I have a 96 Dodge ram 1500 5.9 4x4. I just replaced the u-joints, upper and lower ball joints on both sides. and the passenger side wheel bearing about a week ago.. It was driving just fine. I drove it to my moms and when i pulled out of my moms driveway i heard aloud clunking noise so i stopped made sure it was out of 4wheel drive and looked everything over. couldn't see anything so i drove home. I told my husband about it and he acted like i was just saying that there was something wrong with my truck and didn't believe me. Then he decided to take it out today. He had to put it into 4wheel drive to get off our private drive. He had taken it out of 4wheel once he got onto the main road. He said that he heard the clunking noise for a min but it quit. then all of a sudden he heard aloud BOOM. The truck then put itself into 4wheel drive and wouldnt come out. The u-joint caps were gone. but the brackets that hold the u-joint and front drive shaft in place were still there.. I guess i dont understand that part. Im thinking it is due to faulty u-joints but im not sure. What else could have caused this to happen???? oh and he was only going about 30 -35mph.

 

Which U-joint?

Is the t-case still in one piece? I think it's time to check the rear output shaft snap ring. They like to fall off, and bad things happen the to t-case after that.....

 

I changed the one thats on the front drive shaft and the 2 that are on the axel shafts. so i changed 3 total. No the t-case is blown apart. It has nothing do to with the rear shaft its the front. The u-joint exploded witch caused the t-case explode. thats the only thing that i can think of happened

 

Wonder if the t-case didn't go first.....

Easy check. See if the rear output shaft snap ring is still in place. When it falls off, it allows stuff to move around on the shaft, and it eats up various internal parts. Including the case...... general result is a grenaded t-case.

Of course, the u-joint at the front axle letting go, and then the driveshaft playing pogo-stick, would certainly be sufficient reason for the case to decide it didn't want to be in one piece any more.

Check the front pinion shaft. Make sure that it turns fairly freely, with no undue crunchiness.

 

if the rear output shaft snap ring was out. the truck wouldnt move right? The front pinion shaft does turn fairly freely with no probs. it makes no since to me

 

The snap ring just holds things in the proper place. If it falls out, the truck will still move/drive just fine, you may or may not hear some odd noises from the t-case, and you may or may not have issues shifting the t-case. Right up until it blows up.

Is it possible the u-joint was just bad, or a trick missed on installation?

 

I guess anythings possible! I think it was the u-joint. If thats the case then it would be a faulty part because i just got it from auto zone. My husband called them and told them what happened and hes waiting for the main branch to call him back to see what they are going to do. they are talking about paying for the t-case because of the u-joint. but who knows what they are going to do.....

 

I would be surprised if they paid for the t-case. Generally, warranty will only cover the failed part, not any collateral damage it causes when it fails..... If they do though, RUN WITH IT!

 

Why did you change the U-joints to begin with? Were you hearing odd noises and associated them with the U-joints, or were they straight up shot (seized or sloppy)? HeyYou's theory could hold water if the noises that would be coming from the T-case (due to the common snap ring letting go) could be misdiagnosed as failing U-joints. My grandfather has a Chevy 2500 that the transfer case literally exploded on due to a missing pin. (Shops fault upon rebuild. They paid for everything.)

Recoil from the U-joint blowing out could have been enough to blow the T-case to pieces as well. Regardless, If you can get AutoZone to pay for everything, like HeyYou said, run with it! I work at Advance Auto Parts, and we only pay for collateral damage if it was a result of us installing something. (Windshield cracked from letting a wiper arm fly down, blown electrical system due to improper polarity hookup on a battery, things of that nature)

 

The u-joints were shot!! The u-joints are under warranty so they have to give me another one. as for the t-case i found one for $125 at LKQ not really wanting to pay $800 for one at auto zone..it just dont make since when i just replaced the u-joint