SIL has a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 that dropped its driveshaft. Consensus is that the pinion nut loosened dropping the driveshaft and locking up the rear differential. Here is what the shop is claiming.
Truck needs a new driveshaft since the old one is ruined.
The nut got into the differential, probably destroyed it and she needs a whole new rear differential* for $1500+labor.
Are those reasonable if the pinion nut gets loose?
*The keep saying “rear end”. Is that synonymous with rear differential?
I think the only real answer is to disassemble and check the damage if any. I can’t tell you how many times we thought something was destroyed only to find minimal damage. I only work on large trucks so can’t really say on a small truck but $1500.00 sounds high to me. I can’t imagine it taking over about 4 hours but I really don’t know much about small trucks.
The differential is a set of specialized gears in the rear axle housing. In this context, “rear end” and “differential” are often used interchangeably to refer to the combination of the differential, ring and pinion gearset, and (sometimes) the housing that holds them.
Here you can see the pinion nut at the upper right. It threads onto the pinion gear (near the center), holding it in place in the housing and holding the yoke onto the pinion. If the nut comes loose, the yoke (which attaches to the driveshaft like so – that’s the tail end of the driveshaft on the right) could come forward off of the pinion gear. It would have to move two or three inches to get clear of the pinion threads so as to drop the driveshaft onto the ground. Here’s a view of the pinion nut and the yoke with the driveshaft removed.
It is not possible for the pinion nut to get into the differential area unless there’s a whopping big hole in the housing. That part sounds totally ridiculous to me.
Now, with the nut gone, the pinion shaft could move back against the ring gear, and could get cocked which might lock up the rear end. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the rear end is shot though. I agree with HoneyBadgerDC that disassembly and inspection is the only way to be sure of what’s going on there.
You have to consider the mileage on the truck, and the chance that you’ve missed damage to the differential. If there’s any chance it is damaged, and it has high mileage, you might as well change or rebuild the rear end if you’re going to replace the shaft. So you’re going to have to open that pumpkin anyway to find out what to do.
Also, are they talking about replacing the whole rear end, just the differential, rebuilding it, new or used?
If destroyed, I’d got to a junk yard and replace everything with parts from there. If lucky, he’d find a nice truck that was totaled in a front end collision that wasn’t so severe as to push the engine back.
I’d also change the fluid while at it. If it’s a limited slip differential, make very sure to use the correct fluid.
The quote of $1500 was for rebuilding the whole thing. They havn’t taken it apart yet but they are assuming a complete rebuild since the rear axle is locked up.
You should be able to find a complete rear axle assembly for less than that. I just sold a complete Ford 8.8 from a Mustang for $180.
When the nut loosens and eventually comes off, the angled cut (helical) on the gears will try to pull the pinion shaft into the differential housing. This causes the gear to bind and can demolish nearly everything inside the differential.
1500$ to repair doesn’t sound bad at all but a junk yard complete axle + a drive shaft should be a lot less.
First, Where are you located? Cost of repairs are very location dependent. What shop is doing the work? The price, the song and dance sounds like the dealer. I recommend a specialty drive train shop, and/or an independent shop.
I concur, Find out how bad it is first. If no major damage was done, then a quality repair is in order. If all is destroyed, a good used rear end from a wrecking (or recycling) yard is the way to go. Get the drive shaft there as well. It would run about $350.00 for both parts around here. For a non limited-slip differential that is.
I always wonder what caused the nut to come loose? Were you-all (SIL) drag racing? Did someone go quickly in reverse and then throw it into a forward gear revving the engine to get a gnarly burn-out? Did an overloaded truck cause the springs to flatten out allowing the drive shaft to be driven while its slip-joint was fully collapsed?
If we do not know the cause, how do we know that it will not reoccur?
Long story short…On july 20, 2013 i was driving on interstate 80/90 heading westbound going about 70mph approx 37 miles east of elkhart, in. without warning my truck made a noise what appeared to be in the front end and i immediately attempted to pull over as i thought something became caught in the driver front wheel area, as i was attempting to get off highway and slow down, much traffic and it was a bottleneck as a semi was pulled over for blown tire, as we passed the semi and merged back into right lane the noise appeared and i imediatelt pulled over to get off roadway, when the truck jerked horribly almost causing me to lose control and crash with my son and another child in the vehicle. i no sooner barely got off road and the truck came to a screeching hault! smoke all over. I got out and checked under the front to see what in the hell happened, only to find my driveshaft completely detached and lying on the ground behind my truck! Holy s…!!! towed to elkhart, no dealerships open, couldnt find a mechanic open to assess the issue, ended up towed to ill border and had my mechanic drive 78 miles to meet me ai ill/in border and get me and truck home.
total tow 763.00 for approx 206.8 miles. today i find out the cause was rear pinion nut loosened up. there are 6 recalls that cover 983,669 vehicles from manufacturer dates dating back from Feb 7 2007 to october of 2011. 2 issues causing same problems no adhesive (lock tite) on nut or pinion bolt, or undersized pinion spline. Both of these issues cause the pinion nut to loosen up causing immediate rear end lock up resulting in loss of control of vehicle / and or vehicle crash with little warning (verbatum on the recalls). This is the second time my mechanic has witnessed this, his father’s ram did the same thing and it was included in the recall. I contacted chrysler told them what happened, gave them the info last 8 of my vin and the recalls info, my info (which they had on file) due to the vehicle registration. i was put on a 2 min hold, only to be told im not under warranty, and my vin does not appear in the recall so theres nothing they can do. I was told to write a letter to Chrysler group customer care, po box 21-8004, auburn hills, mi,48321-8004. I have 111081 miles on my 05 1500 quad cab slt 4x4 hemi. I have found this issue i am replying to and many others online such as ram forum and various other sites that the rear pinion nut working its way loose with no warnings has caused the rear end to immediately lock up causing destruction of the entire rear end, rear axels, driveshaft, punctured gas tanks, crashes, accidents and transmission issues. There are many vehicles this same issue has caused severe mechanical breakdown. Im doing this because I would not like to see another person injured, families or children killed as a result of some imperfection or oversight by the persons responsible for building our vehicles and the companies knowing full well they have an issue with more vehicles and earlier models than what theyre saying have issues. The more people that have this issue and the word gets out to chrysler and the people whom dont even realize the reason for this nut comming lose is manufacturer error or defect, or shotty labor. I know i would have just ate the repair bill and chalked it up to wear and tear, but unfortunately this is and was not the reason for my situation, and already stated by chrysler almost 1,000,000 other vehicles that they already know about!
Here’s the recalls
#95599 date 2/6/13 undersized pinion spline, resulting in nut loosening of pinion, affecting 278,229 vehicles rams, dakotas, aspens, and durangos.
#93042 date 9/28/2012 lack of adhesive on pinion nut &/or pinion bolt assembly nut comming loose 44,300 ram and dakota vehicles affected.
#95600 date 2/6/13 undersized spline nut working loose, earliest manufactured date 02/27/07, latest manufactured date sept 2011. 278,229 vehicles/ ram, dakota, aspen, and durango’s affected
go to dodge ram recalls and read it direct! hope this info helps someone and saves the lives of many!
Targa, WOW, I am glad that you are pursuing this action. IMHO Dodge not expanding their recalls is unacceptable. Loosing control of the rig due to their known faulty workmanship is at least criminally negligent. If anyone gets injured, or
god forbid, killed, then Chrysler Corp. should be held responsible.
I am not a sue-happy fellow. I think that tort reform is way overdue. However, Chrysler should have already addressed this major mistake of theirs.
Keep us informed as to what happens next. Thanks, 48.
My SIL is in the same position as Targa. The '05 are not on the recall list even though this is a known problem and later years are on the recall list.
