Recoil
Senior Member
Hello everyone,
2003 Ram 1500 4x4 with 246,000 miles. Driving home from the gas station yesterday (truck was in 2 wheel drive), I started to hear a "jingling" sound from under my truck. I slowed down and the sound got more faint but it was still there, so I pulled off and didn't see anything hanging under the truck. As I went about 50 on the highway to get home (about a mile or two), I could hear a slight whirring type noise as well. I recently got new tires so when I got home I jacked up the front of the truck and made sure the lugs were torqued. They were fine, so I did the same to the rear. I did notice that with the rear tires off the ground and the vehicle in park, I could not turn the rear wheel on either side. You can usually turn one wheel one way and the other wheel will turn the opposite direction. With the rear wheels off the ground, I had my wife start the truck and put it in gear. I didn't hear the whirring noise until she accelerated, then I could hear it pretty loudly.
For some background, I did change the rear end fluid about 6 months ago due to a slightly leaking gasket. I checked the fluid after all of this yesterday and it was full.
My question is - if it was the pinion bearing, would it suddenly go out like that? I do not recall hearing this noise before yesterday and my wife agreed that she never heard it before yesterday either. I haven't taken it down the road since so I do not know if the "jingling" noise is still present, but I assume that it is. I ordered a new seal, gear lube, and limited slip gear lube from O'Reilly's that I need to go pick up. I'll open up the rear end to inspect it, but I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this before? Even with a limited slip differential, shouldn't I be able to turn the rear wheels if they are both off the ground?
Thanks in advance!
2003 Ram 1500 4x4 with 246,000 miles. Driving home from the gas station yesterday (truck was in 2 wheel drive), I started to hear a "jingling" sound from under my truck. I slowed down and the sound got more faint but it was still there, so I pulled off and didn't see anything hanging under the truck. As I went about 50 on the highway to get home (about a mile or two), I could hear a slight whirring type noise as well. I recently got new tires so when I got home I jacked up the front of the truck and made sure the lugs were torqued. They were fine, so I did the same to the rear. I did notice that with the rear tires off the ground and the vehicle in park, I could not turn the rear wheel on either side. You can usually turn one wheel one way and the other wheel will turn the opposite direction. With the rear wheels off the ground, I had my wife start the truck and put it in gear. I didn't hear the whirring noise until she accelerated, then I could hear it pretty loudly.
For some background, I did change the rear end fluid about 6 months ago due to a slightly leaking gasket. I checked the fluid after all of this yesterday and it was full.
My question is - if it was the pinion bearing, would it suddenly go out like that? I do not recall hearing this noise before yesterday and my wife agreed that she never heard it before yesterday either. I haven't taken it down the road since so I do not know if the "jingling" noise is still present, but I assume that it is. I ordered a new seal, gear lube, and limited slip gear lube from O'Reilly's that I need to go pick up. I'll open up the rear end to inspect it, but I was just wondering if anyone has experienced this before? Even with a limited slip differential, shouldn't I be able to turn the rear wheels if they are both off the ground?
Thanks in advance!
