I have an 07 ram 1500 4wd 5.7L. I parked my truck yesterday and when I went back outside to do something I noticed that it was leaking gear oil. I got underneath and looked to see where the fluid was coming from. The passenger side front axle connects to a cast housing which the disconnect actuator is bolted to. This housing continues on to the front diff housing. What is the name of the part that is cracked and can I purchase it separately from the whole entire front diff housing? Here is a pic:

 

Could use a few more pics maybe a little farther away but it looks like you axle tube is cracked if that's the case no really fixing that

 

+1 for the axle tube. where the crack is where the axle bearing is

 

Time for a new unit


If it's busted like that, then nothing inside is worth using again probably.

 

Quick update guys.. Got a used unit that was in great shape installed on Friday. Drove the truck home on Friday from the shop (10 miles) and all was well. Took the truck to the car wash yesterday (4 miles). When I parked I got out and checked it. The newly installed axle housing is cracked in the same location. This time the crack is a lot deeper. Before I had the second unit installed I had everything in the front end checked and all was said to be good. Tomorrow I am taking my truck to the shop that installed the suspension lift to hopefully get an answer in regards to what is causing this issue. Once I receive more information I will definitely update this thread.

 

Looks like something is binding. Something missing from the lift kit? Did they install a dropped pitman arm?

 

might want to check the suspension geometry... sounds like you've had something hit the tube really hard....

What lift kit did you have installed? And how much lift? Any other mods?

 

Here is some info on the truck: 3" body, 6" rcx suspension, 2" bilstein leveling struts, 40" toyo's. I had this setup with the original axle housing for approximately 6,000 miles with absolutely no issues. The original axle housing cracked under normal driving conditions. Newly installed (used) axle housing only survived about 14 miles before it ended up cracking worse than the other one. I took my truck to the shop that installed the suspension lift and I was told that it was most likely my passengers side cv putting just enough stress on the axle tube to cause this issue. I was told that everything else appeared to be fine. I called rough country in regards to the issue. I was told that the relocation brackets for the front diff do not relocate the front diff to the same angles as stock. I was advised that the angles from the 6" kit are similar to the angles that you would get with a standard 2" lift spacer. So basically I have that angle x2 because my bilsteins give that extra 2 inches. I just do not understand why the original housing lasted for 6k miles before cracking. Maybe I just got lucky? I looked into some Kore high angle cv's which run $800 for the pair. I came across a post from another forum from a guy who has a 6" lift and the bilstein leveling struts at 2". He has the Kore high angle cv's and has not had any issues. Until I can get the funds for those high angle cv's I am going to have another axle housing installed, but I am not going to put the passengers side axle back in.

 

That's a huge lift dude... you've definitely got some CV problems... so those high angle CV's are likely a much better bet.

 

I think I might notch out the cross member to allow the front diff to sit lower and then I can just modify the front diff brackets by adding an inch or two to them. That should reduce the cv angle thus reducing any stress.