Help! My Truck Is Stuck In 4WD!

[DWestfall]

My truck is stuck in 4WD. I have been noticing for the last 2 weeks a slight vibration when turning corners at slow speeds. My mileage has dropped as well. I attributed that to the Xziliraider I just installed. My mileage has gone from 14. 5-17 to 12-14 towing 4000 pounds. I have noticed it has gotten steadily worse(vibration), so today I gave it a little gas in the dirt, got out and the right front tire had spun. The vibration is worse when I turn to the right. Man, what kind of damage have I done. I have probably put over 1500 miles on it like this. It just never dawned on me that it was in 4WD. The light on the switch is indicating 2WD. I switched to 4 HI and back but no change. I called dealer and told them about it and he said I will be alright. Somehow I dont believe him. This cant be good for it. I already had an appointment for next Friday to replace power steering box, so they will look at it then. Probably an actuator stuck he said. In the meantime I have to work which means another 1000 miles or so until Thursday. What would you do?

 

[MRutledge]

I haven't crawled under mine yet to see what the shift linkages look like. If you can move them by hand, try that. If that doesn't work, take out the front drive shaft.



Good luck.

-Matt

 

[ThomasLawrence]

Yep - I'd pull the front driveshaft. Unfortunately, you need a Torx socket for the front (maybe a T-45? Possibly a T-40... I forget exactly - been a while since I removed mine). The flange to the T-case is held on with four regular hex-head bolts.



-Tom

 

[DWestfall]

So definitely do something to get it out? Have I damaged anything? If so what? Driving it another week is out of the question?

 

[SRadke]

Drive it another week. A few more miles isn't going to hurt it. The miles you already drove prolly didn't hurt it. May have been a little tough on the front tires though :-laf



This is exactly why I want a manual shift transfer case. When I want it in I'll put it in, no relying on electronics. Same goes for taking it out.



-Scott

 

[JCleary]

My father's ex-fiancee jumped into his '96 Ram 1500 to run to the store and do some other errands, not thinking that my pop had been out in the field feeding cows a bit earlier. She drove that truck for a while, not knowing how to shift out of 4wd.



This has happened several times to that truck, and it's only a little 1/2 ton. No harm has come to that truck. I'm would think with the beefy axles you have there won't be much if any damage. It might be a good idea to change the fluid, though. It might have gotten a little warm.

 

[cahammer]

05 front end contunialy locked in ?

my dad is having problems with his front end the shop service man said that it has a full time front axle is he right or is it like my 98 that has the vacuum lock in hubs

 

[ThomasLawrence]

The front axle is always engaged - no CAD or any other type of locking/unlocking mechanism.



-Tom

 

[DWestfall]

Well, it is 9:54 and I cancelled my jobs for tonight. It was just gonna be 110 mile round trip. So I am gonna attempt to pull the front drive shaft tonight. It is in my garage waiting for me now. Now to find the desire. I just bought a large torx set so I will let you know if I get it out.

 

[DWestfall]

Well, its 10:31 I give up. My torx bit will not fit in there straight. It will go in but on an angle. Do I need a special angled Torx bit that is angled like an allen wrench? Do I need to remove the rear portion of the front drive shaft first?



Oh, by the way. Do you think that a few launches in 4HI on wet pavement contributed to this? I had the box set at 100HP! Plus I have horsed on it since then not knowing it was stuck in 4HI. I can hear it now you play you pay! I will never launch in 4HI again!

 

[mberry]

I seriously doubt you hurt anything. If I was in your position, I would drive it and not worry about it since you are already taking it to the dealer and you use it for work.

 

[ThomasLawrence]

When I removed my front driveshaft, I unbolted the front first, but I had the suspension hanging, and was able to rotate the driveshaft and find a spot where the Torx bit would fit straight.



You should be able to remove the rear first, probably using a wrench on the bolts (probably don't have the clearance for a socket), then you should be able to move the shaft around to get enough clearance for the Torx bit up front.



-Tom

 

[sag2]

You need a 3" long T-40 Torx from Snap-On. they are about $22. 00 but they keep you from stripping the heads out. The front bolts if needed are only $2. 00 each. If you only have the short Torx, get the front suspension hanging. Just be VERY careful not to strip the heads. They are in with Lock-Tite. Rear bolts as I recall are 18mm. Also the fronts and rears are easier if you rotate the shaft to the spot with the most clearance. In the plant they must use a 6" bit for even more clearance.

 

[SRadke]

Rear bolts need a 5/8 wrench and you can only get to the inside ones with a wrench. Take those two loose then jack up one tire and rotate the other two to the inside. You may have better luck getting to the torx bolts if you can move the back end of the driveline around.



-Scott