won't shift into 4-wheel drive when moving

From : clare snyder on cajohn smith

Q: on mon 08 dec 2003 142908 gmt budd cochran mr-d150spam@citlink.net wrote youre welcome for the help its what most of us are here for. id change it if you plan to keep the car or dont want an irate buyer screaming how you ripped him off. a tip the chain can be replaced by any chain that will fit the 273-360 engine family including a high performance roller chain. a recent mopar muscle magazine shows a 400+ hp build up for the 318 that appears to be pretty good but id use a less cam with the big 5th avenue and stock axle ratios. with that many miles a good rebuild would help a lot with performance and fuel economy. and changing it is not a difficult job - or expensive. there was a self serve gasbar across from the garage i managed in the late seventies.. a plymouth fury refused to start after stopping for a fill-up and the owner came over and asked us to check it out and see what was wrong. the timing chain was out of it and when my kid brother who was working for me at the time told him he thought he was going to have to get a different car. kid brother told him it was nothing serious at all - if he said the word the car would be back on the road for him before quitting time - and get this - it was 430 pm at the time. i ordered the parts and the car was back on the road by 530. my apprentice asked him after the job was done where he kept the second set of hands. that kid always loved a challenge. .

Replies:

From : paul johnson

i have a 98- ton ram that wont shift into 4-wheel drive when moving. trying to move the shifter into 4 hi just causes a grinding noise. if i come to a complete stop i can engage the transfer case and it is in 4-wheel drive the light comes on on the dash and she hops around tight corners just like always. any help would be appreciated are the front wheels in the straight ahead position even a small turn angle can keep 4wd from engaging. .

From : fmb

i have a 98- ton ram that wont shift into 4-wheel drive when moving. trying to move the shifter into 4 hi just causes a grinding noise. if i come to a complete stop i can engage the transfer case and it is in 4-wheel drive the light comes on on the dash and she hops around tight corners just like always. any help would be appreciated i would venture a guess that she hops around tight corners just like always has something to do with the broken 4wd setup. using 4 wheel drive on anything other than loose snow/sand/gravel/etc while turning puts a huge strain on the entire driveline. the hop you feel is the tires skipping from being on different arcs. local transmission shop will probably give a free estimate or call the dealer and talk to service about the problem. just my .02 i didnt catch his hops around tight tight corners the first read through. re-reading it it appears there may only be one problem and one easy solution. apparently john didnt rtfom problem and will have to pull out the big check book solution. if so im truely sorry for him cause he probably loves his truck just doesnt know how to use it properly... but then again it wouldnt be the first time this group had been trolled either... fmb only one b in fnb .

From : clare snyder on ca

on tue 09 dec 2003 165002 gmt fmb fmbb@sbcglobal.net wrote i have a 98- ton ram that wont shift into 4-wheel drive when moving. trying to move the shifter into 4 hi just causes a grinding noise. if i come to a complete stop i can engage the transfer case and it is in 4-wheel drive the light comes on on the dash and she hops around tight corners just like always. any help would be appreciated i would venture a guess that she hops around tight corners just like always has something to do with the broken 4wd setup. using 4 wheel drive on anything other than loose snow/sand/gravel/etc while turning puts a huge strain on the entire driveline. the hop you feel is the tires skipping from being on different arcs. local transmission shop will probably give a free estimate or call the dealer and talk to service about the problem. just my .02 i didnt catch his hops around tight tight corners the first read through. re-reading it it appears there may only be one problem and one easy solution. apparently john didnt rtfom problem and will have to pull out the big check book solution. if so im truely sorry for him cause he probably loves his truck just doesnt know how to use it properly... but then again it wouldnt be the first time this group had been trolled either... fmb only one b in fnb how about the obvious - different diameter tires front and rear. on a 4x4 all 4 tires must match!!!!!!! .

From : dave

i have a 98- ton ram that wont shift into 4-wheel drive when moving. trying to move the shifter into 4 hi just causes a grinding noise. if i come to a complete stop i can engage the transfer case and it is in 4-wheel drive the light comes on on the dash and she hops around tight corners just like always. any help would be appreciated i would venture a guess that she hops around tight corners just like always has something to do with the broken 4wd setup. using 4 wheel drive on anything other than loose snow/sand/gravel/etc while turning puts a huge strain on the entire driveline. the hop you feel is the tires skipping from being on different arcs. local transmission shop will probably give a free estimate or call the dealer and talk to service about the problem. just my .02 .

From : john smith

ok-ok-ok i guess i wasnt clear. i only mentioned the hopping as a way to let you learned folks know that the trucks 4 wheel drive was working if it was engaged when the vehicle is stopped. as im sure you all know a 4x4 will feel different even when turning tight on sand 4 wheel drive vs. 2 wheel drive. how would you describe it yes i did read the f***ing owners manual. yes all 4 tires are the same size. yes the front wheels are pointed straight ahead. and no i dont want to pay a lot of money to have someone else fix it. anyhow back to the original question. and this is directed to someone that understands the internal workings of a transfer case. i believe that whatever spins up the front drive shaft is not doing its job. what is this part called are there any diagrams of the case on the web. thanks again. i have a 98- ton ram that wont shift into 4-wheel drive when moving. trying to move the shifter into 4 hi just causes a grinding noise. if i come to a complete stop i can engage the transfer case and it is in 4-wheel drive the light comes on on the dash and she hops around tight corners just like always. any help would be appreciated i would venture a guess that she hops around tight corners just like always has something to do with the broken 4wd setup. using 4 wheel drive on anything other than loose snow/sand/gravel/etc while turning puts a huge strain on the entire driveline. the hop you feel is the tires skipping from being on different arcs. local transmission shop will probably give a free estimate or call the dealer and talk to service about the problem. just my .02 i didnt catch his hops around tight tight corners the first read through. re-reading it it appears there may only be one problem and one easy solution. apparently john didnt rtfom problem and will have to pull out the big check book solution. if so im truely sorry for him cause he probably loves his truck just doesnt know how to use it properly... but then again it wouldnt be the first time this group had been trolled either... fmb only one b in fnb .

From : tbone

ok-ok-ok i guess i wasnt clear. i only mentioned the hopping as a way to let you learned folks know that the trucks 4 wheel drive was working if it was engaged when the vehicle is stopped. as im sure you all know a 4x4 will feel different even when turning tight on sand 4 wheel drive vs. 2 wheel drive. how would you describe it yes i did read the f***ing owners manual. yes all 4 tires are the same size. yes the front wheels are pointed straight ahead. and no i dont want to pay a lot of money to have someone else fix it. anyhow back to the original question. and this is directed to someone that understands the internal workings of a transfer case. i believe that whatever spins up the front drive shaft is not doing its job. what is this part called are there any diagrams of the case on the web. the front axle is spun up by the mode hub and sleeve but i doubt that is your problem. you probably have some issues with one or more of the front output shaft components. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .

From : redneck tookover hell

and no i dont want to pay a lot of money to have someone else fix it. then either dont use 4 wheel drive or dump the truck ill start watching reality tv shows when i can vote people off the planet. .

From : tbone

ok-ok-ok i guess i wasnt clear. i only mentioned the hopping as a way to let you learned folks know that the trucks 4 wheel drive was working if it was engaged when the vehicle is stopped. as im sure you all know a 4x4 will feel different even when turning tight on sand 4 wheel drive vs. 2 wheel drive. how would you describe it yes i did read the f***ing owners manual. yes all 4 tires are the same size. yes the front wheels are pointed straight ahead. and no i dont want to pay a lot of money to have someone else fix it. anyhow back to the original question. and this is directed to someone that understands the internal workings of a transfer case. i believe that whatever spins up the front drive shaft is not doing its job. what is this part called are there any diagrams of the case on the web. the front axle is spun up by the mode hub and sleeve but i doubt that is your problem. you probably have some issues with one or more of the front output shaft components. actually thinking more about it it very well could be that the mode hub or mode sleeve is just worn out and having a hard time engaging when the parts are moving. it just seems unusual that it could be this worn out already. do you shift into 4 wheel drive at high speeds often sadly the only way to really know is to open it up and tear it down to see. -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving .