Hey ya'll, me again. Question for you guys, I've noticed when driving through thick snow (I live in Canada lol) the front end starts to buck almost like you're hitting potholes repeatedly, I've only ever noticed it when offroading in the snow especially in deeper snow, never driving around town in 4x4 after a fresh fall. I've looked around online to see if anyone else has had this problem but haven't really found anything helpful. Any ideas?

 

Most likely cause is a failing CV joint in a front axle

You have a Dana 35 SLA front end, seen here: https://www.therangerstation.com/tec...a_35_sla.shtml

This is a OPEN style axle so in 2WD you may not get the "bucking", only when its powered do you feel it

I would jack up each front wheel and spin it to see if either makes a noise or exhibits any sign of an issue

The propeller joint is where the front driveshaft connects to the transfer case, this joint is a known failure point, but never heard of it causing "bucking", generally makes a noise in 2WD or 4WD

 

Thanks for your input Ron! If it was happening when there’s power to the axel it should technically happen all the time when in 4x4 right? I don’t feel anything when driving around town in 4x4 only when off road in tougher conditions

 

Well, when traction is good only one front wheel is getting power, maybe that's the axle with good CV joints, don't know

 

that would make sense! Will look into it