Will I do any damage to my truck if I take out the front driveshaft and drive, obviously no 4x4? I have to check it this weekend for play, but I can afford to have the shaft rebuilt/yoke replaced right now. Reasoning behind this is a front end vibration at speeds. I'm having some new u joints pressed in today for both axle shafts but both u joints seem tight. Front end is new, new wheel bearings last year, ball joints are tight. Guy at the drivetrain shop said the yoke is probably shot...

should be fine, no different than running with the CAD unlocked.

Nothing to worry about I spent most of last summer with no front shaft. 

34 minutes ago, CTcummins24V said:

Will I do any damage to my truck if I take out the front driveshaft and drive, obviously no 4x4? I have to check it this weekend for play, but I can afford to have the shaft rebuilt/yoke replaced right now. Reasoning behind this is a front end vibration at speeds. I'm having some new u joints pressed in today for both axle shafts but both u joints seem tight. Front end is new, new wheel bearings last year, ball joints are tight. Guy at the drivetrain shop said the yoke is probably shot...

Do you have a CAD? If so, the shaft shouldn't be spinning fast enough to cause a vibration....

1999 Dodge Ram "should" be a CAD axle. So like TFaoro said there should be any vibration from the front drivel ine if the CAD is truly unlocked. Like my 2002 is a non-CAD axle and shaft spins all the time.

late model 2001. I have no idea if I have CAD. Long skinny axle shaft on the driver's side, short thick axle shaft on the passenger side

Do you have a vacuum motor on the passenger side rear of the axle or not? Basically CAD axle has a vacuum motor that slides a coupler ring between the inner and outer shafts of the passenger side shaft to bind them together.

Edited June 16, 20168 yr by Mopar1973Man

8 hours ago, Mopar1973Man said:

Do you have a vacuum motor on the passenger side rear of the axle or not? Basically CAD axle has a vacuum motor that slides a coupler ring between the inner and outer shafts of the passenger side shaft to bind them together.

 

Yes, I have that

So now you have to verify the front axle is actually unlocked. The front driveshaft should spin freely. If so the driveshaft shouldn't be spinning must on the highway.

When you're making sure the driveshaft is not unintentionally engaged have the engine running, because the vacuum pump is supplying vacuum only when the engine is on.  When the engines off the vacuum stops and if the problem is related to the vacuum switch on the TC then you may be misled.

Just want to chime in.. mine is a 99 and just because it doesn't spin.. it did have a vibration due to the cv joint being shot. 

23 minutes ago, dodgedieselnewbie said:

Just want to chime in.. mine is a 99 and just because it doesn't spin.. it did have a vibration due to the cv joint being shot. 

 

I'm NOT attacking your comment, but let me just point a couple things out.  1) there's no CV joint on these trucks.  The double u-joint on the front driveshaft is called a double cardan joint.  Totally different than a CV (constant velocity) joint found on front wheel drive cars and independent front suspension 4wd vehicles.  2) If the 4wd system is "part-time" (only on the CAD trucks) then the driveshaft will not spin at road speeds in 2wd and will not cause any vibration.  Its impossible for it to do so as its hardly moving while in 2wd.  Your vibration had to be coming from some other source or the front driveshaft was somehow engaged while in 2wd.

Again, I dont want to seem like I'm hassling you.....just merely making some points clear.

Since we're in the topic, what exactly is the difference between a double cardan joint and a cv joint?

33 minutes ago, KATOOM said:

 

I'm NOT attacking your comment, but let me just point a couple things out.  1) there's no CV joint on these trucks.  The double u-joint on the front driveshaft is called a double cardan joint.  Totally different than a CV (constant velocity) joint found on front wheel drive cars and independent front suspension 4wd vehicles.  2) If the 4wd system is "part-time" (only on the CAD trucks) then the driveshaft will not spin at road speeds in 2wd and will not cause any vibration.  Its impossible for it to do so as its hardly moving while in 2wd.  Your vibration had to be coming from some other source or the front driveshaft was somehow engaged while in 2wd.

Again, I dont want to seem like I'm hassling you.....just merely making some points clear.

Thanks for correcting me.. yes.. cardan joint.. sorry. However...  I did have a vibration coming from it.. as the joint was in so bad of shape it carried any engine vibration or road vibration right through it. Maybe a different vibration than a spinning shaft.... now stop hassling me 

Edited June 24, 20168 yr by dodgedieselnewbie

I think pictures do best for something like this.  In short, a CV joint is a constant velocity and a double cardan joint is a "near" constant velocity.  Its very common to hear them being called one in the same.  CV joints are found on front wheel drive vehicles and 4wd vehicles with independent front suspension.  Double cardan joints are found on driveshafts.  Some older luxury cars had dual double cardan driveshafts (one on each end of the driveshaft) so as to lessen any and all u-joint harmonics.

 

Here's some pictures of a CV joint and a double cardan joint, whereby you can clearly see they're nothing alike.  If you want to learn more about their mechanical differences then Google may be your best friend because I'd probably end up making a mockery of the explanation.

 

35 minutes ago, dodgedieselnewbie said:

Thanks for correcting me.. yes.. cardan joint.. sorry. However...  I did have a vibration coming from it.. as the joint was in so bad of shape it carried any engine vibration or road vibration right through it. Maybe a different vibration than a spinning shaft.... now stop hassling me 

 

Oh now the hassling is on like donkey kong.....

Edited June 24, 20168 yr by KATOOM

iirc even auto manufacturers called them cv joints in the 70s and early 80s

The engineers in drive train development or the guys in marketing and sales?  The perspective is completely different.

 

Its my vote that marketing and sales do the most to obfuscate the terms and realities of what is really going on. 

I do agree to the counter point though:  that if I wrote the promotional pamphlets, they would be minimum of 46 pages long, and the average purchaser would have fallen asleep at paragraph 3. 

 

I can see it  (me) now....

Sales indian "how does the power get the front axle?"

Engineering indian".......(10 minutes)...... and finally we decided that the double cardan would work, though not nearly as good as an Rzeppa and not nearly as costly as a bendix-weiss....... (at least 10 more minutes)"

Sales indian "we'll call it a CV joint."

Engineering indian "omg no you can't.....(minimum 10 minute explanation of why its not really one)

Sales chief to sales indian (whispered)  "you say one more word about this and you are fired.  It is a CV joint.  get on to the ..."

Engineering chief to engineering indian (whispered) "you say one more time that it is not a CV joint, and they might figure out that it isn't really 300 miniature horses in there on tread mills making the power.  you will be fired."

 

If that's not exactly how it went I can bet it was really close!  

 

Dilbert is my hero!

 

Hag

 

 

I laughed.....

17 hours ago, dodgedieselnewbie said:

now stop hassling me 

 

16 hours ago, KATOOM said:

Oh now the hassling is on like donkey kong.....

 

 

Good ol' KATOOM out to stir the pot up for someone...

Just keeping it real.....  How can someone learn from anything if no ones going to make sure the information being given is accurate.  I wouldn't know half the garbage I know today if it wasn't for someone thankfully setting me straight one way or another.

That doesnt mean I'm right either.....  I always tell my kids to question what you're being told because following blindly is no different than being controlled. 

On 6/25/2016 at 3:27 PM, Cowboy said:

With a CAD axle the front driveshaft wouldn't spin.... If it was a perfect world.... It spins.

Sorry guys, wrong thread haha.

 

On 6/26/2016 at 11:25 AM, KATOOM said:

 

Probably about 150 rpm while driving down the freeway.....  Sure I guess thats technically "spinning", although slow enough that you can visually count the revolutions.

 

Just because. hehe

Either way, regardless of how fast it spins, it has been known to cause vibration.