So long story short, a few months ago I switched on 4WD while driving in the rain,
no prior incident, and my truck starts shuddering like hell when lightly accelerating. (Not shaking in 2WD). When I made sharp turns it also sounded like something was moaning/groaning in my front suspension. I had my buddy drive my truck while i watched and I saw the inner cv joint move up and down erratically on the left side, so i decided to replace the cv axle and the intermediate shaft (which i previously did with the other side as well for another reason). I knew the cv axle was bad because I heard clunks when stopping and going from a stop. Even after I replaced the cv and intermediate shaft the truck still shakes, possibly even worse. And for some weird reason the suspension is still making a clunking noise. (Even in 2WD). Also I have basically replaced my entire front suspension including upper/lower control arms, cv’s, ball joints, struts, breaks, next is tie rods. I’ve inspected as much as I know and nothing seems loose. What could this be? I was thinking maybe the long shaft in between the two intermediate shafts, but there is no weird play on the inner cv’s, and i opened up the differential and everything seems to spin smoothly. What could this be? Please help so I don’t need to spend my whole wallet on the mechanic.

 

Shouldn't use 4x4 on hard surfaces, even in the rain. Snow? Yeah, definitely, but not rain......

 

The long shaft between your intermediate shafts is your front differential. Or you could be talking about your front driveshaft... hard to tell.

Are you doing any of the work yourself? If so, pull off both front axles, leaving the intermediate shafts behind in the front differential. Keep the truck in 2wd. This will isolate the front differential and prevent it from turning.

Take the truck for a drive. Is the sound gone? Focus on the front drivetrain. Still there? You can eliminate the front differential.

USUALLY, the splines on the axles where they key into the stub/intermediate shafts will act like a fuse and strip out before anything catastrophic happens inside the differential. You need to inspect the axle that you previously changed to see if you wiped the splines on that side.

 

Are the axle stubs that bolt to the wheel bearings what holds them together??

 

Not on our trucks no, the hubs between 2wd and 4wd are interchangeable.

 

Hey it sounds like you know what you’re saying. I’ve gotten more information. So now in two wheel drive when i make slight left turns while accelerating it shudders for a moment then stops, or if i accelerate from a stop it shudders for a moment then stops. Also when I break hard I feel a clunk under my feet. When In 4WD trying to make turns it make a humming sound and feels like everything is binding up, and when driving shakes like crazy. This is testing in a parking lot (which I know I shouldn’t do) but i don’t go over 10mph. I believe my problem is in the differential. So I am going to take my cv axles off like you said, and when I will see if the 2WD symptoms stop. But my question is can I turn it on 4WD without the front axles and test my driveshaft or transfer case that way? Or will the CV axles missing ruin the gears because they are running too freely without CVs? Any other ideas I would love. It would be awesome if you could text me at 201-983-7637. I need a guy to talk to who knows about this stuff. Thanks.

 

You can safely engage 4x4 with the front axles removed, but don't do it while in motion. Stop testing your 4x4 by turning sharply on pavement, that's what got you into this situation in the first place, lol