Screwed Up! - What did I Hurt?

[BobW]

After having to shift into 4wd to maneuver my 5th wheel I forgot to take it out again. An hour plus of 70 mph driving pulling the 10K trailer and started hearing wierd noises. Shifted out of 4wd and went another 200 miles, filled up with fuel and had a loud drivetrain "clunk" as I turned out of the service station. Everything seemed to work fine for the 1600 mile drive home.
I had just changed front and rear differentials and transfer care before starting the trip.
Anything I should do now (except hope nothing is screwed up)?
Thanks guys.

[skidsteer loader]

keep going and see what happens, may be time for some warranty repair?

[mackin]

Originally posted by BobW:
After having to shift into 4wd to maneuver my 5th wheel I forgot to take it out again. An hour plus of 70 mph driving pulling the 10K trailer and started hearing wierd noises. Shifted out of 4wd and went another 200 miles, filled up with fuel and had a loud drivetrain "clunk" as I turned out of the service station. Everything seemed to work fine for the 1600 mile drive home.
I had just changed front and rear differentials and transfer care before starting the trip.
Anything I should do now (except hope nothing is screwed up)?
Thanks guys. I've heard of this happening before ,no towing ,but at higher speeds 40 min jaunt .... That paticular T case is still functioning normal .... I did something worse to mine and it's OK ...... :eek:

Long story,late night and rushing comes to mind ....

So drive it ,that's all you can do along with hope for the best ....

Mac

[ratlover]

Might change the fluids again for grins. 1/2 of your front end is turning all the time anyway, you should be ok if nothing spewed its guts all over the interstate yet. Probably added a bit of wear though

[HD-Nate]

I agree with change the fluids.

I did the same thing with my

[KenZ]

Bob,

Hate to admit I did the same thing. I have done it several times for short distances, but last month I was in CO loading up a stock trailer and forgot to take it out of 4wd. I was doing some 75-80 mph pulling about a 7000lb load for 2-3 hours. Fortuantely it was all pretty straight with no tight turns to strain the drive train. I didn't notice till I stopped to fill up.

Made it home and have put several thousand miles on it since then and don't seem to have any problem. I don't have any "clunks" though and didn't hear any wierd noises.

The thing that suprised me was that the several times I have done it for short distances at slower speeds, the truck wasn't quite as smooth and had a little louder road noise. First couple of times I thought something was wrong with the truck or tires until I realized it was in 4wd. Now if it sounds a little loud or not quite as smooth, thats the first thing I check. But going 75 -80, it was as smooth and quiet as ever. Even pulling the trailer! I was really surprised when I saw that it was in 4wd. I was a little scared when I noticed it, but put it back in 2wd and soon forgot about it.

I would think you are probably OK.


Ken

[blowinsmoke]

Ditto on the oil here too - but only to check to make sure there is no other damage (shavings or anything). You should be just fine though.. The drive line clunk was probably wind up - this occurs when in 4x4 and one wheel spins faster than the other - ie, you take a corner and - inner has to travel less distance than the outer. Normaly slipping the wheels will take care of it - sometimes it takes a while for it to work out, even more so on pavement and turning can shock it out. You might want to take it out in some mud or something and put it back in 4wd and play a little (in and out of 4wd and spin all 4 wheels etc)- You'll soon know if you've broken something.

[JimWilson]

Originally posted by BobW:
I had just changed front and rear differentials and transfer care before starting the trip.If it were me I'd have just changed the fluid. Swapping all those parts must have taken you quite some time. :D

Seriously... I doubt you did any damage. In the winter I drive in 4wd quite often. It shouldn't have damaged anything. Changing the fluid might not be a bad idea, but I'm not certain that's even necessary. After all, it IS a differential and it was merely doing it's job.

[BobW]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one who has done it. Thanks to all for replies. I did recall an old post on wiring the large 4wd dash light to come on when in 4wd. Fount it, here's the link, look about half way through the posts for two from dmaxster.

http://forum.thedieselpage.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=002850#000000