2013-2017 Ram 3500 front axle disconnect? (Paralysis by analysis)
- Thread starter Durango
- Start date
Laramieskibum
New member
Yes. This x 2. But wish I had hubs I could disconnect. Still no failures yet.
chet6.7
Explorer
I wish I had hubs too,just not willing to spend 2K for them as I need a ARB front bumper and an Aluminess rear bumper and a few other things as well.
A Power Wagon in any trim level including Laramie will also have a lever T-case.
Yes, but even with the Power Wagon or Tradesmen that has the manual lever, the 4wd engagement is still relying on the Central Axle Disconnect system (an electronically actuated collar locks the the two piece front axle) so there is still some electronic gadgetry to go wrong as I understand it.
Bradcutter
New member
Well, sorry to dredge up an old post but this chain has been a great resource for me. In fact I joined EP because this is a perfect fit for what we do. Last weekend I was in Steamboat and we got about 8+” of super heavy, wet 31° snow.. My TOTALLY STOCK 13 Ram 3500 6.7 with CAD did not like it one bit trying to move a small snowmobile trailer around on a fairly steep driveway. Heavy wet snow over ice makes for some bad conditions as it turns out. Any way, tried to make a few runs up the driveway but had no luck in 4 hi, marginal gains and then spinning tires. I know low is probably no real benefit on snow but I tried it anyway. Put it in 4lo and tried a slow climb, better but still lost traction. Ok try a little faster and longer run, start up driveway and the wheel hop begins. Three big hops and one big thud. Boom, hear the bang, smell the oil, that’s not good. Look under truck and there is the whole CAD system and fork hanging by its wiring harness. Well since there was fluid loss and and parts hanging, I went ahead and had it towed to town. Ram wanted 4K to repair that and one of the wheel bearings and an axle that supposedly was damaged as well. Rear pinion seal leaking for third time as well... I’ll pass on a $4K repair for the same OEM junk. So truck sits across the street at a performance shop, and while I wait for them to look at I’ve been reading, a lot. But also have questions, maybe this is the right crowd to ask. First of all I should share that I am no longer convinced this is a problem part. Free wheeling MLH hubs are a very tempting conversion right now but truly are a significant inconvenience for the driving I do. Also, I can’t find a single example of this happening in a 4th gen except me. I don’t wheel hard, but I tow a payload of roughly 17k into the mountains, sand dunes, snowy mountain passes etc. I have 4 young kids and a wife that travel along. When I need 4wd drive, I NEED 4wd. Only needed it really bad conditions a few times now, truck has failed both times in some fashion, this time and previously lost some clutch ring in the transmission leaving me only with reverse. Am I abusing the truck, not in my opinion, am I using the truck at the upper design limits, sure.
Edit: My reading and experience leads me to believe that a huge part of this trucks problem is terrible wheel hop. Sand and heavy wet snow are the main culprits (my two most common off road conditions). So I am pretty much convinced I need to add traction bars to the rear, maybe the front too? Thoughts?
So Questions:
Is this something I can fix with a GM or Ford and not waste anymore time and money, just rolled over 100k, time to make this truck reliable or buy a new truck under warranty?
Is a stock truck really still too powerful for its drivetrain or do I just drive like a teenager? (I’m 30 and married)
What drivetrain improvements would you make to still be able to haul 17k with no new issues, while still being able to use 4lo as the good Lord intended?
Will air lockers remove the LSD and make it a regular Diff? What kind of effect will this having on normal to slightly slick driving conditions where lockers would not be engaged?
Would a tranny tune help preserve the weak link 68rfe, even in tow haul, this thing loves 5th and 6th gear, can’t be good for it?
Does anyone believe that MLH are truly better in every way but convenience than a CAD system? Maintenace? Reliability?
Well thanks everyone for helping out a newbie. You seem to do similar adventures to me. This truck tows and goes off road to recover broken motorcycles, it is no longer a DD but needs to be able to tow that RV like a dream on the highway, like it does now.
Edit: My reading and experience leads me to believe that a huge part of this trucks problem is terrible wheel hop. Sand and heavy wet snow are the main culprits (my two most common off road conditions). So I am pretty much convinced I need to add traction bars to the rear, maybe the front too? Thoughts?
So Questions:
Is this something I can fix with a GM or Ford and not waste anymore time and money, just rolled over 100k, time to make this truck reliable or buy a new truck under warranty?
Is a stock truck really still too powerful for its drivetrain or do I just drive like a teenager? (I’m 30 and married)
What drivetrain improvements would you make to still be able to haul 17k with no new issues, while still being able to use 4lo as the good Lord intended?
Will air lockers remove the LSD and make it a regular Diff? What kind of effect will this having on normal to slightly slick driving conditions where lockers would not be engaged?
Would a tranny tune help preserve the weak link 68rfe, even in tow haul, this thing loves 5th and 6th gear, can’t be good for it?
Does anyone believe that MLH are truly better in every way but convenience than a CAD system? Maintenace? Reliability?
Well thanks everyone for helping out a newbie. You seem to do similar adventures to me. This truck tows and goes off road to recover broken motorcycles, it is no longer a DD but needs to be able to tow that RV like a dream on the highway, like it does now.
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Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
Ford yes, gm would be even worse.
Fords have wheel hop just as bad. Wheel hop is generally a tire problem. The limits of the trucks traction are long gone, everytime I've experienced it. Increase traction with larger MT's and tire chains. BDS make very nice traction bars that help as well. Wheel hop is an easy fix. Yes, wheel hop is very hard on components.
Also consider Tire Claws as a chain alternative, when you're stuck. Cable chains are a handy option for ice.
You can lock in the manual Yukon hubs and leave them locked in on nasty days. Same with the Ford hubs. ESOF Ford hubs will auto engage via vacuum. But I lock mine in manually for off roading and sub zero weather.
We just lost an entire Dodge xfer case recently. People are blaming a dry double cv in the front driveshaft. Tons of examples online. I would do the Yukon manual hubs on a Dodge no matter what. You can leave them locked in whenever you want. Should have zero effect on your convenience. On my manual hub, old truck, I'd always stop for fuel when I get off the hwy, so I can off road with a completely full tank. That's when I lock my hubs in. Then I unlock them at the same gas station, for the trip home a week later. No big deal. You don't have to actuate them every time you switch in and out of 4wd.
Air and elockers, are open diffs, when unlocked. Open diffs are best on slick streets. My favorite setup is a Yukon Grizz autolocker up front, and selectable rear. (Fords have a selectable rear stock) Lsd's have been worthless for decades. Concentrate on quality tires, and you'll never want one ever again.
There are times when Detroit or Yukon autolockers are best. They can provide locked traction and grip, while ratcheting for tight turns at the same time. And extreme reliability. An uphill switch back is a good example. Downside, is ice performance on certain rigs.
Fords have wheel hop just as bad. Wheel hop is generally a tire problem. The limits of the trucks traction are long gone, everytime I've experienced it. Increase traction with larger MT's and tire chains. BDS make very nice traction bars that help as well. Wheel hop is an easy fix. Yes, wheel hop is very hard on components.
Also consider Tire Claws as a chain alternative, when you're stuck. Cable chains are a handy option for ice.
You can lock in the manual Yukon hubs and leave them locked in on nasty days. Same with the Ford hubs. ESOF Ford hubs will auto engage via vacuum. But I lock mine in manually for off roading and sub zero weather.
We just lost an entire Dodge xfer case recently. People are blaming a dry double cv in the front driveshaft. Tons of examples online. I would do the Yukon manual hubs on a Dodge no matter what. You can leave them locked in whenever you want. Should have zero effect on your convenience. On my manual hub, old truck, I'd always stop for fuel when I get off the hwy, so I can off road with a completely full tank. That's when I lock my hubs in. Then I unlock them at the same gas station, for the trip home a week later. No big deal. You don't have to actuate them every time you switch in and out of 4wd.
Air and elockers, are open diffs, when unlocked. Open diffs are best on slick streets. My favorite setup is a Yukon Grizz autolocker up front, and selectable rear. (Fords have a selectable rear stock) Lsd's have been worthless for decades. Concentrate on quality tires, and you'll never want one ever again.
There are times when Detroit or Yukon autolockers are best. They can provide locked traction and grip, while ratcheting for tight turns at the same time. And extreme reliability. An uphill switch back is a good example. Downside, is ice performance on certain rigs.
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6.7 Cummins torque, snow, ice, hammering down to get up the hill with some wheel hop and KABOOM....... Yup, in that situation the CAD was the weak link and grenaded. I wonder if you had no CAD to blow if something would of grenaded in it's place? U-joint, T-case, axle shaft?
In you shoes I'd probably just fix with OEM parts and keep going. If you do go with lockout hubs you may need to change wheels. The current offering of Ram wheels don't really have a large enough center hole to fit over the hubs so that's an additional cost.
As stated above, if you go with lockouts it's no big deal to lock them in and leave them locked for awhile. Heck, before CAD in 2014 the front end was always locked and spinning with no issue's except less MPG.
I always grease my double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft at every oil change. Hopefully my T-case doesn't grenade.
In you shoes I'd probably just fix with OEM parts and keep going. If you do go with lockout hubs you may need to change wheels. The current offering of Ram wheels don't really have a large enough center hole to fit over the hubs so that's an additional cost.
As stated above, if you go with lockouts it's no big deal to lock them in and leave them locked for awhile. Heck, before CAD in 2014 the front end was always locked and spinning with no issue's except less MPG.
I always grease my double-cardan joint on the front driveshaft at every oil change. Hopefully my T-case doesn't grenade.
Explorerinil
Observer
Be careful if you go to shops for oil changes, many including my dealer do not grease the drive shift when doing oil changes.
If your worried about your rims working with free spin hub kits or don’t want to cut center caps up, look at ram man inc hubs, he uses timkin ford unit bearing hubs converted to fit the dodge axle shaft and makes them greaseable. He also uses warn or mike marker hubs. I’ve seen more ram cummins trucks with high miles on the road vs competitors, you have a solid truck, something just broke like can happen to anything,
If it was my truck I would look around for a one piece axle shaft, get rid of the cad and put on a free spin kit. There are cad bypass kit out there. FYI the cad is nothing new, 2nd gen rams had them.
If your worried about your rims working with free spin hub kits or don’t want to cut center caps up, look at ram man inc hubs, he uses timkin ford unit bearing hubs converted to fit the dodge axle shaft and makes them greaseable. He also uses warn or mike marker hubs. I’ve seen more ram cummins trucks with high miles on the road vs competitors, you have a solid truck, something just broke like can happen to anything,
If it was my truck I would look around for a one piece axle shaft, get rid of the cad and put on a free spin kit. There are cad bypass kit out there. FYI the cad is nothing new, 2nd gen rams had them.
Just checked out the Ram Man Inc hub kit and I like it for it's simplicity. Didn't see a conversion kit to eliminate the CAD system though. I wouldn't add one to my truck but I did like his video on how to grease the unit bearings through the ABS sensor port. I may try greasing mine when I rotate my tires next.
Explorerinil
Observer
He doesn’t sell a cad delete, I’ve seen one, you can do it. Look at dies power products, they build a Dodge Ram for the ultimate adventure, if I remember right they did a cad delete. I’ll look also and see if I can find one for you.