Broken front driveshaft/Serv4WD

Tiny
ANDY_TC
  • MEMBER
  • 2012 RAM 1500
  • 5.7L
  • V8
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 104,000 MILES
Back in 2018 the front driveshaft on my truck broke in two while driving on freeway. Selector was in 2WD at the time. Had to remove shaft on side of the road. Been without 4x4 ever since. Anyone ever seen this happen before? Now I'm wanting to have shaft rebuilt but not sure what caused this failure. Currently no lights at electronic selector knob or selector status on instrument cluster. Erased Serv4WD light by hooking positive and negative battery terminals together. No other codes. Fuses all good suspect short in wiring. Any help much appreciated.
Tuesday, February 16th, 2021 AT 2:40 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
It could be a short in the wiring but we need to find out what the current state is of the system by hooking up the front drive shaft and seeing if the transfer case has any damage.

If driving down the highway the front shaft actually broke in 2 then I would think there is some other damage to the front pinion, or the output of the transfer case.

So unfortunately we need to get the vehicle put back together and find out what it is doing.

Below is the process on how to install it so let's do this and see what we are dealing with in addition to the possible engagement and we can go from there. Thanks
Image (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 AT 6:01 PM
Tiny
ANDY_TC
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thanks KASEKENNY1. Having shaft rebuilt now. Will try to test electronics in the mean time. Any schematics/procedure available? Dana 44 case
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
Saturday, February 20th, 2021 AT 7:39 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
The only thing we can really do at this point is test the control module and if the shift motor is moving/engaging.

If it is then it is all working like it should but we won't know for sure until we see how it operates when the drive shaft is in.

Below are the wiring diagrams for your review.
Images (Click to make bigger)
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Thumb
Was this
answer
helpful?
Yes
No
+1
Sunday, February 21st, 2021 AT 4:45 PM

Please login or register to post a reply.

Related Drive Shaft Replace/Remove Content

Driveshaft Removal
GUIDE
Driveshaft Removal
A dri­ve­shaft is re­spon­si­ble for trans­fer­ring en­gine power from the trans­mis­sion to the dif­fer­en­tial and onto the drive wheels. A dri­ve­shaft can be one or two pieces with a...