New 2500 Tradesman with clunk/rattle

[JoeSee]

Hi again. Haven't been here in awhile. I'm getting ready to go full on about this clunk. Covid and limited dealer access stopped me for awhile. My current truck was from a buyback of my last 2500 via Lemon Law. I know, my wife hates me for buying another Ram. I got this new truck into the dealer to go on record (first dealer contact) with the cab clunk at 2,800 miles. I made sure this time I wouldn't lose so much money under the Stericycle/lemon law buyback formula for "good miles".

I haven't looked back in this forum but here is the Ram TSB #23-032-20 on this clunk.

When showing the clunking to the dealer it's best to park the truck for an hour at least. Reason is, as most of you will realize now that I mention it, the dampening works better after the truck has been driven for awhile. So if you roll up and show them it's not as noticeable. You may have noticed it's worse/louder in the morning when you first drive it. Least dampening of the day.

Regardless, go in and get on the record now, don't wait. You need the first contact since that will be the mileage point they'll use for a buyback. Keep in mind they may never be able to fix this for some of us. Here's the formula used and once again, that first repair attempt is money in the bank the sooner you do it.
(1st Repair Attempt Mileage / 120,000 (miles)) x (vehicle $)

edited to show generic result. 2800/120,000 = 0.0233. Multiply 0.0233 times a rounded $60,000 and you get $1,400. That is what is deducted from the buyback amount for the mileage I used before first contact.

 

[RamCares]

Hello @Scottly,

We're sorry to hear that you are experiencing this rattling concern and would like to offer our assistance alongside a dealer. Please send our team a private message with your VIN so we can review this matter further.

Hannah
Ram Cares

 

[BigLazer4u]

Hi again. Haven't been here in awhile. I'm getting ready to go full on about this clunk. Covid and limited dealer access stopped me for awhile. My current truck was from a buyback of my last 2500 via Lemon Law. I know, my wife hates me for buying another Ram. I got this new truck into the dealer to go on record (first dealer contact) with the cab clunk at 2,800 miles. I made sure this time I wouldn't lose so much money under the Stericycle/lemon law buyback formula for "good miles".

I haven't looked back in this forum but here is the Ram TSB #23-032-20 on this clunk.

When showing the clunking to the dealer it's best to park the truck for an hour at least. Reason is, as most of you will realize now that I mention it, the dampening works better after the truck has been driven for awhile. So if you roll up and show them it's not as noticeable. You may have noticed it's worse/louder in the morning when you first drive it. Least dampening of the day.

Regardless, go in and get on the record now, don't wait. You need the first contact since that will be the mileage point they'll use for a buyback. Keep in mind they may never be able to fix this for some of us. Here's the formula used and once again, that first repair attempt is money in the bank the sooner you do it.
(1st Repair Attempt Mileage / 120,000 (miles)) x (vehicle $)

edited to show generic result. 2800/120,000 = 0.0233. Multiply 0.0233 times a rounded $60,000 and you get $1,400. That is what is deducted from the buyback amount for the mileage I used before first contact.

Go trade it in or sell it out right. I sold mine outright and it had a massive clunk among other issues and it was 2019.. regardless I made a huge profit, now is the time to sell… buy whatever you want when the market goes back to normal.

 

[Scottly]

Hello @Scottly,

We're sorry to hear that you are experiencing this rattling concern and would like to offer our assistance alongside a dealer. Please send our team a private message with your VIN so we can review this matter further.

Hannah
Ram Cares

I believe I have solved the issue on my own when I took two turns on the RF body mount bolt. I guess it was lunchtime and the assembly boys were in a hurry. But thanks for the offer. PS: I go out of state to buy my trucks because my local dealer sucks, but thank you for the offer.

 

[d_coyne]

I had a similar issue to what you are describing. On mine it was a loose bolt in the factory installed side steps that bolts to the frame.

 

[RandomRam]

I haven’t heard a clunk since I removed my hitch. I’ll get some pops once in a while when off pavement and maxing the front suspension out but that’s pretty normal.

 

[JoeSee]

Old thread now but I came back to post an update. I'm getting ready to get a second set of mounts, officially, Cushion Assy - Cab Mounting, part number 68349250AF. My first repair seemed to work but after 3 months I started to hear the clunk again. Not as bad as it got to the first go around but how it started out the first time, so I expect it to get worse. The parts list at $189 each times two. Not sure what causes this but I assume the part is a bad design. Here's what the Cushion Assy looks like.
When the parts dept. looked up the part they came up with multiple numbers. 68349235AB, 68349244AB, 68349249AB and then the part shown below 68349250AF. This part picture is the one to use from the technical service bulletin shown above in Post 183. I don't know if any of the other parts would work instead. They don't look like this. Most were much flatter but if it gets rid of the clunking? Odd that a part designed to make the truck sound quieter, noise dampening, sounds worse than anything you'd hear with an old fashioned solid and stable mount. I assume also that not enough truck owners are aware that this is what they hear or care much to do anything about it. My fear is anything that bumps around this hard in time will hard fail with a result that's unknown. Break loose maybe?