mtdoragary

After warming the engine in neutral for about five minutes, I put the truck in reverse to try to get the TC to engage. It engaged and I found my self in a slippery part of the yard. So I put it in 4WD. That got me back onto the driveway and I started driving down the road. The truck started shaking like nit had square wheels. I couldn't go over five miles per hour for fear of shaking the truck apart. Once I managed to get it out of 4WD, it drove smoothly again. I'm afraid it's time to get the tranny and transfer case rebuilt. I can't afford that, but I have at least three more 1500 mile moving trips to go pulling my 34' Wells cargo.

Nughuffer

Front axle U joints first

gorms

Ditto that, quick check is to try and spin the front driveshaft by hand while in 2wd (and truck off wheels chocked of course). Should be nice and smooth.

etn550

If it is in 2wd and you feel a lot of jumping around when turning a sharp corner or the steering gets stiff on sharp corners then the u joint as mentioned is a suspect.

Any turning in 4wd will cause a high load in the transfer case and it cannot shift freely back to 2wd until it is relaxed. Think of it as winding it up when turning in 4wd. What I do that works well when it does not come right out of 4wd is to turn the wheel most of the way and move forward until it jumps. Then back up without moving the steering wheel to almost the same spot that the turn was started in. This procedure will un-wind it so it can shift. You may try moving the transfer case lever every foot or 2 as it is being reversed.

If the u joints are okay then what you describe seems totally normal. On slippery surfaces it does not bind or jump as bad and usually can get out of 4wd okay. But on a hard dry surface it can bind pertty hard and must be unwound to precisely the right point to get out of 4wd. Continued progress in reverse with the wheel turned can take it past the neutral point and start binding in the other direction.

mtdoragary

Replaced front u-joints shortly after buying it less than a year ago. I'm suspecting transfer case bearings. Have NOT checked transfer case oil this winter.