stuck in 4wd

A friend of mine is having a problem with his 02/03 Ram 1500. he left his house this morning and switched it out of 4wd. a ways down the road he started to hear a grinding noise like it wasn’t all the way out of 4wd. he switched the 4wd back on and the noise went away. It is very cold here this morning like zero. Could it be something is frozen? Is the independent front end vacuum or electrically actuated? Im not familiar with the independent front end. we have it in a heated garage right now to see if its something frozen. How can we remedy this?

To disengage the 4wd ideally you should be on a slick surface...a little slack is needed. Have your friend find a gravel road or snowy/icy stretch. If it won't disengage while driving straight, then try a slight turn either left or right.

What happens is that the system binds, and because of the pressure put on it will not disengage. The slippery surface and/or turning will help relieve the pressure. (Pressure is similar to when you are in 4wd and turn on pavement: not recommended)

Hopefully by now it's come out; this system is NOT to be driven in 4wd on pavement so your friend may damage his 4wd system if he does.

Hope that helps....

He knows how to use his 4wd. he called a mechanic that’s knows dodges and he had him check a few things over the phone. He thinks its something to do with having a bad axel shaft. he said that the shaft is pulling out of the housing because of the torsion bar leveling kit that the truck has. So maybe it was a front axel thing and not a 4wd thing. I haven’t seen it myself but this mechanic knows his stuff. He is going to check it out today. hopefully he wont break the bank. Damn independent suspension.

Well, for once, a vehicle owner is well-equipped to solve their own problems.:smile:

I wouldn't condemn an IFS 4wd set-up. At times, I wish I had bought one instead of my solid-axle Jeep.

FWIW, I found alternating going forward and reversing is a great way to disengage a sticking 4wd mechanism.