Rant (feel free to ignore)

[NIsaacs]

If you save the picture to PC, you will see the rust on the needle bearing surfaces, and that pink color has no value its cake hard, the chemicals suck all its lubricating value.

I think the rust is from the parts being in the snow and the back of his pickup for a few days. I would like to see the drive shaft and the u-joints. I don't know what year the truck is but only 30k miles....seems crazy....

 

[JR]

I have looked at those 4x2 kits and probably should get one. However, 90% of the time I need the front axle driving too. Like Thursday, I backed in a bad soft spot between a tree and the guys porch (where he wanted me). When the truck weighs 5 ton and the trailer weighs 9 ton, sinking in the ground about 2-3" what do you do, Lol I would really like to have a medium duty dump truck but don't want to deal with all the red tape of a big truck. As long as I stay 3/4 ton, I am exempt, as long as I stay under 20 hours a week.

Gotcha. When you said binding I assumed it was on solid ground where traction wasn't an issue. Its still a cheap mod to do for the times you need it, if I remember right I spent less than $30 on a solenoid valve and some extra vacuum hose. Made a mounting bracket and mounted it in the engine bay and rerouted some vac lines.

I'm opposite of you, I'd like to get rid of my POS dump truck for a dump trailer. But my needs are also different from yours. I'm purely looking at costs - registration, insurance, maintenance, etc.

 

[TCDiesel]

Correct me if I'm wrong 5+9 tons=28,000LBS your over the 26,000

I think the rust is from the parts being in the snow and the back of his pickup for a few days. I would like to see the drive shaft and the u-joints. I don't know what year the truck is but only 30k miles....seems crazy....

Hopefully the OP will post MORE pictures.

 

[NIsaacs]

Its still a cheap mod to do for the times you need it,

I really should, like when I am pulling out of a side street onto the main highway. When it is up hill, 1st is not low enough, I could really use 4x2, low, here.

 

[NIsaacs]

Correct me if I'm wrong 5+9 tons=28,000LBS your over the 26,000

Oooppps

 

[NIsaacs]

Hopefully the OP will post MORE pictures.

Yes, that would be great. I am having a hard time with that mess. It's hard to imagine enough torque generated on snow to explode the joint.

 

[TCDiesel]

OK Heeeeeheeeeee. Post # 45

 

[Mark31]

Guys, there is always a weakest link. Looks like a loaded truck, good tires, packing-type snow (opinion of a very very snow ignorant old geezer), a heavy engine over the front end, felt it in a tight spot and turned loose some torque. SOMETHING is gonna give! IF he had worn tires, a gas motor, less load in the truck, backed up a few inches and tried it again without much power, would this have happened? I had a 100 hp John Deere (non turbo) 4230 that I added a on M+W turbo to get the power I needed to pull a piece of equipment. A gear head farmer told me what I was doing was fine as long as I didn't add more weight so it couldn't slip when it got in a bind or I would bust something. It served me well and is still doing a good job for its new owner. I just told him to keep the "cowboys" off of it! The OP might even consider being thankful that the joint broke instead of something more expensive.

 

[Corbet]

The truck is less than 2 years old.
The orginal owner took delivery of the truck 12/21/16 at a dealership in Utah. He traded or sold the truck to a Ford dealership in the same town on 12/13/17. I purchased the truck from that dealership on 1/17/18. I have added about 18K (trouble free) miles since I've owned it. The truck has been to dealerships for routine service 3 times (plus the tire shop for some better rubber a few months ago) while under my ownership. Maintainince is by the book. Rust did not cause this failure. The rust on broken portion is flash from being in a moist environment. The superficial oxidation on the cast surfaces of the part is not much different than black oxide. The failure was caused by inadequate design, a defective component, poor manufacturing processes, or insufficient maintenance practices. It was snowing a reasonable amount the previous evening and I drove at least 50 miles in 4 hi with no issues: the truck was smooth, no shaking, no vibration. I personally don't feel the truck was being worked hard or pushed. I had posted some more pictures of the broken components in an earlier post....I can add some more though. For the record this is not my first 4WD vehicle, doesn't mean I am an off-road master; just means I'm not a novice.

 

[NIsaacs]

Corbet, when you get time, could you post pictures of the drive shaft and 4 bolt t-case flange? They should both still have the broken u-joints on them.
Thanks, Nick

 

[Corbet]

Corbet, when you get time, could you post pictures of the drive shaft and 4 bolt t-case flange? They should both still have the broken u-joints on them.
Thanks, Nick

The truck, nor the driveshaft parts are not in my possession. I dropped the truck off last Wednesday. The images are ones I took before I dropped it off for what I assumed would be a easy repair.

 

[KPear]

Guys, there is always a weakest link. Looks like a loaded truck, good tires, packing-type snow (opinion of a very very snow ignorant old geezer), a heavy engine over the front end, felt it in a tight spot and turned loose some torque. SOMETHING is gonna give! IF he had worn tires, a gas motor, less load in the truck, backed up a few inches and tried it again without much power, would this have happened? I had a 100 hp John Deere (non turbo) 4230 that I added a on M+W turbo to get the power I needed to pull a piece of equipment. A gear head farmer told me what I was doing was fine as long as I didn't add more weight so it couldn't slip when it got in a bind or I would bust something. It served me well and is still doing a good job for its new owner. I just told him to keep the "cowboys" off of it! The OP might even consider being thankful that the joint broke instead of something more expensive.

OP wasn't doing anything outrageous in terms of offroading.

There is no reason a driveline component should snap like that when in 4wd hi or low going over a snow-covered road, especially on a 2-3 year old truck.

 

[Corbet]

This is for more severe off road use...

 

[Wiredawg]

I don't know much about driveline components. Is this a high fail part on Rams? Do we know what company manufactures them? Is this the first year this spec part is manufactured or is this a standard part used for multiple years. Just want to understand if there is a broad issue here. Thanks. Ron

 

[Wayne M.]

The American Axle Mfg shaft and axle package showed up in the HD 3 gen trucks in 2003, and AFAIK, stands unchanged today. This double cardan joint has been used for decades in sealed and greasable versions from a few manufacturers. Regarding this application, I haven’t heard many complaints about the 3 gen front shaft on the TDR until recently.
I do recall problems in the distant past with weekend warrior off road guys fiddling with the double cardan but never exploding like this.
FWIW, Ford uses the same design, different mfr, in their F 250-550’s and I’ve seen F550 driveline abuse resulting in front axle damage and that double cardan lived to turn another day.

 

[Mark31]

I went back to the OP's original post and noted one thing that I took lightly the first time I read it: He was going up a switchback. Does that mean his wheels were turned? Add that to a heavy load on the front end, tires getting a grip, bogging, giving it "gas", sounds like severe duty to me. I don't think the OP is going to win any arguments with Ram. I would suggest he smile and be nice and ask for a discount on the repairs and thank them for the loaner. Dealers don't want complaints against them and I'd rather have them as friends and not adversaries. One note for everyone to remember. In most cases, you don't get a lawyer----He gets you. Even if a lawyer were to win a case, one would still come out cheaper to fix it after he is paid and one gets on a "pain in the derriere" list and one needs a dealer for something. Some things are more important than a little bit of (gold) "dust".

 

[NIsaacs]

I don't know much about driveline components. Is this a high fail part on Rams? Do we know what company manufactures them? Is this the first year this spec part is manufactured or is this a standard part used for multiple years. Just want to understand if there is a broad issue here. Thanks. Ron

When this thread started I did some research and didn't find a failure trend on any of them.

Per Torque King 4x4, the '03-'04.5 used 1330 series u-joints, same as 2nd gens. From '04.5-'09 they used the 1350 series with some years using the goofy AAM shaft with 1355 series joints. The '10-'12 also used the 1350 series. Then in 13+ Ram went to the 1410 series, reported to be the largest in the industry. However, the 4500/5500 continued with the 1350 series. In '05, the flush type grease fitting was added. I have 325k miles on my original non grease joint in my '01.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

The original purchaser of the truck traded the Ram in for a Ferd so that in itself proves the original owner was an idiot. Maybe he was an idiot to your truck OP?

 

[Corbet]

If a windy mountain road with 4 inches of snow is considered severe use then color me shocked. Then I guess early turn of the century Chevy 1500's outclass the Dodge 3500 in offroad prowess *shrug*/ who knew.
Aren't the 4500/5500 trucks are derated, maximum power- matches that of a truck with a g56 transmission. At least on paper, the bigger joint might not make sense.
The orginal owner of the truck was an older guy that lived in a really nice house in a suburb of SLC. His kids or grandkids drove the truck at least occasionally (pro-tip- if you trade in a vehicle with all the fancy technology make sure you wipe the system). If there was any abuse, it would be benign neglect, not 'the hold my beer/watch this' kind

 

[Ozymandias]

Well, maybe you just had that 1:10000 chance for the faulty part in the serie.
It happens, install a new shaft and use like you used it till now, you dont need to think about that shaft and baby the truck.
I did way heavier offroad with my 11000lbs Camper than a little snow on a mountain road - and never thought a second about it, this trucks are built tough and i love ut for this.
The Tires need to be the weakest link in the drivetrain, nothing else.