4wd won't disengage?

[GRoutzahn]

hello everyone. i think i finally have a problem that i can't find in past posts so, i finally have a reason to get on here.

i have a 2003 4x4 2500 that i bought back in march. i haven't had too many problems w/ it but, today i was out on our jobsite and had to flip it into 4 hi for about 5 seconds (i have a manual transfer case) and then put it back into 2wd. once i got onto the road again the front end felt like it was still engaged but the 4x4 light was out.

i then went to a parking lot and tried backing up and going forward and went thru all the gears in the transfer case and it still does it. also, when i do put it back into 4wd i can tell that the transfer case is locking up.

from what i can tell the front end is staying locked up in the differential. i'm not too sure how the 4wd works on these (used to be a toyota guy) but the front driveshaft does not spin freely like i think it should.

sorry if i missed any old posts that covered this.

any help would be greatly appreciated as i am working out of town and don't have any other resources.

 

[SRadke]

There is no disengagment in the front axle or hubs on a 03. The only place it will disengage is in the transfer case. This means the front diffrerential and driveline will always be solid if the tires are on the ground. It's easy to tell if the transfer case is stuck, just try to turn on a surface that has good traction, if the truck bucks you're still in 4wd.



-Scott

 

[GaryCarter]

The front driveshaft does not ever disengage and spin freely in the third gen trucks. On these models everything spins all the time and the only disconnect is inside the transfer case where the front output shaft is disconnected from the drive.

Possibly what you are feeling is just a bad front axle half shaft universal.

If you want to check and make sure the transfer case engages and disengages you can jack up one front wheel and try to spin it.



Gary

 

[DWestfall]

I had the same thing happen to mine. I swore it was stuck in 4WD but turns out it was a bad left front axle shaft u-joint.

 

[GRoutzahn]

thanks for the replies. after driving it on the roads a bit more (and reading the replies) i don't think it is the 4wd.

the main sypmtom is that the steering won't return to center after a turn and it keeps pulling to one side or the other.

i've taken a quick look at everything in the front end and checked the toe and can't see anything wrong.

if it is the u-joint, will there be any play in it or how can i tell?

thanks again for the help.

 

[GRoutzahn]

well, i believe that i found the problem. my steering stabilizer looks like it got bent. i tried to pull one end off to see how it drove w/o it on but couldn't get it off. i'll give it a try tomorrow when it's light out but i'm about 90% sure that's it.

thanks for your guys' help. see ya around!

 

[fkovalski]

Going out on a limb here... . But are you driving in snow/ slush?



I had a problem of dis engaging my '01 after 4WD in snow when the crap would lodge around the linkage underneath and then freeze. Doesn't sound like your problem, but just something to be aware of.

 

[JOblenes]

Bent Steering Stabilizer.

Had this happen to me once. I was driving across a clear cut area and at some point I tagged (very gently) a stump that was in some tall grass and the steering stabilizer shaft bent right where it goes into the shock body. Only at first I thought it was just a branch that flipped up and really thought nothing of it until a few moments later when the truck would not turn right. I figured that the stick must have wedged itself somewhere or something so I got out to look but could not see anything out of the ordinary (it was getting dark out and it was not at all obvious that the steering stabilizer was bent). I was able to get out of the clear cut and back onto the main road by a series of left hand turns. Once I got onto the road I was screwed because I immediately needed to make a right hand turn. 40 miles back in the woods with a maze of logging roads to navigate and no right hand turns, ya that will work. It took me probably half an hour of cursing before finally figuring out it was the steering stabilizer that was bent. I undid the body bolt and tied it up with bailing wire. Funny thing is I drove it like that for probably 5 months, didn't make the slightest diffrence. Eventually the bailing wire must have broken and the shock hit the ground because the next oil change I did it was gone.

 

[GRoutzahn]

my plan is to do exactly that for now - pop off one end of the stabilizer and tie it up w/ some baling wire. i need to get a new one soon, however, b/c i've had some pretty bad deathwobble in the past and don't want it to return.

i wonder if it would be best to live w/ the stiff steering for a while or take off the stabilizer and hope i don't get the dw.