If I grab the front drive shaft(4wd), I can move it fwd and back about an inch or so.
Is that normal?

I should add that I have NO 4wd...something gave a few weeks ago, and a fellow who had it up on a lift told me "oh your drive shaft is broke"

Never did get a thorough explanation of what was "Broke" but wanted to ask that question here..

Thanks lads,
Rich

 

well i got a perfect explaination for you..... they go out all the time on these trucks.... my buddy has a durango his front drive shaft went out... mine just went out about a week ago after alll the money i put into my truck.... they break at the end where it connects to the transfer case...... you have a couple options to fix this.... one is you call some bone yards and pull one off another durango or 4x4 dakota ... or you can buy the whole new shaft and everything comes as one peaice for about 335 bucks to 400 bucks......OR you can buy just a rebuild kit for about 135 bucks ... that you can still use your same drive shaft but just rebuild the part that breaks by the transfer case... its a simple job to do by yourself... bolth mine and my buddies front shafts went out at arond 130,000 miles....

 

$309 plus a $60 core charge at Auto Zone.
When mine went out it sounded like marbles rattling around in an old coffee can.

 

LOL

I compared mine to a handful coins in a dryer.

 

Well I guess I'm one of the lucky ones as mine never broken with all the off roading I do and having over 200k on my D and I seen it accidently locked in 4WD PT and someone made a turn and gassed it and it slipped a tooth in the front differential, yikes!

Most likey you broken a U joint, probably a bad seal and it rusted out or something. Those are pretty cheap like $12 a piece at autozone, you just need a puller to push them out of the shaft and yoke. The side that connects to the transfer case on my 98 D has 2 U joints close together to make a tight bend there, that's probably a weak point in the shaft.

 

Oh also by the way to answer your original question, the play in mine is about an inch too but it's all suppose to be in the transfer case which is normal. You'll probably have a tiny bit of play in the front differential too if you have some miles on it and use it. The driveshaft however shouldn't have any and be tight, if it isn't that means you have worn out U joints.

I somehow managed to crack the outer bearing housing on my rear driveshaft U joint and all the needle bearings spilled out so it had a lot of play in it and vibrated at highway speeds.

Best way to test is lift up the front so both tires are off the ground then start turning the tires back and fourth on each side and look under where the CV axels (those could be worn out too but most likely not as bad) go into the front differential and also look at the front drive shaft and other tire and you'll get a good idea of where the play is by what you see trying to turn under there. Lock it in 4WD too when you do this, the rear driveshaft will also probably move a little too so check everything over carefully.

 

ok fellas thanks for the replies.
I'll fool around with it.
luckily, it's springtime & I don't so much need it right now..

 

Sounds normal to me.