whenever i put my 95 f150 5.0 into 4 wheel drive. the front axle will bind / shake and even keep the truck from moving at all when the wheel is turned all the way to the left or right. i looked at all the u joints and everything seems fine. i noticed this the other day when i was trying to turn around in the mud. any ideas on what could be wrong would be appreciated. :-D

 

jack up the whole truck then put it in 4x with all tires off the ground with some one in it at all time for safty. maybe your gears are different like maybe some one blew up the front or rear and got one from the junk yard and just swapped them with out checking?

 

its 100% normal if its just in turning . ifnot check fluids axles and transfer case? but 4x4s do this hop and dance alot . this is one reason i play in 2wheel drive till i realy need 4wheel .

 

is it also normal for it to be difficult to steer? if its stationary while in 4 wheel its also hard to turn the wheel and when it does start to turn, its very jerky. i dont think the gears are different because it does this even when in wet grass. if it were the gears id think the force would just cause the wheels to slip. it almost seems like the wheels are turning too far and its causing the u joints to bind.

 

It's probably the u-joints on the front axle shafts. The more you turn the more they bind.

 

Is this a limited slip axle? Perhaps the clutch pack is stuck to gether or even worse is the friction modifier hadn't been used.

 

The front end will seem to bind up in turns - however, if you were having this problem in mud where the front end had the opportunity to slip - suggest to inspect the axle u-joints and to generally make an inspection of the front end. Should not be anywhere near the extreme of preventing the vehicle from moving.

As long as the front end is on a slippery turf - shouldn't be much of a noticeable 'binding'.

If, however, the axles have been changed and the front and rear ratios are not the same - will have all kinds of problems in 4WD.

 

Im not sure if its a limited slip axle.... all i know is its a dana 44. as for the u joints. they seem to be pretty good. i had my girlfriend drive the truck back and forth while i looked under it and there wasnt awkward movement in the joints. while driving at faster speeds and turning normally, the truck its fine.

 

Just looking while they're still on the truck isn't enough. You will have to remove them and do a thorough inspection. While the truck is moving faster there is enough speed to overcome the binding.

 

removing them is gonna be a pain isnt it. i was changing the wheel bearings last weekend and i bought u joints to replace them while i was under there. after about an hour of trying to get the spindle off (rusted on like you wouldnt believe) i ended up putting everything back together.