Scarlet HO

I have an 02 HO 4x4 that scared me pretty bad today. The wife and I was driving down the interstate when the passenger side front tire acted like it wanted to fly off the truck. Lots of grinding/notching sounds, the truck shook and vibrated terribly. I stopped a couple times and couldn't see anything wrong with the truck. I tried to shift it into 4 wheel drive but could not do it. I tried to limp the truck home slowly. The closer I got home the better it drove. I get it home and it is now shifting in and out of 4x4 with no troubles.

I jacked the passenger side up to see if I could feel any resistance or hear any grinding. I only heard a ticking noise coming from the transfer case. I look under the truck and see the fron drive shaft is turning when I spin the front tire. Does the front shaft always spin in 2wd??? I know the cardin joint needs to be redone on the front shaft but did not realize the front shaft would spin in 2wd. However, this should not prevent me from putting the truck in 4wd.

The only time this has been an issue is on a long drive. The last (and only other) time this happened was on a long drive. I pulled over checked everything, found nothing. Drove the remaining 150 miles home without issues, until it started again today.

Could it be the hubs?? Should I go ahead and fix the front drive shaft?? Is the front drive shaft supposed to spin in 2wd?? I need my truck so any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks in advance for the help,
Greg

cm979

From what you have stated it seems that your front end in staying locked in all the time. It could be Vacuum leak, or the vacuum motor that pushes the fork back and forth for 2wd and 4wd is stuck or not working. I know the hubs have splines and so do the front axels and they stay locked in. So it has to be in the front end, look to see if all the vacuum lines are hooked up from the skid plate by the transfer case all the way to the front Axel , I am sure other dtr members will chime in.

Scarlet HO

I just went under the truck but could not find any vaccum hoses. My truck has the shift lever in the floor to shift the transfer case. Is the front drive shaft supposed to spin in 2wd??

cm979

When the truck is parked in 2wd You should be able to go under it and turn the front drive shaft by hand. My shaft does not turn while going down the road in 2wd. From what I know it should not turn while going down the road unless it is lock in 4wd.

Scarlet HO

OK, just checked and the front drive shaft will not free spin. So, are we talking a transfercase issue or a hub issue??

fireman0977

If it is an 02 you probably don't have a CAD axle. Which means no vacuum lines. I am not sure how it disengages but then again it might not in this yr. Just can't remember off the top of my head. There should be some others that chime in on this. But most of the 02 dodges didn't come with the CAD axle

Scarlet HO

I looked for vaccume lines earlier but could not find any. The best way to describe how the truck acts when this is going on is like it has a flat tire. I sounds like and drives like it has a flat.

mini14

Death wobbel

dieselpup

02 or 02.5 they got rid of the cad. The front driveline spins all the time.

pind

cad delete started with the 02, front shaft now turns all the time.

However, what you are describing is indeed the death wobble

Scarlet HO

I thought the death wobble started when you hit a bump or something like that, this was just going down a smooth highway and continued after stops and starts. Death wobble causes?? ball joints?? tie rods?? drag links?? D - all the above??

RowJ

Not on all 02's. My early 02, mfg Sept,2001, has CAD (axle disconnect). eliminating CAD was a mid year thing... i believe on CTD's made from March, 2002 and later.

Edit (9:20) - Thought maybe my 02 having CAD was just an 01 driveline, left over, and used on my 02 by Dodge. (something they do with many parts at times). But my 02 Service Manual discusses the vacume system disconnect in great detail so safe to assume that Dodge did away with the CAD system in late 02 as preparation for the 03 model year.

RJ

Stormin_Norman

I have a 02 3500 4x4 with a non-CAD axle. I just replaced pretty much the entire front end with the 65K on the clock . Three out of four ball joints were shot, and the tie-rod adjustment sleeve was stripped allowing the tie-rod adjustment to slide about an inch . Since I only use my truck to get groceries on sunday, I was pretty surprised at the carnage

I still need shocks and figure out what to do about the track bar( 03 style maybe?). Most of the tire stores will check the front end for free, I would have them check everything.

pind

RowJ

I have never been less than unpleasantly surprised at how dodge used parts on these trucks.

By build date, my truck is an 01, yet it has the rear disc brakes, by badging my truck is a 2500, yet by serial number it is a 3500, and comes up with the parts that jive with the 3500 in general. I still have the CAD, so that fits.

I just went through the rebearing on the rear diff. Go figure, dodge used not 1, not 2... but 3 different pinion seals on the dana 80 in 01. Getting rid of old stock, getting into new stock... who knows, they just jammed parts together that fit.

Also, depending on the pinion yoke that was used, you may or may not be restricted to only 1 of the aforementioned seals. Aftermarket seals won't work with certain yokes, due to the shoulder design, etc.

There are many other anomalies with these trucks, which I have come to almost enjoy over the years.... but not quite.


have a good one

RowJ

Surprising!
I have 170,000 miles on my 02 and all ball joints and tie rods are fine. And I work my truck everyday on a lot of rough dirt & gravel roads.
I did add a 3rd Gen Track Bar and a Steering Stabilizer at 30,000 miles but can't believe these two items make that much difference??

RJ