Help! One wheel not spinning in 4 wheel drive!

I put my truck into 4 wheel for the first time in a while because of snow, and my front passenger side is locked up and won't move past a certain point. It drives fine in 2wd and everything looks normal, cvs are still inside the diff. Anyone every have this?

 

Sounds normal

 

I mean the wheel locks up when I'm in 4wd and I can't even drive the truck

 

Does the other front wheel spin?

 

It seems like it does, I just hear the passenger side skidding and not the drive side

 

4 is 2 and 2 is 1

 

Yes but the truck will barely move if in 4wd

 

https://youtu.be/18YNpG7IAQ8

 

If it spins alright in 2wd, that points to something wonky in the front differential. If I weren't on a phone I'd google around a bit.

 

Do you mean on open flat ground with no obstructions? Iif thats the case then you have a big problem for sure. In a normal offroad type situation, If one wheel is losing traction, all the power will go to that wheel and the other wheel will get zero power (unless you have a diff lock)

 

Yes on open flat ground going straight, I replaced my old diff earlier this year, but I'm thinking something might be real bad with the new one

 

Ouch, yep something is wrong for sure in that diff. Someone will chime in with the answer...

 

I think I'd drain the diff oil and see what comes out.

I kind of wonder if it's just locked up due to lack of use and might free up with driving, but that would be a scary thing to test.

 

Yeah I guess I'll have to try that and see, and if not try to find a new one again. It's a pain in the a** job to do

 

I've seen seized calipers cause this as well.

 

That only seize in 4wd but not in 2wd? Seems odd.

My guess would be an issue in the center axle disconnect system binding that one side. Not sure exactly how the system works though. Think it might actually connect/disconnect the drivers side, and if so then the problem may be in the diff.

 

Same thing happened to me a few years back. Front Diff seized up and had to be replaced. Had changed the fluid every 30K miles too and exercised the 4WD system as recommended (at minimum).

Edit: Both my front wheels wouldn't move in 4WD. Had to remove front drive shaft to get by and troubleshoot.

 

Take off your front actuator and jack up the truck to spin the wheel, manuall engage the collar and see if something is binding up in there. If it's all clear, then likely broken R&P or a seized bearing in the front diff.

 

Maybe when you replaced your front diff, the new one has a different ratio that doesn’t match the rear. It will lock up and hop/skip if they don’t match.

 

Yeah I bought the truck from a deal ship so I Don't know if it had stock gears, I'm assuming it did because it only had 31's when I bought it