New developments. I was in 4WD trying to diagnose the problm a little more yesterday. Basically, I turned hard right on dry pavement to show my dad the problem. I took my foot off of the clutch, and let the truck idle forward, then the noise came into play, the truck stopped and the resistance created by the problem was enough to stall me out when idling on the clutch. Two more things were also noticed by me:

One- The truck seemed to raise up when it stalled, then stayed there, almost like it was lifted a little more, then I started the engine back up and put it into reverse to pull out of it and the truck definately lowered back down. I will have to check this more in the daylight to see exactly where it s lifting at.

Two-when I started the engine back up after stalling, I can still feel the resistance on the truck (or hear the slight rumbling noise) while the truck is in neautral. It isn't as bad as when I am in motion, but once I pull forward and the noise/knocking starts, it doesn't just stop when I go into neautral.

Thanks everyone.

 

It still sounds to me like what I originally thought, your binding up your axles trying to turn on a hard surface. Thats not good and you should try very hard to not do it again.

 

I was just trying to verify what the case was as I had never shown my Dad. I never stopped and just tested it on dry ground and then tested it on a slippery surface in snow. So, 95_318SLT, you believe that this confirms then that it is likely just an issue with the dry ground, and just don't drive in 4X4 on dry ground. Nothing is wearing out or broken. I was worried about the fact that I could still hear/feel the knocking when the truck wasn't moving and it was in neutral. That is godo news for me though, nothing to repair.

I am going to be replacing the clutch when it warms up so if I need to do anything else then I would. Right now my plans are just to replace the clutch and throw out bearing.

 

Sorry, I just kinda quickly skimmed through your last post, I missed the part about it making noise in neutral. Is it the exact same noise as when your moving or is it a different noise?

As for driving on dry pavement in 4 wheel drive, thats the worst thing you can do to any 4x4 truck. There's a big between all wheel drive and 4 wheel drive... 4 wheel drive locks the front and back axles together so when they need to spin at different rates (as in around a turn) they can't, and then something has to give... either you'll simply chirp the tires around the turn or your axles will bind up you'll cause them accelerated wear. Without hearing the noise I can't tell you for sure, but the fact that you have driven it in 4 wheel drive on dry pavement tells me that is probably it.

 

Same noise, just not as loud and no thumping/metal grinding. If I am sitting still and turn the wheel hard right it doesn't start. Only when I turn hard right and moved forward. Then as soon as I backed up it went away. I only drive a few feet for testing and extremely slow.

Used 4X4 again this weekend in a muddy field, turned it off when I hit the pavement, no problem. I have just been pulling straight onto the pavement and then going to 2WD before turning. No problems, so I will just leave it be until something breaks, if something breaks. Thanks for the input, a lot of good info on how 4X4 works exactly.

 

I hope thats the only thing wrong, cause chances are you haven't done serious damage to anything or you would know. I still say you should look into getting a limited slip diff or locker for the rear if you don't have one. You can find the factory trac-loks on ebay for fairly cheap (if you do look for one make sure it's machined for the abs tone ring if you have abs). If you have such low traction that you can't even pull off a slippery surface onto the road without using 4wd than a limited slip diff or locker will help you out a lot.

Also, I was thinking about the explanation of 4wd the other day when I read something in another forum that didn't sound quite right and I figured out a simple way of wording it. When you're in 4wd the fastest of the 2 front wheels and fastest of the 2 rear wheels must be allowed to travel at the same rate which is not allowed in a turn on a hard surface. The front wheels can go different rates from each other because of the differential between them, and the rear wheels can also go different rates from each other (unless you have a locker or spool) because of the differential between them.

 

just a question.. where did you get ur locker? I also got a 95 dakota 4x4, its a 3.9 .. where could I find one? I cant get traction in 2wd at all!!... I am in Canada, but If its place online.. I can order that would be great.

 

I actually don't have a locker, I put a dana trac-lok limited slip differential in the 9.25 inch rear end I swapped into my truck. It's the factory limited slip diff and it's a whole heck of a lot less harsh on the drivetrain than a locker. The best place to get one is ebay, I paid $239.99 + shipping for it brand new. A dealership would charge over $600 for one. If you get one let me know and I'll give a thorough expanation on how to swap it.