I had taken the axleshafts out of my 00 Ram 4x4 to change the upper and lower ball joints. When I put the axle shafts back in they didnt feel the same when I rotated them. They were in (length ways) as far as they could go, thought it was ok. Yesterday we had our 1st snow and when I took off on a hill, only the back wheels were pulling. Had it in 4hi which has always worked before. After I had put the truck back together, I read an older post that said to put the truck in 4x4 while its running and in gear. Then to shut off the truck, put it in gear, then pull your axles out to get them to go back in the correct way. Is that where I went wrong? If I do that will it take care of my problem? Kinda stumped. Thanks! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

 

Check your vacuum lines on your CAD unit. When i did my balljoints i did not do anything special with the axles, just pulled them out like you did, and everything went fine.

 

+ 1 on check out the CAD. its not coupling up properly. could be a cad/vacuum malfunction, or could be an internal collar alignment/bushing issue. start with the cad and make sure the vacuum is right. if ok, then pull the cover off the cad and see whats going on inside with the fork/coupler.
see this http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/repair/..._engagment.htm

 

Either they're in or they're not, and I don't believe there is enough room in the housing for the collar to fall off and still allow the axle shaft to go in (never tried to find out). Your 4x4 probably didn't work before, and you just hadn't noticed it yet. Most common problem is a bad vacuum switch at the T-case or a disconnected line. Next on the list is a failed diapragm in the solenoid on the axle housing.

 

I just did a search and found where I had posted about putting the shafts back in when I changed the front u-joints. nhlbill had explained how the front axle actually engages and your right, sounds like a CAD issue. I'll do a search on checking it. Thanks!