Hey guys,

I'm in Lake Tahoe where we've been getting a ton of snow over the past few days, and on Sunday night made the genius decision to try to drive up my road with ~a foot of snow in 2WD to "see how far I could get." Long story short, I slid off the road into a ditch, and when I was engaged in 4LO with the center diff locked, I "broke" my 4WD. In some minimal research, I think I broke my CV axle, but wanted to get your opinions.

- Slid off the road in 2WD
- Engaged 4HI, but was high-centered a bit and couldn't get much traction
- Engaged 4LO, made some progress (with pushing) but still stuck
- Engaged 4LO with the center diff locked AND had my wheels turned to the right (dumb, I know)
- Heard a loud clunk from the front end while revving in 4LO, center diff locked, wheels turned
- Now when 4WD is engaged and the truck is shifted into gear, there is a loud grinding/machine gun like noise coming from the truck
- There is also no power to the wheels when 4WD is engaged
- No noise in 2WD, and has power to the wheels

My first thought was I blew my transmission, but when everything seemed okay in 2WD I ruled that out. Second thought was something to do with the transfer case, and then after reading a few posts on the forums I think it might be the CV axle. Anyone have any thoughts?

Side note: my truck is still stuck as Triple A hasn't been able to get here. If anyone is in the area/knows anyone in the area with a winch, please let me know.

Thanks as always, and hope you are all staying safe.

First of all....YIKES...this isnt going to be fun. Probably busted a CV, but most intelligent people than me will chime in soon hopefully

Yeah - NOT great timing for me to mess around in 2WD on a snowy hill, and then overlook the rules for 4LO/center diff (pretty sure you're supposed to keep your wheels straight to reduce strain).

On top of that, it hasn't stopped snowing since Sunday night & we are probably around the 4 foot mark where the truck is buried. Just received a message on FB of someone with a Chevy 1500 & snow tires that's gonna help try to pull me out, so gonna go start digging now.

Probably CV, though not sure how it would have broke it doesn't sound like you had any traction, probably stock sized tires on snow right? Maybe front driveshaft but since the front diff is stationary in IFS, not as likely to break.

I turn sharp in 4 low with center diff locked all the time, if its on dirt, gravel, snow, ice you shouldn't have to worry. Even if on concrete it isn't terrible unless you're putting down a lot of power or driving faster than 5 mph.

285's on snow, was able to rock it pretty good. Rear tire wouldn't bump out of the ditch and when it did would slip on the snow and then dig deeper.

Was able to pull it out today & dropped it off at my mechanic tonight. I'll let you guys know what the damage is.

Im just hoping its not your transfer case.

'Twas the axle - phew! Shouldn't hurt too much, and I should have it back this afternoon (just in time for the next snowstorm).