Need Help W/ Rear End Pop

[Sean J Blackburn]

My truck has developed a LOUD pop/clunk that sounds like it is coming from the rear suspension. It makes a loud Pop, followed by a second loud pop, only when making a hard left such as a hard left on a roundabout or u-turn. It is extremely loud and sounds similar to a rock hitting the frame. I can't tell for sure but it sounds like it is coming from the rear passenger side.

I replaced the rear sway bar links and bushings about 6 months ago, and today I replaced the rear sway bar and bushings with a hellwig. The sway bar bracket bolts are torqued to 30 lb ft per the instructions, end link to bar is at 80 lb ft and end link to frame is at 60. The new hellwig and new bushings made no difference in the noise.

My next thought is maybe the track bar is bad or it's bushings are worn and it's allowing the axle to move. The noise I'm getting is extremely loud and only in a hard left turn.

I torqued all the rear control arms and the rear track bar bolts to spec but it made no difference.

My next steps are to replace the rear track bar and rear upper and lower control arms. It's cheap to replace all that and they have 176k on them. If it fixes it, great, if not they needed to be done anyway.

OK, my questions: what else would you all suggest I inspect to try to find the source of the popping? It's driving me crazy and I cannot stress enough how loud it is. Can easily be heard over full ac and radio.

I appreciate any help!

 

[Rlaf75]

Does it happen one time or multiple times throughout the turn? Which rear differential does the truck have? Open or limited slip? My money is on the rear differential

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

Does it happen one time or multiple times throughout the turn? Which rear differential does the truck have? Open or limited slip? My money is on the rear differential

It's usually one loud pop, sometimes 2 but never more than that. It's the limited slip differential. I changed the differential fluid in February and had no issues until the middle of June when this started. When this started I thought of the diff and added an additional bottle of friction modifier. What should I be checking on the diff, just fluid level?

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

I probably should pull the rear diff cover and inspect the gears if the fluid level checks out ok

 

[KKBB]

I don't see if you have a 1500, 2500, or 3500. I would be leaning towards a possible broken rear leaf spring...but that is only a possibility on a 3500. I would check everything suspension related and rear end related to see if you find something broken or worn.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

It's a 1500. The rear suspension looks ok but like I said I'm going to replace the control arms and track bar. I'm also going to swap the rear diff fluid again after work today just to try to eliminate that as a potential problem.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

I don't think it's the diff. It only makes the noise turning to the left and I would think if it was the diff it'd do it in both directions. There's also no chatter, and it only makes the noise in very specific turns that put a lot of stress on the truck (ie, high speed turn to the left)

 

[Rlaf75]

I don't think it's the diff. It only makes the noise turning to the left and I would think if it was the diff it'd do it in both directions. There's also no chatter, and it only makes the noise in very specific turns that put a lot of stress on the truck (ie, high speed turn to the left)

To cover your bases I would pull the diff cover off to inspect it. If after you're still confident it's not the rear end then it was cheap insurance and can be eliminated as a possibility

 

[RamDiver]

It's a 1500. The rear suspension looks ok but like I said I'm going to replace the control arms and track bar. I'm also going to swap the rear diff fluid again after work today just to try to eliminate that as a potential problem.

Whenever you next change the diff fluid, you might want to look closely for particulates, maybe, go fishing with a magnet in the used fluid.

.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

Just checked the play in the track bar and control arms. They move quite a bit with hardly any pressure.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

To cover your bases I would pull the diff cover off to inspect it. If after you're still confident it's not the rear end then it was cheap insurance and can be eliminated as a possibility

I will give that a go if swapping out the track bar and control arms makes no difference. Those need to be done anyway so I'm starting there

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

I made a short video of the play in the track bar. The rear control arms look equally bad.

2010 Ram 1500 Track Bar Play

Track back play on 2010 ram 1500

youtu.be

 

[Rlaf75]

I made a short video of the play in the track bar. The rear control arms look equally bad.

2010 Ram 1500 Track Bar Play

Track back play on 2010 ram 1500

youtu.be

It's not so much the side to side play because you can get just about any bushing to move that way with a pry bar. I'd be more leary of forward movements. If you can, try to get a video of the noise while you're driving in the turn that that gets it to make the popping sound

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

It's not so much the side to side play because you can get just about any bushing to move that way with a pry bar. I'd be more leary of forward movements. If you can, try to get a video of the noise while you're driving in the turn that that gets it to make the popping sound

Good advice, thanks. I'll take a video of it this weekend and post it here. The noise is extremely loud in person so hopefully it will be audible on video.

When you say you'd be more leary of forward movement on the bushings, in the case of the track bar that would actually be towards the sides of the truck, if I'm understanding you correctly. Makes sense since that is the direction of the forces normally on the trac bar

 

[Rlaf75]

Good advice, thanks. I'll take a video of it this weekend and post it here. The noise is extremely loud in person so hopefully it will be audible on video.

When you say you'd be more leary of forward movement on the bushings, in the case of the track bar that would actually be towards the sides of the truck, if I'm understanding you correctly. Makes sense since that is the direction of the forces normally on the trac bar

yes towards the side. I realized after I posted that that it may be a lizard to understand what I meant.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

Here is a quick recording of the noise. Ignore the rattling in the cab before the pop, that's just some loose change.

July 21, 2024

youtube.com

 

[KKBB]

I don't know what all that is, but it isn't great sounding!!

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

I don't know what all that is, but it isn't great sounding!!

Agreed! It only does it in a hard/fast left turn which makes me suspect something in the suspension.

 

[Wild one]

Here is a quick recording of the noise. Ignore the rattling in the cab before the pop, that's just some loose change.

July 21, 2024

youtube.com

Did you check the spare tire under the truck.It's a long shot,but if it's moving around,it'll make some weird noises.
I'd remove it,and see if the noise is still there with no spare on board.

 

[Sean J Blackburn]

Did you check the spare tire under the truck.It's a long shot,but if it's moving around,it'll make some weird noises.
I'd remove it,and see if the noise is still there with no spare on board.

Yes, I did check the spare and it doesn't seem loose. I tightened it up as much as it would go and the noise is still there. Good thought though!