEd]

Have you taken any damage like from an accident that could have moved or bent things? Hit something or maybe something hit you? Hit a curb or smack a mogul, boulder etc. Even a slight tweak can cause failure like this.

Dis you replace the entire diff assembly or just the gears? Did you set up the gears correctly?

I have seen a front driveshaft double cardin fail, yet look ok from the outside and cause either diff or tcase failure (or both).

 

[WireEd]

Also, as stated previously, critical is the the gear ratios front to back need to be exact. Tires also need to be matching front to back with same amount of tread life. Did the truck feel like it was binding up when you drove it before failure? Also, leaving it in 4wd all the time when driving on hard pavement can cause premature wear. I believe you stated you use 4wd all the time. Do you leave it there 100%?