or a t-case snap ring problem........


my t-case just blew and it was trying to catch in 4x4 while driving (little grinding noises) turned out my t-case shat the bed....

 

well when i shake the drive shaft it has play where it goes in the pumpkin mostly it has a little under the rubber boot in the middle.. would any of this bad cause my seals to leak... or the 4x4 to be acting up... guy at a shop said my ring and pinion might be bad since there is play in the drive shaft

 

Depends on if it is just ujoints, or, if the pinion is actually sloppy. If it is the pinion, you need to fix that SOON....... Shouldn't affect axle seals though. (but most certainly WILL affect the pinion seal.....)

Did you lube the seals good before installation? They are REAL easy to marf up when you put the axles back in too......

 

how can you tell if your pinion/ ring is bad without taking it out.. there is play in the front drive shaft which i think is comming from under that rubber boot.. and if my seals are just dripping now.. will they be ok as long as i dont put it back in 4wd (which is what i think made them leak... they were fine until i started locking it in and out... )

 

Ring and Pinion will let you know if they are bad. They tend to howl about it. If you have a bit of slop at the slip joint in the driveshaft (under the rubber boot), not a real big deal.... but, make sure to keep it greased.

If your axle seals are leaking, just keep track of the fluid level in the diff.... you can still use the four wheel drive, as the axles turn in the seals whether or not you are in 4x4 mode.

 

It might be the pinion bearing is shot and metal from the bearing is in the lube. The driver side axle shaft doesn't move in 4wd, so when you engaged and the shaft was rotating it ate at the seal. Disconnect the driveshaft at the yoke and see if you can move the pinion shaft. If you can, fix it asap or you'll have to replace the ring and pinion too, it may be too late though, since even in 2wd the ring and pinion still rotate.

 

Erm, No.

The entire drivers side axle is rotating, whether you are in 4wd, or not. The passenger side axle seal is just outboard of the cad, and seals against the part of the axle that is also constantly turning. (when the truck is moving.....) When in 2wd, the drivers axle spins the spider gears in the front diff, so, unless the cad is malfunctioning, or, has been altered to be constantly engaged, (or was eliminated.....) the ring gear doesn't turn. Nor does the front drive shaft. (if you have some form of locker/LSD in the front though, it is.......)

He DOES need to find the problem, and fix it ASAP though, hopefully, BEFORE it gets hideously expensive.

 

Two pages, and no mention of the Axle shaft U-joints?

Nearly every Ram that I've ever had in the shop for a clicking or clunking out of the front end when in 4wd had bad axle shaft joints.

This can also cause the seal leakage you've found, as loose joints allow the axle shaft to wobble in an irregular orbit around the Z-axis of the joint.

 

Bad axle shaft u-joints wouldn't explain the play in the driveshaft though, might be multiple problems though. I thought if the drive side axle shaft turns all the time, it turns the carrier, which is bolted to the ring gear and makes the pinion gear turn also.

 

With an open differential, and no load on the passenger axleshaft, it will just spin the spiders, and the intermediate axle will spin the opposite direction.... Provided everything else is working as it shoud.