[Notch1320]

I have been having a problem with a cluck noise when I stop and start when driving around. I think I narrowed it down to the rear drive shaft slip joint. It is very hard to move at all, and requires a hammer to even budge it! In finding this... I ran into more issues...

I removed the front drive shaft, then drove the truck. The clunk was still there, so I reinstalled it, and removed the rear shaft. This is when I found the slip joint in the rear shaft bad. So... I figured I could select 4x4 high, and take it for a spin... NOT SO. The truck has no forward movement in 4x4 high, low, hubs locked... nothing. Something must be wrong with my transfer case? You can hear 4x4 engage though. I selected 4x4, heard it engage, shut the truck off, and crawled under to find the the front shaft would not rotate freely as if it were in 2 wheel?

What could this be? would the bad slip joint cause something in the transfer case to be bad now? I have only used 4x4 a couple of times since I first bought the truck in 2002.

 

[drainman]

With both drive shafts installed, does the front feel like it is pulling? Maybe back into a shallow mud hole and then try to drive out - the front wheels should pull the truck out.

 

[Notch1320]

You can tell while driving that the front is not pulling at all. Around corners it feels like 2 wheel drive, because that is all that is there.

The truck will not move with the rear drive shaft removed, and the switch selected to 4x4 high, 4x4 low, with the hubs locked... nothing. The shaft engages, but when you put it in gear, and press the pedal, the rpm's rise, and the truck just sits there.

 

[GrampyJim]

Does the 4X4 indicator light come on? If you lock in the hubs and try to turn the driveshaft, it's not going to turn because the hubs are locked in....

 

[dzl wannabe]

Is the front shaft rotating? If so this would indicate a hub problem.

 

[Notch1320]

The 4x4 light does come on. I need to check tonight to see if the shaft spins,or not. If it is a hub issue, where do I go from here to fix it?

 

[Kanman]

Vacuum leak?

 

[Notch1320]

Rear drive shaft removed, front axle up on stands, in gear and 4x4 the front shaft spins, but the wheels do not.

 

[Notch1320]

Hubs are hard as hell to rotate. I removed them, and took them apart, and re-assembled them, and set them to Lock. The front now spins, but is still locked when in Auto.

I guess I need new hubs. Any recomendations on a good set, and a price?

Is this normal for them to go bad on a truck that 4x4 is hardly ever used? Anyone running the Warn hubs?

 

[MOUNTAINMAN444]

Yes they'll go bad quicker if you don't use them. Yours's might not be bad though. Take them back off and turn them upside down on a table. Fill them with automatic transmission fluid over night. Pour the fluid out and reinstall on the wheel. Work them between lock and auto several times (they should get easier as you work them). If you want to change out to manual hubs, Warn would be a good choice.
Joe