New member here and fairly new to a Dodge. Bought my first 1500 about 10 months ago, used 2008 TRX Quad Cab with 70,130 miles now.

This may be a little long-winded, so sorry for all the reading.

Anyway, driving home yesterday I started hearing a whine and the truck bogged down hard when I got off the accelerator. I pulled over and as I was slowing down heard a bang and the truck bucked, like I had suddenly put the truck into park.

I got out of the truck and saw my drive shaft had disconnected from the differential and was laying on the ground (the other end was still connected).

Just looking at the drive shaft and rear end, it looked like nothing had broken and the drive shaft simply fell off. The u-joint on the drive shaft was still intact but it did have the ring gear (I think that is what it is called) attached to it.

I called a tow truck to get the truck home and it was then that I saw that the rear wheels were locked and the truck had to be dragged onto the flat bed. Once the truck was home, it rolled off the flat bed fine, but the wheels are still locked when trying to move forward.

Once home, I noticed the pinon in the differential is pointed upward slightly and does straighten out when the truck rolls backward. But when the truck rolls forward, the pinon points upward and the wheels lock.

So to me it looks like all the pieces are there, but something broken inside the differential. I've tried to attach some pictures to show what I've got and hope someone can shed some light onto maybe what is missing or maybe what happened.

Right now I'm thinking I need to replace my rear axle assembly, but I'm not sure why it happened and that is what is bugging me.

 

Do a search in this section for "C-Clip" and you can read about it all night long.

Common issue with trucks with the factory Limited Slip Differential. Usually though you'll see the broken clip long before total failure. No sign of a broken clip at the last differential lube change???

 

HammerZ71 hit it on the head but Im (and you should be also) interested to see you pull the diff cover and take pics.

 

Here is a link to one discussion on the 9.25" LSD differential retainer clip problem.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...s-it-pics.html

This DT thread also has a lot of information on the broken LSD clips
http://tinyurl.com/8y965tz

 

Okay, so I took the cover off and was a bit surprised. No chunks of metal, sheared gear teeth, or even any shavings. I'm no mechanic, but the gears looked okay to me. I've attached pictures of what I found. The lighting is terrible, but I did this at night and only had my flood lights.

The first pic was taken and then my wife and I rolled the truck back about 1/4 tire revolution and the next one is taken. With the truck rolled back, the pressure is off the pinon and it does have some play in it (both translating and rotating).

I was all set to replace this rear end with a salvaged one figuring the gears were just shredded. Do I have other, maybe cheaper options?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Im assuming the pinion nut came loose or backed off enough to give the play. The pinion yoke on the exterior of the rear end should not move up and down slightly as the truck rolls forward or backward. If it does, at high speed could be enough to throw everything out of balance. That coupled with centrifugal force would be enough to break it loose.

 

So it sounds like either replace the rear end or rebuild it, correct? Probably not just a simple replace a seal and nut and move on down the road.

Also, the head of two bolts broke off as I was removing the diff cover. I had no trouble with the others. Maybe those bolts are a sign to just replace the thing

 

replace or repair just all depends on the overall damage. If the pinion gear is fine and all you need is a new yoke and universal joint and a new pinion nut of course, then it might be better to do that.

But repair costs add up.

You might find a complete rear end avail to you in a local yard or on Craigslist also

 

Thanks for the information.

I found a couple of rear end at a salvage, one for $600 (67k miles) and one for $900 (33k miles). Unfortunately, the decision just doesn't seem like a simple one, and I like simple.

 

To the OP, I'd take the truck to a "good" gears shop.
The tricj here is the "good" part. Make sure they have done Dodge rears before and get them to look it over.
It might just be a case of a new yoke and universal joint and a new pinion nut as Weed said.
If they rebuild this rear, you know where and what it's done. Salvage yards might be OK and good but, you don't have any history usually with them. Your repairs might be cheaper as well?
Good luck,
Al.