Front axle stays locked up

[RCapehart]

2007.5 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 Mega Cab 44,000 miles 68RFE

I had it in 4WD the other day. When I switched it back to 2WD drive it released front to rear but the front axle stayed locked side to side. I confirmed it was not in 4WD by jacking the rear end up and easing it into drive. I was still trying to decide what to do next and it released. I have a vacuum line attached to the front axle but no solenoid like on my old 96. Any ides what happened? Do I have a problem delevoping?

 

[jhenderson]

You do not have a central axle disconnect. The line you see is a vent line.

 

[mwilson]

What was happening that made you look for it being locked side to side?? Steering funny???

 

[RCapehart]

What was happening that made you look for it being locked side to side?? Steering funny???

Yes the front tires were scrubbing the pavement when going around a bend. I could even feel it in the driveway just turning around. Just like it does when in four-wheel-drive. The switch was in 2WD and the front and rear were not locked together. I drove it to town and back and it was doing it. Then it just stopped.

 

[mwilson]

Bad knuckle u joint perhaps??? I would give them both a good hard looking over....

 

[jgillott]

Bad knuckle u joint perhaps??? I would give them both a good hard looking over....

I agree, that usually is the culprit.

 

[cerberusiam]

If both front tires were actually scrubbing going around turns the front diff was locked. A bad ujoint will feel a little weird at full lock but it won't skid both tires. The chances of both ujoints being bad at the same time them releasing and working correctly, astronomical. A little more investigation is warranted to see if there is a real problem there.

 

[RCapehart]

If both front tires were actually scrubbing going around turns the front diff was locked. A bad ujoint will feel a little weird at full lock but it won't skid both tires. The chances of both ujoints being bad at the same time them releasing and working correctly, astronomical. A little more investigation is warranted to see if there is a real problem there.

I need to jack each side up and remove the wheels and throughly check the knuckle joints. It felt like it was in 4WD on hard pavement. I confirmed that the front was not locked with the rear. The problem was in the front end. Right now it is fine, no problems. It just went away. Knuckle joint problems would not do that. What could be going on that the front axle was locked?

 

[cerberusiam]

If the axle was locked likely a problem in the spider gears. The front is a open diff, even in 4 wheel drive the front tires will never be locked together.

 

[wtabke]

If you say that it felt like it was in 4wd, maybe it was.

How did you confirm that it was not?

 

[RCapehart]

If you say that it felt like it was in 4wd, maybe it was.

How did you confirm that it was not?

I jacked the rear end up and eased it into drive. Front end did not move. Put the rear end back on the ground. Went for a drive. Still had the problem.

 

[RCapehart]

Bad knuckle u joint perhaps??? I would give them both a good hard looking over....

Well now you were spot on. My 07.5 only has 45K on it. Bought it 2yrs ago with 27K on it. So they were original sealed no grease fittings. One end on the left side was dry. Problem solved. Thanks!

Ron

 

[brods]

Both knuckle ujoints and a rear driveshaft ujoint on my 05 were toast by 45K (only 2 years old at that time) so your joint being bad so soon is not out of the ordinary for the crappy AAM joints. The bad knuckle ujoint was part of the reason for getting locking hubs (aka free spin kit). With the hubs unlocked the next time the knuckle ujoint failed the truck could still be driven indefinitely until it was convenient to replace the joint.