1996 Dodge Ram rear axle noise....

From : robbo

Q: anyone know what would cause a mild grinding noise only at low speed from the center of the rear-end on a 96 ram 1500 from inside the cab the sound seems to be coming from all directions but upon riding in the bed of the truck going down the roadat 20 degress outside its clear the noise is originating from the center of the rearend but once you hit about 40mphwith a nasty windchill its harder to hear it. once back into city driving wow! loud & clear! checked fluid in the pumpkin and it was fine no leaks so i pulled the cover and dont see anything visibly amiss with any gears. re-filled with new fluid & conditioner and it seemed a little quieter but is still there. hate things that arent obvious tia for any pointers! .

Replies:

From : scootter

my 2000 dakota had the same hard to find noise. i thought something was rattling in the bed. 45mph was the loudiest. ended up being the universals on the drive shafe they were bone dry and dust was in them instead of the neddle bearings. i hate those bloody sealed units. anyone know what would cause a mild grinding noise only at low speed from the center of the rear-end on a 96 ram 1500 from inside the cab the sound seems to be coming from all directions but upon riding in the bed of the truck going down the roadat 20 degress outside its clear the noise is originating from the center of the rearend but once you hit about 40mphwith a nasty windchill its harder to hear it. once back into city driving wow! loud & clear! checked fluid in the pumpkin and it was fine no leaks so i pulled the cover and dont see anything visibly amiss with any gears. re-filled with new fluid & conditioner and it seemed a little quieter but is still there. hate things that arent obvious tia for any pointers! .

From : bob

tbone wrote lol you should be the last person in here to say something like this with all of the crap you keep spewing out that you actually believe. i noticed you didnt deny believing exactly what you wrote. you believe your own crap. .

From : robbo

this is usually caused by bad pinion bearings in the rear axle. $$$$$$$ $$$$$$$!....uh-oh!!!!!!! .

From : tbone

this is usually caused by bad pinion bearings in the rear axle. $$$$$$$ -- if at first you dont succeed youre not cut out for skydiving anyone know what would cause a mild grinding noise only at low speed from the center of the rear-end on a 96 ram 1500 from inside the cab the sound seems to be coming from all directions but upon riding in the bed of the truck going down the roadat 20 degress outside its clear the noise is originating from the center of the rearend but once you hit about 40mphwith a nasty windchill its harder to hear it. once back into city driving wow! loud & clear! checked fluid in the pumpkin and it was fine no leaks so i pulled the cover and dont see anything visibly amiss with any gears. re-filled with new fluid & conditioner and it seemed a little quieter but is still there. hate things that arent obvious tia for any pointers! .

From : bdk

tbonenospam@nc.rr.com says... this is usually caused by bad pinion bearings in the rear axle. $$$$$$$ yep sounds right a friends 98 just had to have them replaced. he says the next big money expense its gone. he worked for a company that made driveline parts and knew what to look for and they ended up replacing nearly the entire guts of the axle. fun second day of his vacation spent riding in a tow truck then the dealership and then overnight in a motel then waiting for it to get finished. lost two days. good thing hes retired. his wife drove him up the wall. he said when he got to cleveland it suddenly got louder but he figured he could make it to his sons in ct where his son a mechanic could do it but not long later it was screaming to the point he had to stop. there was little lube left at that point the pinion was leaking like hell. it was ok before he left slightly whiny but not bad. i rode in it about the same time and it surprised me when he called me to email his son and let him know what was going on. he had to replace the ac compressor this last summer it blew up in albany ny and took out the radiator when the pulley came off at 75 mph. my old camaro did the same thing except the battery got nailed instead. what a mess. i was right

From : djobelius via carkb com u31794 uwe

i cancelled the front windshield sealing as i can get a new one installed for the same price $150. the place did a nice job. while they were at it they resealed the third brake light too. that was nice of them. im glad i looked at the list of things they did before i bought a new gasket at the dealership. john i ran a hose over the cab sunday and water was gushing in the corners of the rear sliding window as well as between the glass sliders. took it into a place specializing in this stuff. the dealer said rear window had to be replaced if it leaked no gasket to replace. aftermarket window places didnt want to touch it due to it leaking. i guess they were afraid that they might encounter rust or something else that was the cause of the leaks vice the simple fact the gasket being worn. side rear windows were leaking too. the seep marks were there. i left it with them yesterday. since i had already removed the interior price was $235 for popping the windows out cleaning the old junk out and resealing. got a call from them a short while ago. they ran it through their water tester and water was coming in the front pillars too. the windshield has slid down. now theyve got to seal that up. thats another $150. phooey! its still cheaper than truck payments. on a good note as soon as i talked to him his first question was its not a ford is it i had to ask why. they had a run of poorly designed and made windows. they have to replace the window vice sealing them up. it was nice to hear someone being real instead of pushing agenda of one brand over another. john .

From : robbo

robbo wrote anyone know what would cause a mild grinding noise only at low speed from the center of the rear-end on a 96 ram 1500 from inside the cab the sound seems to be coming from all directions but upon riding in the bed of the truck going down the roadat 20 degress outside its clear the noise is originating from the center of the rearend but once you hit about 40mphwith a nasty windchill its harder to hear it. once back into city driving wow! loud & clear! checked fluid in the pumpkin and it was fine no leaks so i pulled the cover and dont see anything visibly amiss with any gears. re-filled with new fluid & conditioner and it seemed a little quieter but is still there. hate things that arent obvious tia for any pointers! like others have said most likely pinion bearings. ive had two dodge trucks. both needed differential rebuild after 60k miles. -- ..bob 2006 fxdi hot rod 2001 dodge dakota qc 5.9/4x4/3.92 1966 mustang coupe - daily driver 1965 ffr cobra - 427w efi damn fast. .

From : robbo

hey there....i have a 2002 with 87000 and am being told by a trans specialist that the pinion bearing is causing my noise. loud at 40 to 55 then a bit quieter at 70. i only hear mine while loaded on the gas a bit. let off the gas and it goes away.....$500 to $600 to fix. is this what yours is doing kinda it definitely sounds like a bearing but is tough to decipher exactly where and when i grab onto the driveshaft i cant really move it in any abnormal direction. had the truck on a lift and put it in gear and really couldnt hear it that much but once on the ground with weight on it going down the road the noise was quite obvious. wondering if i should just try to locate a rearend out of a junkyard as opposed to fixing this one from the sounds of some of the replies here it could get pricey for a re-build .

From : tbone

the leak is coming through where the yoke goes into the seal not around it. so i just have to figure out why it could be a bad seal again but want to fix the cause not just band-aide it i drive way too much 150 a day just to and from work. oh right.... slip yoke wasnt thinking about that before. what about a worn u-joint allowing the yoke to flop around u-joint are relatively new replaced them both last summer and just checked for slop in the caps and greased them this past weekend. i will have to pull the drive shaft down this weekend and see if there is any play on the output shaft in the t-case. might have a bearing or something in the case that is going out due to play. thanks guys. .

From : napalmheart

i have a 2002 ram van 3500 2wheel drive its the same chassis/etc as a ram 3500. i am trying to replace the front wheel bearings but keep coming up short. about 2 too short. as in when i go to put the disk rotor back on it sticks out too far to even get the retaining nut threaded on let alone down far enough to put the retainer ring and cotter pin back in. ive double-checked with the parts dealer and the bearings i have are the correct ones national lm102949 according to the sources they have. any help im desperate! dan baker .