Hi

It is really cold today. -30 celcius (about -20 degrees F).

Bought my truck last week. Ram 1500 laramie 5.7 4wd with 90k on it. Worked perfectly before. However I didn't try to put the t-case in neutral or 4LO when I test drove it. I only tried 2wd and 4hi

So today I started the truck in the morning and went to work. It drove normally. 9 hours later, I start the truck and let it warm for a few minutes. Drive home is about 1 hr.

After a few minutes, the front end starts making a loud high-pitched whining noise that intensify when I accelerate. I could feel the vibration too.

I pulled over and tried to put it in 4wd: lever is stuck. After a few tries I could put it in 4WD. No more vibration or whine.

I didn't want to drive with 4-HI engaged on the highway so I tried to put it back in 2WD: lever won't move. I pulled over again, stopped completely, parked and tried to put it in 2WD: the gears/stuff inside the t-case were still spinning! I forced it a bit and could move the lever back to 2WD. However, when I drive it, the whine and vibration is still there. I put it back in 4WD and 2WD and could drive home.

Once at home, I tried to put the t-case to neutral: didn't work. After a few tries I could put it in neutral and 4LO. No vibration or whine in 4LO. Guess what... lever was still stuck! Finally got it in neutral, 2WD and 4HI and drove home. Now, 4HI doesn't seem to work correctly (wheels are spinning) and there's a grinding noise, even if 4WD is displayed on the cluster.

Is it possible that something is frozen inside the t-case ? Anyone had this problem before?

Thanks

 

You did put the truck in neutral or park before you moved to "neutral or 4low" on the lever, right?
Please say yes.

 

Yes, the tranny was in park when i went from neutral to 4lo on the tcase.

 

I would check the t-case fluid. It's prob never been changed or changed only once in its lifetime. Suppose to be every 30kmi.
There is a drain plug and a fill plug. Takes ATF+4. I believe 2.25qts.
I have a sticky in the FAQ section for all fluid capacities.

 

Just found this topic... same exact symptoms...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...ng-in-2wd.html

I'll check the fluid levels first.

 

definitely think the fluid levels might be the culprit there... if you just bought the truck from a dealer bring it right back to that dealer you got it from and ask them to fix it...

 

Just got back from the garage. Transfer case is ok.

They found the problem: front passenger CV joint shot (splines are eaten) and the shaft coming from the front diff doesn't have its splines anymore.

They want to charge 850$ to replace the passenger cv axle, the front axle shaft, seal and fluid!

Does that price seem okay/normal? Is that an easy job to do by yourself? Thanks

 

oh god no.

it's a relatively simple job. I did mine with my lift

 

Unfortunately the big garages all way overcharge for parts. l

 

CV shaft is probably $150. Seal is prob $15. Fluid is $40.
You can rent a seal puller from most local parts stores.
It would probably take you all day if you never done it before because you'll need to eperate the lower balljoint to get the cv shaft out.

If you dont have hand tools, it'll never happen. It's not a "simple" job unless your mechanically inclined and have done small repairs before. I would say the difficulty level on this would be a 7/10.