Intermittent grinding when hitting any sort of bump in the road.

[gofishn]

car fax is less than worthless, in my opinion.
If you truly want to know if a car has ever had body work done, take it a good body shop and pay that man to look at it.
I;m old, never worked as a body man, just helped out and i cna still spot most stuff, from 5 ft or more away.
Up close, not much gets by my ageing eye and again, I was never a professional. just helped out.

 

[Wiscoram12395]

I've not been into the outer ends of the front diff on a new Ram.... no idea what it even looks like....BUT.... years ago I had the exact same occasional grinding sound on a 1979 Chevy 4x4...

It was the bearing in the back side of the spindle...took a while to find it, but that's what it was.

Maybe look around in that area and see if anything looks out of sorts.

It’s going to the shop later today. I will have them out that on their list of things I need them to check

 

[Olecarguy]

Hey guys new to this page and looking for some help! I bought a new to me 2016 ram 1500 sport LB 5.7 hemi at the end of july. About a month after buying it I noticed a strange intermittent grinding noise after hitting a bump at any speed above 10mph. Since that problem came up I’ve also started to get abnormal vibrations in reverse that are more pronounced when backing uphill and also a strange vibration that happens in park when the front of the truck is facing downhill. I also get some strange noise in 4wd but I’m guessing that’s related to whatever the real problem is. When these problems first started I suspected wheel bearings or brakes that were grinding. I was very wrong since I’ve replaced brakes calipers rotors and wheel bearings to no avail. Had the ram dealer I bought it from take a look at it and they said they “couldn’t replicate the problem” which is bs since it did it when I drove off their lot a week later. I have a warranty through ram for drivetrain but my guess is they won’t acknowledge the problem until it breaks completely which is disappointing because I expected more from a ram dealer. Anyway, since then I have ruled out basically all front suspension since it has been to 3 other shops who say they can hear it has a problem but can’t figure out what it is. All front suspension checks out according to every shop I’ve been to including ram. I’m thinking at this point maybe u joints or rear diff. Any other advice would be great because I’m just lost and I can’t keep pouring money into this truck I bought 6 months ago. Thanks for the help everyone and sorry for the long post.

What's a unique trigger for me is the fact that you have a problem in park, facing downhill but not on flat ground. In that scenario nothing in the suspension or axle assemblies are spinning to cause vibration. The only thing rotating at that point is the engine, flywheel/torque converter, transmission input shaft and an internal trans drive drum. If this had a problem you'd likely notice it on flat ground in park as well. So, perhaps the "grinding noise" over 10mph is really engine vibration being felt through the frame, which would also be the same in reverse and when in park pointing downhill and when in 4WD. All of these situations place strain on the engine/trans positioning that is not in place when going slow under light load or sitting in park on flat ground. Therefore, I would be checking engine and trans mounts 1st given the provided symptoms. Why, if the rubber in one of the mounts is broken it is quite possible the grinding and vibrations you are sensing are in fact engine vibrations which are no longer isolated from the truck's frame. One of these mounts broken can cause an "intermittent" vibration sensation when the drivetrain shifts under load and the metal inner part of the mount is hitting the outer part of the mount or the drivetrain may actually be touching something it shouldn't be as it shifts around due to being improperly located due to the broken mount under load, transmitting engine vibration to the frame through direct contact. Furthermore, if the truck was in an accident, the sudden stop of the accident could have broken one or more of these or just cracked it, then when you drove the truck a month later it cracked completely.

 

[ppine]

Did you add tires or wheels larger than stock?
After checking the diffs check the U joints.
Check the suspension.

 

[Bandit1859]

It was a clean title when I bought it and I bought it from a certified ram dealer in Wisconsin. However after having the grille off over the summer to change a headlight out I found a bunch of broken plastic clips and other stuff that wasn’t quite right. When I took it to the ram dealer for the grinding problem I asked them to look into possible accident damage and they were able to confirm it was in some sort of fender bender despite it being a clean title. So yes it was an accident, wouldn’t have bought it if I knew that ahead of time. And yes I was crawling around under the truck and whatnot before I bought it and there was no evidence of damage in any way and it also drove perfect with no grinding or anything weird for the first month I had it. I will have then check springs and struts but I’ve had those checked multiple time by multiple mechanics and they say there is no suspension issues at all. More amazing is there is no evident body damage but I have since confirmed that the hood is not original. Car fax showed nothing but regular maintenance and recalls

It was damaged never turned in to insurance or it would have been on carfax

 

[Bandit1859]

Will do. Kinda hope the ram dealer would have checked that considering I told them to specifically look at the t case and they said it was fine. But after my experience with ram it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t check that. I’ll do that tomorrow

If you can make it do it. Ask for a technician to come to your truck and listen to it

 

[Wiscoram12395]

If you can make it do it. Ask for a technician to come to your truck and listen to it

Going in wednesday and I have the service department manager coming for a ride with me

 

[Wiscoram12395]

Did you add tires or wheels larger than stock?
After checking the diffs check the U joints.
Check the suspension.

U joints were checked last week, also has the diff fluid and tcase fluid changed and northing unusual there. I’ve had the suspension checked multiple times now and every place I’ve had it says it’s fine.

 

[Wiscoram12395]

What's a unique trigger for me is the fact that you have a problem in park, facing downhill but not on flat ground. In that scenario nothing in the suspension or axle assemblies are spinning to cause vibration. The only thing rotating at that point is the engine, flywheel/torque converter, transmission input shaft and an internal trans drive drum. If this had a problem you'd likely notice it on flat ground in park as well. So, perhaps the "grinding noise" over 10mph is really engine vibration being felt through the frame, which would also be the same in reverse and when in park pointing downhill and when in 4WD. All of these situations place strain on the engine/trans positioning that is not in place when going slow under light load or sitting in park on flat ground. Therefore, I would be checking engine and trans mounts 1st given the provided symptoms. Why, if the rubber in one of the mounts is broken it is quite possible the grinding and vibrations you are sensing are in fact engine vibrations which are no longer isolated from the truck's frame. One of these mounts broken can cause an "intermittent" vibration sensation when the drivetrain shifts under load and the metal inner part of the mount is hitting the outer part of the mount or the drivetrain may actually be touching something it shouldn't be as it shifts around due to being improperly located due to the broken mount under load, transmitting engine vibration to the frame through direct contact. Furthermore, if the truck was in an accident, the sudden stop of the accident could have broken one or more of these or just cracked it, then when you drove the truck a month later it cracked completely.

Interesting, best explanation of that problem in park yet. I’ve had the trans and engine mounts checked but I will make sure they actually give them a full inspection