I noticed a grinding noise in a turn with the front wheels manually locked and still in 2 wheel drive just before going off road. You can see from the pictures below the cv-axle seems to have pulled away from the front differential and boot clamp is missing. The boot clamp is an easy fix but not so sure about the other bit? hoping I can just shove it back in and hope the grinding sound goes away! Any tips on how to do this or alternate solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Just in case it matters this has spartan lunchbox lockers & 4.88 gears.




Edit: Welp, truck is now on jack stands and can't seem to just shove it back in. Will I need to tear it down like I am replacing the cv-axle?

 

I've never taken one of these apart, but the manual indicates that the side gear shafts just "snap" in. http://web.archive.org/web/201204242...23disassem.pdf A little more effort might do the trick for you, but if you broke a snap ring (for instance), that probably won't help.

Good luck!

 

Some times the way the snap ring on the axle is facing will keep it from popping back in.

Sometimes it takes a smack to get it in.

Just why it came out needs to be figured out.

 

I agree, it's quite odd for both the snap ring and the boot clamp to have "disappeared".

Edit:
As soon as this heat wave passes I'll try putting it back in again.

 

It looks like the clamp just slid out towards the wheel unless you had two clamps on the inside

Is your truck lifted and how much>?>

 

i wonder if you're seeing the faded rubber to the outer side of where the clamp was; it does sort of look like a clamp, but it probably is the boot itself?

 

The boot clamp is no longer there at all. Truck has a 1.5" lift.

 

That grinding noise is probably the splines between the Side Gear Shaft and the Side Gear, as they became disengaged. That can't do the splines any good; you may have clean up the two parts (filing? machining?) before they will mesh again.

Replacing the half-shaft ("CV axles") has nothing to do with the Side Gear Shaft. I'm guessing you may need to remove the differential case to get to the side gears. At least to inspect them.

 

You might be right sometimes pictures look different from the way shadows effect things.

Might be my old computer that it looks a completely different color from the boot