new guy here. engine whine....

[wolver1385]

new guy to the forum here. i have a 2012 crew cab 5.7 2wd and around October it started making the whine like the power steering but of course its not the power steering. i know this is notorious with my gen ram and i tried to dig through the threads for an answer but couldn't find anything....can anybody help me out? thanks in advance for any help because its getting fkn annoying

 

[wolver1385]

bueller....bueller.....

 

[Rampant]

Likely one of the accessory pulleys or an idler/tensioner. Or both. Does it do it with A/C on and off? A/C pumps can whine as well; usually when they are low on freon. So can alternators. So can water pumps. How do you know for sure it's not the PS pump? Could also be bearings in the water pump. Any water seepage at all? Does it go away with RPM fluctuation or change with it? Any maintenance done recently? Does the sound change when you turn the wheel? Is it the same from startup as it is when warm? Does it change with a load? i.e., idle/rev in park vs driving? Have any of the accessories ever been changed? If so, when and which one(s)? Are you able to induce a change in the sound/pitch at all? If so, how? How many miles on the truck? Did you buy it new? How much did you pay for it? When did you buy it? Does it have any mods? If so, what are they? What size tires does it have on it?

Haha... okay, a few of those were just so I could get to the proverbial 'what is this, 20 questions?' mark, but the rest are serious questions you need to answer so that anyone here can try to help you diagnose the issue(s). Do your homework!

 

[AzCats]

new guy to the forum here. i have a 2012 crew cab 5.7 2wd and around October it started making the whine like the power steering but of course its not the power steering. i know this is notorious with my gen ram and i tried to dig through the threads for an answer but couldn't find anything....can anybody help me out? thanks in advance for any help because its getting fkn annoying

My 2012 5.7 Hemi had a wine in the engine compartment and it was the idler pulley. Picked up a replacement $18 Gates Pulley Part # 38018 at the local auto store oreillyauto.

 

[wolver1385]

My 2012 5.7 Hemi had a wine in the engine compartment and it was the idler pulley. Picked up a replacement $18 Gates Pulley Part # 38018 at the local auto store oreillyauto.

did that solve the problem for you? im willing to throw 18 bucks into it as a longshot

 

[grizzstang]

Before you replace parts at random take off the belt and turn everything by hand. The pulleys, water pump etc. You can feel and hear a bad bearing.

 

[huntergreen]

Before you replace parts at random take off the belt and turn everything by hand. The pulleys, water pump etc. You can feel and hear a bad bearing.

This is the way to start diagnosing.

 

[Rampant]

You can also sometimes use a temp gun. Worn bearing create more heat than good bearings.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S8 using Tapatalk

 

[wolver1385]

Likely one of the accessory pulleys or an idler/tensioner. Or both. Does it do it with A/C on and off? A/C pumps can whine as well; usually when they are low on freon. So can alternators. So can water pumps. How do you know for sure it's not the PS pump? Could also be bearings in the water pump. Any water seepage at all? Does it go away with RPM fluctuation or change with it? Any maintenance done recently? Does the sound change when you turn the wheel? Is it the same from startup as it is when warm? Does it change with a load? i.e., idle/rev in park vs driving? Have any of the accessories ever been changed? If so, when and which one(s)? Are you able to induce a change in the sound/pitch at all? If so, how? How many miles on the truck? Did you buy it new? How much did you pay for it? When did you buy it? Does it have any mods? If so, what are they? What size tires does it have on it?

Haha... okay, a few of those were just so I could get to the proverbial 'what is this, 20 questions?' mark, but the rest are serious questions you need to answer so that anyone here can try to help you diagnose the issue(s). Do your homework!

haha, ok let me see if i can start answering some of these. so the noise sounds exactly like power steering however it does not change when i turn the wheel, im not low on fluid and my steering feels beautiful. its not leaking anything from anywhere and has had no issue with overheating. the noise does not change at all weather the ac is on or off and the noise is the same under load or in reverse or anytime lol i bought the truck in October of 2016 with 80k miles for 17k (got it for a steal from a friend) its a 2012 crews cab SLT. (truck truck had 1 previous owner and was very well taken care of with only highway miles). general maintenance has been done almost religiously and i haven't had any problems (crossed fingers). the truck had the factory 15s on it when i got it and they were horrible, i found a deal on these rebel 17's on Nitto 33s for 500 bucks and couldnt pass it up. other than that the truck is bone stock (besides a bed liner and double black window tint) i think i answered all your questions haha

oh and no she diodnt flood at all during harvey i actuall used her to get people from their homes to shelters the night harvey hit us before the flooding got bad, she was a hoss through some pretty deep water and mud that night and she got pretty wet inside from all the rain and wet people. the only thing that happened to the truck from harvey was the lock button on the driver door no longer works. i dont know if this is a ram problem or if its because my door was soaked from that night (all the other buttons work fine)

 

[Rampant]

haha, ok let me see if i can start answering some of these. so the noise sounds exactly like power steering however it does not change when i turn the wheel, im not low on fluid and my steering feels beautiful. its not leaking anything from anywhere and has had no issue with overheating. the noise does not change at all weather the ac is on or off and the noise is the same under load or in reverse or anytime lol i bought the truck in October of 2016 with 80k miles for 17k (got it for a steal from a friend) its a 2012 crews cab SLT. (truck truck had 1 previous owner and was very well taken care of with only highway miles). general maintenance has been done almost religiously and i haven't had any problems (crossed fingers). the truck had the factory 15s on it when i got it and they were horrible, i found a deal on these rebel 17's on Nitto 33s for 500 bucks and couldnt pass it up. other than that the truck is bone stock (besides a bed liner and double black window tint) i think i answered all your questions haha

oh and no she diodnt flood at all during harvey i actuall used her to get people from their homes to shelters the night harvey hit us before the flooding got bad, she was a hoss through some pretty deep water and mud that night and she got pretty wet inside from all the rain and wet people. the only thing that happened to the truck from harvey was the lock button on the driver door no longer works. i dont know if this is a ram problem or if its because my door was soaked from that night (all the other buttons work fine)

Okay. So like Grizz said, first slip the belt off and turn all the pulleys by hand. A lot of times if it is a tensioner, it's more of a chatter and you can see it moving on it's pivot point because the spring wears out. But definitely turn them all by hand with the belt off first. If you can't find anything that way, try using a mechanic's stethoscope. They are cheap. *Very* carefully touch on or near (as you safely can) each component while running until you hear where the noise amplified the most. Sorry I don't have a definitive answer, but you're just going to have to do some old school troubleshooting. Let us know what you find. And for Chrikey sakes, fix that door lock!