When driving I have a loud clicking in the front end. It is so bad it actually shakes the front of the truck. I looked under the truck and found the boot on the passenger side of the axle was ripped and half way off the axle. There was a lot of grease all over this side of the truck which appeared to come from the boot Is this the cause of the shake or does it sound like a bigger problem with the front axle. I pushed the boot back on and but a clamp on it but the rip is still the there. It is a 2003 1500 4.7l 4wd any help would be appreciated. I'm taking it to the shop on Monday but tryimg to figure out if I can fix it myself pictures added three post down

 

I think you found the culprit. Did you inspect the u-joint on the axle before putting the boot back on? If it's making that much noise, you will probably be able to see or feel the damage. It should be pretty loose if it's clicking that loud. I don't have a 4wd so I can't speak from personal experience but a worn axle joint is usually pretty easy to spot especially if the boot was ripped. Without grease in there it probably went bad pretty quick.

 

The short axle piece that the boot connects to is easily moved up and down if that's the u joint then I it's prolly bad. Is the u joint the price that connects directly from the boot to the axle?

 

is this the u joint

 

Bump for some help determining the issue

 

I just had this very same issue. It was so bad I could actually feel it in my steering wheel. I thought is was gonna be an epic fix but turned out all I needed to do was replace the CV boot. Took it to the dealer, paid $300. Now she's good to go. No clicking or anything.

 

So replacing the boot will hopefully fix the issue I appreciate it