dewclaw

Ok ... so I have 2010 2500 CTD . Last week when I was pulling my boat up the driveway I put it into 4x4 so I would not rip up my gravel .

After parking ...I took it out of 4x4 . Later that day I took it down the road . The 4x4 light is not lit . .... but I can feel a "herky jerky" feel in the steering when I turn tight corners . It feels like the hubs are still locked. Or maybe just one hub .

I have not jacked the front axle off the ground yet to diagnose ... but I think the trans case is disengaged but the hub(s) maybe not . If I am correct ..... what should I check first ?? Just asking to maybe save myself time.
I did grab the front drive shaft and try to spin it by hand ....it wont turn . Something is locked in . But again the 4 WD light is not on .

Maybe the hub mechanism needs some love juice ????

You guys have always steered me in the right direction .... I hop you can do it again and help me to solve the problem easily ; )

Thanks in advance ! Dew .

KATOOM

Your truck is a full time 4wd system which means the front axle is always turning the front driveshaft. The only disconnect from 4wd to 2wd is inside the transfer case.

To tell for sure, you have to jack the front axle off the ground and then see if the front driveshaft will spin separate from the rest of the driveline. If it does then you're not in 4wd. If it still doesnt then your transfer case isnt fully disengaged. The front driveshaft will NOT spin freely while the front tires are touching the ground.

I believe you have the push button electronic shift too so if its stuck in gear then try shifting in and out of 4wd a couple times to see if it helps. Best done on dirt/gravel so as not to bind the driveline up on hard surfaces. Sometimes reversing and trying to shift out of 4wd is helpful.

dewclaw

Thanks for the input ! I will check out all of those things .
I had a 99 so I was basing my knowledge upon that truck which had the auto locking hubs . This 2010 is a "new to me " truck so I am still fairly unfamiliar with plenty of it . Thanks again ! Dew .

dewclaw

So , here is what I found .
I was headed to town so I stopped on the gravel , 4x4 NOT engaged , I mashed the throttle about half way down and had a good rear posi burnout. ( Not to mention a nice black puff of smoke ; ) The fronts didn't spin . So the trans case is not engaged to the front axle. I still have that pulsing in the steering wheel on sharp corners .

I got it home , jacked the front tires off the ground , I spun both wheels by hand and could not feel anything . I then cranked the steering all the way over in one direction. The drivers side felt fine but when I tried to spin the passenger side I could feel it binding pretty badly.
So I am pretty sure its that outer axle u-joint. Do you agree KATOOM ???

This truck only has 45k miles on it . I don't drive this truck hard at all. I never go out bush whacking like I did when I was a kid. I use the 4x4 only when I need it which is not super often.

I had 415k miles on my 98.5 and it still had the original outer axle joints ! That's how easy I drive my truck these days .

I sure wish that this 2010 front axle had the auto locking hubs . It seems like there would be less wear and tear on the axle and probably better fuel economy .

Thanks again for the input KATOOM ! I am pretty sure that you are one of the fellers that has helped me in the past .

DEW

KATOOM

I dont believe a bad axle u-joint would cause a problem with dragging steering. But nonetheless, this is what you should do if you think there is a problem...

Put the truck in 4wd and then shut it off. Make sure you believe its in 4wd otherwise this wont work.
Then jack up one front tire off the ground at a time and have someone else try to spin that tire off the ground forward and backward by hand while you watch the axle u-joint. Because one tire is still on the ground and its in 4wd, the tire off the ground wont spin more than a couple inches, so its more "rocking" than spinning. While they rock the tire, you're looking for ANY movement between the inner/outer axle shafts and in the u-joint caps as well. You'll see what I mean...

Do this one side at a time with the other tire always touching the ground. While the tire is off the ground, take the opportunity to try and move the tire in all directions as you again look for any erroneous movement which shouldn't be happening. Meaning, you're looking for any ball joint, tie rod, etc... movement which would possibly cause tire scrubbing while turning. You can also do this with both tires on the ground like normal but

The other thing you need to look for is proper movement in the differential carrier. Without taking the diff cover off to visually inspect for problems, you can again jack up both front tires off the ground at the same time with it still in 4wd. Then spin one front tire at a time and see what the other side tire does. If the spider gears are working correctly then when you spin one tire, the other tire will want to spin in the direct opposite direction. If there's a problem with the spider gears then it could cause the other tire to spin in the same direction. And if thats happening then it would make the front crab when you're turning.

I know thats a lot to look at but if you're truly feeling something in the front when turning then its either something simple like bogus tires or something more complicated in the components. Sometimes its hard to help as we get lost in translation.

jtamulonis

Binding axle U-joint definitely CAN cause the problem. the little needle bearings are binding up usually because they are dry and make the joint hard to turn. if you keep driving they will grind themselves up and the joint will be easy to turn again. and when they are loose enough, they will start popping when you turn sharply. NOTHING in the front driveshaft,spider gears,ring and pinion can cause the problem only when turning. the u-joint usually goes bad when the seals start leaking and let water get in and rust the bearings, or the factory did not put in enough grease.

dewclaw

Well , I am doing a room addition on my house right now and don't have time to tear into this myself. I pulled my axles a couple times on my other CTD.... not a huge job .... it was almost fun .
I called a local shop who does great work . I told them to order an axle U-joint . I will let ya'll know what they find . I hope that whatever they discover will help others out in the future . My appt is for Wednesday .
It seems odd that this thing went out so early but all indications seem to point at the U-joint .

Thanks for all of the input ... Its always good to have a second opinion ! Puts my mind more at ease.

DEW

dewclaw

I got the truck back from the shop yesterday . It was the axle u-joint. I can't help but think that because there are no longer axle hubs that lock / unlock the axle ( which keeps the whole axle spinning ) that this is probably a reason why the outer joints fail. Bring back locking hubs Dodge !

BTW , They charged me $317 for the repair .

Thank you guys for the input ! It was all helpful !

Dew.

KATOOM

Awesome... Glad you got it worked out. Sucks about the cost but at least you now know.

dewclaw

Hey Katoom .... you are from the "real Kalifornia " too .... What area ? I am from Trinity County . Way North . The good part of Kaliforniastan .

Dew

KATOOM

I'm just south of Redding. Probably an hour and half from you.

Yeah, living in CA is getting pretty sketchy.....but the north state where you and I live is still predominantly conservative and very beautiful.

dewclaw

Then you really are a true northern Californian ! State of Jefferson ! Please support this ! Only if you want to stay here ..... if not ...... pay the price of Calif. insanity .
Im moving out of here if S.O.J . does not happen . .

Dew

KATOOM

Yes, State of Jefferson...!!!