2004 Dodge Ram SLT 5.7 whining noise in rear of car

[shelby5041]

hi my dodge ram recently has been making a whining noise and it sounds like it is coming from the rear

when i drive faster the pitch get higher and when i slow down when i come to a stop sign it gets less high pitch and louder

the sound is similar to when someone has extremely off road tires and you can hear them coming down the street

i have searched online forums and it seems it could be a rear differential issue

i emailed dodge to see if they can email me spec sheet of my vehicle...

any help would be appreciated....i am not an auto mechanic ...i have since stopped driving the vehicle since if it is serious i dont want to cause more damage or get stranded.....

thank you

 

[shelby5041]

fyi the noise is present all the time....as long as the truck is moving the sound is there

with or without giving it gas.....its always there ....if its being driven

 

[chedched]

Either your tires are worn excessively (chopped/feathered/cupped) or your rear differential is making noise. My rear axle has made noise since I bought it and it's just fine.

 

[shelby5041]

hi

hi....well the noise happens even at low speeds and even while on snow so it cant be tires since on snow the tires would be quiet

also you say urs has made the noise since new?

maybe its a defect......this seems to be a common issue with rams.

how do u know your whining is ok?...

 

[shelby5041]

wow no replies to such a common problem?

 

[Jimmy68]

Whining is never OK. Tell the kids to shut up.
Sounds like your rear differential needs a close inspection.

PS: It's a TRUCK. Not a CAR. An Accord is a car.

 

[Rustycowl69]

how many miles? maintenance? It could be an axle bearing. Or it could be the pinion and ring gear mesh is out of whack. First think I'd do is crawl under the truck, on a flat surface, no load on the parking brake and Trans in neutral, and try to shake, push, pull rear companion flange of rear axle housing. If it is loose, the nut had probably backed off, and you've lost your pinion depth adjustment and the pinion bearing preload. If that's not the case. While you're down there shake and twist back and forth each end of the driveshaft. Look for any slop ( movement) in the area of the u-joints. Next, I'd pull the plug in the axle cover, and check the fluid level. Next I'd pull the cover, drain the fluid into a clean pan and look for contamination, like metal chips, dirt, even water. At this point you can use a dab of grease, or oil base artist paint to check the wear pattern on both sides of the gear teeth. Compare to service manual exemplars.

 

[shelby5041]

thank you i took it to a shop today for them to put on lift and do some inspection and it seems to be coming from within the differential but the tech said it could be coming from driveshaft but wasnt sure....since the sound could be traveling from the differential to driveshaft....either way it is definitely not a tire or wheel bearing noise which would have been cheap fixes.....i will have to remove cover one day and do some inspection....my question is now should i have it repaired? or trash the truck?

is it worth repairing? and would replacing entire axle be a cheaper alternative or more costly?

160k miles....4x4....5.7 hemi....

 

[shelby5041]

fyi i just bought the truck 1 month ago....i checked the diff fluid the other day and it needed about 12 oz ....so i added it and no change in whining....

i hpe it just needs some adjusting but more than likely the internals are messed up but i will look sometime soon....i work a lot so not much time to do anything...

thanks

 

[shelby5041]

change of mind...since i would not be doing the repair there is no reason for me to remove the cover...that would be a waste of diff oil since i would have to fill it back up to take to shop to have it repaired anyways and they would change the fluid again....correct?

 

[shelby5041]

idea.....i could take cover off and let oil pour through a screen into bucket..screen will remove any junk and then reuse he oil ttl to drive to shop ....that way i can see condition of insides at no waste of $$ or if it looks too bad inside and too risky to drive just have it put on a flatbed....use my roadsde service...







..$

 

[smiley]

Chances are if it is making noise you will need a rebuild at some point. I am also in this situation but you can probably drive a fair amount of time if it is doing it as long as the limited slip is not the issue. Take to a shop to have them open up and plan to repair at that point so you don't have to open it twice.

 

[shelby5041]

ok i need some advice....i decided to remove the diff cover today

the oil looked dark but no signs of metal pieces or foreign items in it.....the magnet was pretty clean just seemed to have some thicker silverish colored oil around it which im sure is fine metal dust accumulated over the years...... i did a basic visual inspection on the gears and i did not see anything noticeably damaged or nicked .....everything looked ok.....but im not a mechanic ....just did a visual....

can this just be an adjustment issue or what could be causing the gear noise.....a bad bearing does not make a gear noise......and most shops are telling me it needs bearings repalced from what i told them.......and thats a 500.00 job......

i dont want to get ripped off i want someone to do what is needed to repair and no more....

please help...what should i do..

thank you

 

[shelby5041]

i have opened it up and at this point will not refill ....it will be towed to place i choose to do repair...i just need advice since seems the shops want to do more than is needed.....

i dont want to get ripped off....my coworker who wokred at the axle plant that made the axles said it can be a simple adjustment that will make the geary noise go away....

i just want to get my differential to be repaird for whats wrong with it and nothing more....

 

[smiley]

You need to take it somewhere you trust. They will tell you what it needs once ripping apart. That is the only way.

 

[shelby5041]

yes i know but trust and auto repair shops are never used in the same sentence

all auto shops rip people off .....and repair things that dont need to be repaired just to make extra money


thats a fact

 

[smiley]

Ask around and find a person that has a good rep. Also I would note the 9.25 Chrysler rear requires a lot of precision and is not a good rear to have a novice do work on.

 

[shelby5041]

a local shop said they would charge 300.00 to do bearings and seals if thats the issue...with 1 yr warranty...but i dont trust them they seem clueless and would be the type to add on $$$ during process

but they take credit card so i would have recourse if something went wrong....hiring someone cash i have zero recourse....

 

[smiley]

True and if you don't fix it it could grenade the whole unit.

 

[shelby5041]

i stopped driving it

so not sure who to hire....i hate to hire someone that is not a legit business....no recourse at all......