CV axle thumping/clicking noise will not go away

2002 Dodge Ram 1500

I am desperate to figure out what is going on here but I am truly stumped. It started off with the tell tale CV axle tapping noise(in time with the rotation and occurring while turning). Pretty much everything under the truck was rusted out so in addition to the new cv axles I installed new upper/lower control arms, new shocks, and new sway bar linkage. Got it all back together and to my disappointment the same tapping noise was still there...especially when turning right.

So after some more investigation I figured it had to be the differential so I replaced it with a remanufactured unit from rock auto. Got everything back together and it was still making the noise. After this I wanted to make sure that it didn't have anything to do with the transfer case so I removed the front axle but still made the same noise.

So at this point I figured I was running out of things to replace that I could imaging even be making a noise like this so I took everything apart yet again and replaced the wheel bearings and dust shields...get it back together and sure enough NOISE IS STILL THERE!!!

I have a compilation video of the under carriage showing the noise while turning. This was done before taking out the front axle/replacing the wheel bearings but the noise is still the same and still happening while turning.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xcm01cl73expoej/Video Oct 27, 6 34 43 PM.mov?dl=0

If anyone could offer advice on this i would be so grateful....this is getting super stressful...all this work and money and still cant get it on the road...

that is wierd however instead of throwing money and parts at it shotgun style i would have taken it to a trusted shop for diagnosis then fixed that myself. i had an issue with an 07 mountaineer after i had new tires put on. truck would shake going around turns at higher speeds. 2 shops later and 0 money spent besides power steering fluid im glad i went to a shop. i couldn't find anything particularly wrong with the truck but the second shop happened to have a mechanic who was already familiar with the rack and pinion in the truck. they didn't even take it in he just came out and told me it needed a fluid flush as for some reason the old fluid would cause a pulsing sensation that would feel like vibrations.

That axle is at one ugly angle in the picture after the first video. Have you always had that much lift on it? Still sounds like a cv to me.

pacofortacos said:

That axle is at one ugly angle in the picture after the first video. Have you always had that much lift on it? Still sounds like a cv to me.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I would agree with pacofortacos... that is quite a sharp angle. Is the sound the same/better/worse in 4 wheel drive? Or is it only happening in 4 wheel drive?

I would jack up all 4 wheels of the truck and have it on jack stands where you can run it without actually driving it. Have a buddy start it and put it in drive while you are underneath. Have her/him slowly give it some gas and turn the wheel to the right and left while you are under the truck. Hopefully you can pinpoint the area of the noise.

I had not considered the sharp angle. When I replaced the upper/lower control arms and the shocks I also put in a 3" lift. I had thought that a 3" lift would be fine for the cv axle. Am I mistaken on that possibly? Could that be causing it? Wouldn't the lift cause a change in the axle angle in any case? Thank you so much for the input guys.

Johnhencken9180 said:

I had not considered the sharp angle. When I replaced the upper/lower control arms and the shocks I also put in a 3" lift. I had thought that a 3" lift would be fine for the cv axle. Am I mistaken on that possibly? Could that be causing it? Wouldn't the lift cause a change in the axle angle in any case? Thank you so much for the input guys.

Click to expand...

Well, you did introduce an unknown variable by putting the lift in with everything else... Depending on how difficult it would be, maybe try taking the 3" lift out and then see if it makes noise.

I am not too familiar with the front axles on these trucks but watched a you tube vid. Looked like a similar problem. Half axle inner spline worn out. Guy said he would only use Chrysler OEM replacement axles as he found some aftermarket units had poorly machined/bad fit splines. I don't know if that truck had a lift.

Thanks guys.

Recoil, think I will try taking the lift out as a next step to see what happens. It a torsion bar lift so I should be able to just move it down a notch....

If that is causing it, any idea how to fix that? Would a Mopar genuine be able to handle the angle better maybe?

I believe OEM can handle "more" of an angle but I don't know what the longevity of joints would be. I know it's only a 3" lift but the angle on those shafts looks like more than that.

It could also be that the distance from the differential to the wheel bearing is either too short or too long (ie. wrecked at one point or just at the edge of manufacturing tolerances) - both when mixed with a severe angle like that can make a CV click like you hear - the rollers of the cv can either get close to the edge of coming out on the top or the shaft hit the bottom.
Either way, I don't think that the axle will last long under load or even not under load. If they make a different knuckle that would put the bearing the bearing up higher to lessen the angle would probably help.

But lowering it and seeing if the noise goes away is the first thing I would do.
Ram only will warranty and offer on up to a 2" lift. More will usually void the warranty on anything affected by the lift.

Hi, Did you figure it out? I posted a while ago about a very similar noise on my 98' 1500. I think the issue is in the Center Axle Disconnect or CAD for short.