Just picked up a 2014 2500 whining noise already....

[mohemipar]

Seems to me if the sound is bothering you that much something is not to spec. I suppose some HD trucks may make a little more noise than others depending on how they break in and stuff, but if its to the point where its loud enough to always be noticeable and a bother then something ain't right. As I and others have said, our trucks are perfectly quiet.

 

[johnny_wilson]

Yes, I'm thinking of going that route. It will still be under warranty at that point. It would be impossible to break it in between camping trips. The dealer already pulled the cover and confirmed that there were no shavings and the backlash is correct. I'm not ruling out the transfer case or trans either. I have read that some people find that the transfer case fluid was low from the factory and caused this kind of noise. I'll be checking that this weekend.

 

[DarthMegaHD]

I have 4:10 gears and 26,000 miles and don't notice any "noise" unusual for a truck. I've owned 2 half tons before my 2500

 

[crazy jerry]

any whine, clunk, grinding, from the front or rear end it not normal. dealers may tell you otherwise, so youll get out of their hair. if I had a whine at highway speed or any speed for that matter, is pop the trans in neutral and see if the noise remains or not. this should give some indication where to look. if you have a gopro camera just attach it underneath by the axle and go for a drive and see what it reveals. some dealers are just total incompetent bafoons and you may need to do the diagnoses yourself and show them the proof of what you've found

 

[johnny_wilson]

I agree, ALL noise goes away when I pop it out of gear which leads me to believe it may not be the rear. The Dealership says I'm wrong and it's in the rear for sure. They have called and requested that I bring it back in on Tuesday so I'll see what happens. I'll give them the benefit for now. Maybe their process will lead them to a good outcome. Fingers crossed.

 

[johnny_wilson]

Another update, I checked my transfer case fluid and it is a bit low. I will mention this to the dealer as I have read this can definitely cause noise.

 

[johnny_wilson]

The dealer has my vehicle as of this morning and is already telling me that one of their techs has a 17' with the same rear and it has the same noise but not quite as loud. He said they are going to try replacing the pinion bearings to see if it helps. I feel like they are looking for an easy way to explain why this is "normal". I will clarify how loud this noise is by saying that I have to turn my radio up over half way just to start to cover the sound up. I would never have bought this truck if I heard it on a test drive. Hoping for a call later today to see if bearings fixed it.

 

[22hemi13]

I just recently got a 2014 2500 myself. Put almost 10k miles on her. No weird noises other than the “clunk” and the “whining/air/belt” sounding noise under acceleration. Trucks been great defiantly no rear end whinning

 

[johnny_wilson]

I just don't know why they wouldn't want to fix it. It's under warranty!

 

[ronheater70]

I just don't know why they wouldn't want to fix it. It's under warranty!

Johnny from what I have read, the only permanent fix is a new rear end. If they agree to do that, there is Still a chance it will be noisy mainly because I do not think "most" technicians are skilled in setting up a rear axle properly. It is a science and sadly I think with all the automation and technology these days they are losing the real art of diagnosing and fixing a mechanical part. I have read where a few had them replaced more than once and some had to have a whole axle assembly replaced to get rid of the noise. It's not right. It is THIS reason I have swallowed my pride and will be letting a shop that specializes in nothing but gear sets and installing them put a new set in my ram after the fall.

It absolutely Blows my mind, I mean I cant even fathom, how any self respecting service manager or technician would even consider listening to another truck to see if the noise is normal. If another truck has it, it means theres another truck with an issue. I know I was completely blown away when my dealership (second one) took e for a ride in a new 2018 with 30 miles on it and it was louder than mine. something is not right on the assembly line with these trucks.

 

[johnny_wilson]

Thanks for the info. I'm beside myself as well. Can't believe this is how they are dealing with it. Thinking it is OK for the customer to have to deal with this kind of noise is just wrong. It annoys my wife and kids to where they don't want to ride in it. Hopefully it gets fixed or I won't be keeping it or going back to RAM. Fingers crossed.

 

[Don_T]

I had a “14 Ram 2500 regular cab 6.4 with a 3.73 rear gear in it. I bought the truck new and within 200 miles the rear end started to whine when decelerating. The dealer started replacing parts. First they tried pinion bearings, no help. Then they tried new ring and pinion, again no better. Next they replaced all the bearings as well as another ring and pinion set. The whine was a bit less but still there. After a couple of hundred miles it got worse. They finally ordered a whole new complete rear axle assembly and installed it. No more noise and it never came back.

I now have a new ‘18 Ram 3500 regular cab 6.4 with 4.10 gears and this truck has the deceleration whine too. It also has what I might call a slight groan/vibration from 65 to 75 MPH. I don’t know if they are related but they could be. I need to pull my 5th wheel camper about 200 miles in a couple of weeks so I am going to wait to see how it does before I take it to a dealer.

 

[johnny_wilson]

It's hard to believe that this is such a widespread problem. Maybe that's why the dealers say that it is normal. They are just normally messed up. lol

 

[reloaderguy]

It's hard to believe that this is such a widespread problem. Maybe that's why the dealers say that it is normal. They are just normally messed up. lol

Dealers say all kinds of incorrect things. The real problem is most dealers are incapable of any real diagnostic work. FCA (all auto manufacturers) has disincentivized diagnostic work which has turned warranty dealers into parts changers. The whining is because the gears are not set up correctly but since the dealership can't/won't get paid to re-setup the gears they will never take the time to either understand the process or actually do the work. The best possible outcome is an entirely new axle from Ram.

 

[johnny_wilson]

This is what I'm hoping for. The dealer just called and replaced the pinion gears and disassembled the entire carrier assy. they said the gears are fine and reassembled. They said there is no change in noise. I informed them of what I have found here (noise not being fixed until the rear is replaced) and he said they are waiting on Chrysler to tell them what to do. I will say that they aren't arguing too much about the noise being normal anymore. For now waiting on the next update...

 

[ronheater70]

If they put the same gears back in , then the noise will remain. I agree with the above, unless they have a very good tech trained insetting up gears, the best bet is to get a new axle, because they could put a new gear set in, and in reality if properly installed that would solve the problem.. Its the whole getting them properly installed part that seems to be a hangup and then they finally give up and have a whole new axle put in.

 

[johnny_wilson]

Could some of the axle housings have machining issues that prevent something from being within tolerance? It's hard to believe that no one at the dealerships can set a rear up correctly.

 

[ronheater70]

Its not hard to believe at all. The fact that some with the problem had gears replaced and the problem went away says that yes, there are those that can set it up properly.. The fact that others had a whole axle put in says that no, not everyone can set it up. You may have a tech at your dealer very good at it.
I assume that all axle housing are mass produced to the same tolerances, but it is a possibility. With hard castings that cant really move to be off, the noise usually falls in some moveable item like gears, bearings, pinion etc.

 

[johnny_wilson]

Gotcha. I suspect the next step will be to replace gears. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

 

[reloaderguy]

Gotcha. I suspect the next step will be to replace gears. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

The whining is caused by the gear setup. When setting up gears you often need to drive the truck to know if the lash is correct for that specific axle. That obviously doesn't happen at AAM. Will the tech that resets up your gears drive your truck and adjust lash or depth if they still whine? Or will he just put them in and send them down the road regardless of sound if they fall within specification ? Probably the latter. They might also tell you everything is fixed and let you figure whether or not it is on your own.