Don't know where else to go. I have tried to research and ask questions but have found no answers. I am hoping someone can help me out. I may be way out of my league but I am a person of humble means. I had a wreck in my Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 v8 5.9 several months ago that bent the control arms and knocked off the tie rod leading to the gear box. I have replaced all the tie rods, steering gear, and the control arms by myself. It is now driveable but I can hear a grinding once I get up some speed. Looking at it I can see a larger gap between the knuckle and the shaft on the driver side than the other side. I took it to a friend who is a mechanic and he said that the spindle arm is probably bent after taking measurements. I guess what I am looking for is my cheapest option. The spicer 60 axle seems very hard to come by at junkyards. I am sorry if I am taking up space in this forum but my heart hurts everytime I come home and I just see my truck sitting there. Any help would be greatly appreciated and I can provide pictures if needed. Thanks.

 

I don't know if I understand your post, but the drag link connects your tie rod to the steering box. The drag link connects to the passenger side knuckle and the tie rod connects the drivers side. You also do not have a spindle. You have a hub that connects to your knuckle. The hub contains the bearings and your wheels bolt onto the hubs. The control arms attach to the axle. There are upper and lower control arms. Did you replace those? I would take it to an alignment shop to get good measurements to help see what could be bent. Other than adjusting toe, there is very little you can adjust so if something is bent, it will need to be replaced, but the alignment check will let you know. You should have the alignment checked anytime you replace suspension parts, just to be sure that you are still pointed straight and not destroying your tires.

Your description sounds more like a 2wd than 4wd.

 

Lift the front of your truck and check both the wheels to see if you have any play. Once you got the truck lifted, place one hand on the top of the tire and the other on the bottom. Check to see if there is play. If there is, your wheel bearing are shot. Based on your description, it does sound like a wheel bearing.

 

Post a pic of what you are talking about.

 

Thanks for the input. It may sound like a 2wd because 4wd drive is not exactly functional right now, but I explained control arms not control arm. Basically when my incident happened it snapped the pittman arm of the stearing gear box and bent the control arms. My driver side tire took the inmpact and moved the tire back against the body. I have replaced the gear box, the drag link, control arms, and all the tie rod ends. I am attaching pictures of the front and the left and right inside of the tires. The tire leans in front from the top on the driver side. I know that the ball joints need to be replaced but the tire position was not like this before. If you could look at the picture between the two tires I think that the knuckle is more bent in on the driver's side. I have not had an alignment done because when I took it to my friend because he did not want to charge me when something else was also wrong. I guess I am looking to see if there are interal pieces in the axle that can be replaced without having to replace the entire axle. Once again, any help is greatly appreciated and if I need to provide any additional information let me know.

 

From the first pic, it looks like the axle got bent......

 

Yep sure looks like the yoke and the end of the axle tube are bent upward a bit.
Keep checking junkyards. or you could call these guys and have one shipped.
http://www.mintonmotorsinc.com/index.html

 

My guess would be bent knuckle and the noise you are hearing is from the ball joints binding. Could also be the axle, but usually the knuckle would go fisrt. Looks like you have a leak as well. Did that happen after the accident? Your best option is to take it to an alignment shop to be sure what is bent. It might be just as easy to find a good axle and swap it. That might be easier than than beating the hub off then you are still replacing the rotor. It would be heavier work to replace the axle, but it would be easier and probably quicker.

 

I would lift the front end and have someone spin that tire on the drivers side and you stand in the front and look at it to see if it wobbles. It looks like you knuckle or axle is bent.