I have a 96 Dodge Ram 1500 4X4. 2 years ago I went off the road in a pretty nasty snowstorm. Really had to romp on it to get out of the ditch. After that my front axle started binding (feels like it's trying to jump out from under the truck) while in 4wd. I haven't ever put it back into 4wd since then. What could be causing this.

Also recently it has started to whine driving down the road at all speeds. when you slow down and hit around 10mph it just suddenly stops making the noise. I replaced the wheel bearings around a year and a half ago. any help would be great

 

Well I did look at the front end and I have a bad U-Joint on my passenger side front axle. But I believe the binding is caused by something else. Any Ideas?

 

If it feels like it is binding on dry pavement.... that is normal.

Jack it up, and inspect everything. Turn the moving parts, be sure that everything 'feels' good. If not... replace it.

 

No it was while in the snow. The front end acts like it is trying to jump out of the truck. I haven't had it 4wd since that day 2 years ago.

 

It's the ujoint(s)! Did you fix it?

 

I have not fixed the u-joint yet, I haven't had the time, nor the tools or resources right at this very moment. Time is hard to come by in my life as i work a lot and have very little time away from work.

 

I wouldn't wait too long. If the seal goes bad, you'll have a bigger problem.

 

I will get it fixed as quickly as I can. as for the binding, it was happening while in the snow not on dry pavement. Should I brave putting it in 4wd and seeing what happens??? I know it was not caused by the u-joint as it was good 2 years ago when it started binding up. the U-joint going out is a rather new issue. thanks

 

like he said its normal to bind on dry pavement, so doing that wont help you. you know for a fact the joint was good? theyre super easy to replace, however it does require taking the shaft out which is a bit involved. but easy with the right tools

 

I do know for a fact the joint was good. That was the first thing I checked back in 2008 when this all happened. Although I have one that is bad now. I have tried searching for and EDU on here but haven't seemed to find one, (passenger side).

As for finding out if it still binds, what are my options? go back out in the snow and see if it still binds? Since it will bind up on dry pavement that wont help in checking it out. Jack up all 4 wheels and see if it binds up that way?????