2005 1500 whining noise when moving

Hello,

Been searching but unable to find an answer. My truck makes a whining "gear-ish" noise when moving, changes pitch with wheel speed. Just replaced a ton of stuff in the front end, plus a starter, muffler, and tires. Took my mechanic for a ride today, we were hanging out the windows trying to pinpoint the source, sounds mid-line, not wheel noises. First thought of wheel bearings, all good- then diffs, both full of clean oil. No play in either drive shaft, so probably not a pinion bearing. Next step is transfer case fluid level check/change. Transmission fluid is full and clean. I drive very little now and since I've had the truck (maybe 3k miles/year), but starting next week I have to drive about 100 miles/day for the next 4 years. No money for new transmission/truck, so hope it's something simple like adding fluid to the transfer case. Didn't know if anyone had come across this issue before, I'm not a fan of "poke and hope" mechanical repair.

Potentially a rear diff noise like mine? If it is, Mine's been doing it for 3 years now. Fluid condition does not indicate the condition of the bearings except in the rare occasion where you have metal chunks in the fluid. Sometimes there is some noticeable play in the pinion bearing but most of the time the carrier bearings are what goes bad if I recall correctly.

chedched said:

Potentially a rear diff noise like mine? If it is, Mine's been doing it for 3 years now. Fluid condition does not indicate the condition of the bearings except in the rare occasion where you have metal chunks in the fluid. Sometimes there is some noticeable play in the pinion bearing but most of the time the carrier bearings are what goes bad if I recall correctly.

Click to expand...

Thanks, and comforting to know that it's not likely to explode immediately. I think I'm more worried since I have a long commute, and I've already had the truck towed once this year (starter failed). So far this year I'm over $2k into repairs for this 10-year-old truck, which isn't quite paid off yet.

Besides my commute, I haul my firewood (about 12 cords) home from 10 miles away. At about 1/2 cord per trip, I put some stress on the drivetrain for sure.

If anyone could tell me the name of the "engineer" who designed the plugs on the transfer case, I'd very much like to curse them by their proper name!

At this point, I'm thinking of mounting a wireless mic near different points under the truck and driving, to see where the noise is the loudest.

It would be funny if it were just tire noise, but they're highway tread, and shouldn't be quite that loud. Still trying to get to the shop to jack it up and run it so we can get in close and maybe localize the noise. I was spoiled growing up around the dealership, always had good mechanics to question and a full shop to play around in. Now I have no garage and a sloped driveway that's not conducive to jacking vehicles up and getting under them.

Thanks to everyone for all the pointers, I'll figure out what it is, either now or when something gives out!

Put the camera in the bed and took some video of the noise. (well, audio of the noise!) Couldn't find a spot underneath where I could safely attach the camera, so I faced it to the rear and down to cut down wind noise. Backed out of the driveway and went approx. 1/2 mile down the street.

At this point I'm guessing rear diff, wondering what anyone thinks?

[yt]AfYYXfS-3Cs[/yt]

Wow. Is that loud in the cab? The noise I have starts around 30 mph and changes with accel/decel. I work at a dealership so I have the benefit of using a hoist but mine would not make the noise on a hoist. It had to be loaded up and driving on the ground. Chassis ears was the only way we were able to pinpoint it.

It seems odd to me that the noise starts immediately when moving. Either the tires are cupped to hell or there is a bearing somewhere in serious trouble.

My guess is bearing, since the tires are new enough to still have nubs on the sidewalls, they probably have around 1,200 miles on them. My SWAG is that it's the carrier bearing, but I'm no mechanic.

It seems very loud on the video, but I think that's because it's the diff, and the camera was aimed right at it. The mic on that camera is really sensitive, too.

Talked with my mechanic, he doesn't work on differentials, doesn't have the tools and equipment to do it right. Also couldn't recommend anyone local to do it "and have it last more than a week" in his words.

Kinda stuck at this point. Can't afford to fix it right now, need a vehicle every day, and can't afford to just get rid of it. Got some long thoughts to get through tonight.

A dedicated drive line shop or a dealership is your best bet. Diffs are like Pandora's box...

Another option is to replace the rear axle assembly with a used one but you don't know what the condition of the used diff is so it's kind of a gamble.

There is no easy solution here. If you plan to keep the truck, invest in it's longevity. "Buy once and cry once" is probably the best way to go here.

I've pretty much got to repair it with how much I already have in the truck. Having something to drive every day until I can get it done is the prime concern now. I take my son to school an hour from home, gonna have to look at getting a little car that's good on gas for that. Still need my truck to haul firewood, since I burn a lot of it. My house is real close to 200 years old, the heat goes out almost as fast as I put it in!

I'm in the city every day now, going to look around down there for a good shop to rebuild or replace it.

Pandora's Box is right! But not as bad as automatic transmissions, they're like black magic to me.

Reading your post it sounds like a carrier bearing but, then listening to the video it has a hollow sound as if it were in the rear diff. The carrier bearing is the cheapest and easiest fix to start with. If that fix doesn't work then I would check the rear wheel bearings before checking the rear diff. parts. Also cheaper than the rear diff. Hope you get it all worked out.

Been racking my brain, may have come up with something. My truck has the pinion nut recall still out, last card I got in the mail said "parts not available". Just checked again, says parts ARE available now. Going to dealer tomorrow to check on the possibility of folding a rebuild in with the recall. All they can say is no, plus they need to do the recall work anyway. Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, almost on a whim this morning I wheeled into the Dodge dealer near my son's school, right as they opened. Talked with a service rep, said they could probably take a look at it today for the recall, and see if it needed parts. He was also very clear that they would do absolutely nothing not directly related to the recall unless I paid. Fair enough, but I was thinking at least I might find out what exactly is wrong. So I grabbed my stuff and they dropped me off where I needed to be.

Had to pick up my son, so I went back and it looked like the truck was in the same spot as when I left it. Waited for the rep, he said he didn't think they got a chance to look at it. Told him that I could bring it in again tomorrow, but wasn't keen on driving it at all. He went to get the keys, and was gone quite a while. After about 10 minutes, he comes out and hands me the keys, and said they did actually look at it, and it needs a rear end. Kinda knew that already, thanks. I just said "and how much would that be?". He said "no, it was the pinion nut" and winked at me. I could have kissed and hugged the guy right there. So tomorrow, if the truck makes it there, I will be getting it made right. For free. I will be talking softly and gently to my truck tomorrow morning, and driving slowly and conservatively as possible.

Hoping that tomorrow I can report back that all is well. So the noise in the video is a loose pinion nut and the sound of things eating each other inside the diff. Thanks to everyone for the advice and tips.

Keep us updated. I'd be interested if all the noise is gone.

Noise is gone. Totally.

It was the pinion nut, came loose and caused all kinds of havoc. Like $1,400 worth, but all covered under the P77 recall. They also did R25 and replaced the driver's side airbag. Took it in at 8 AM, done by 3 PM. Treated me very, very well considering it's a 10-year-old truck that I didn't buy from them. HUGE load off my mind now. Also gone is the little shudder in the rear when turning from a stop. Guess that might be an early sign of a loose pinion nut, it's had that as long as I can remember since buying it, and it's gone now. Forgot to ask the mechanic his opinion of how much longer it would've gone before total failure.

Here's a pic of the rustbucket on the lift, wasn't thrilled about my antenna getting jammed into the roof beam, but no harm, no foul. You'll notice ( I just did) that they totally rebuilt everything, the axle shafts are sitting on the floor if you can see them. All new bearings, seals, and shims, plus the pinion nut, retainer (added recall part), plus he mentioned replacing the ring gear.



Thanks to everyone, now on to some other issues (like the fenders).