Hey, new to post but have been coming here for advise for years. Here's whats happening. As i accel a whining noise starts and gets louder as i go faster, and softens as i slow down. kinda like being wound up, and then down with my speed. it sounds like its coming from the rear of the truck. it started a couple months ago, very faint, but has gotten louder. it doesnt change pitch if i down shift on the highway or with the OD off. it doesnt change if i throw it in neutral either. At first i thought it was tires, jacked the rear end up and put it in drive, still had loud whining. and i couldn't really tell where it was coming from. i'm thinking its the trans or diff. i do have a limited slip. i checked ATF and its good, i popped the rubber plug on the diff off and checked fluid level which was fine. I had both flushed a couple years ago.

any insight advice or solutions are greatly appreciated!

 

Certainly sounds like your differential to me. I couldn't tell you exactly which part of it, but a truck I used to own had a messed-up differential, and it would make a terrible whining noise when I drove it. I imagine the first thing I would check is if they put the proper fluid in when they changed it.

 

Thats easy - leave the wife / girl friend home - no more whining lol.
Sorry i had too. i had a problem like yours but not for months here is a link to mine. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...nd-issues.html
Good Luck.

 

Thanks, the local auto parts store ordered a diff cover gasket for me, soon as i get it i'm gonna pull that sucker off and see whats up.

good one tomalaina lol the wife liked it too

 

Yep, if you have factory LSD, my guess is you'll find pieces of metal in there...

 

Sounds to me the pinion bearing if its from the rear end...I rebuilt my 98 twice,cause the clutch pack assembly washers has tabs on them that seem to break off. I had that wining sound both times. but mine seem to get loud with in a few weeks.I was doing a lot of driving at the time .Not sure if dodge changed rear ends over the years but my 06 looks like the same thing except with a 3:55 gear.
its a cheap fix now but the bearing blows and you fracture pinion and ring gear add another 600.00 bucks + or - to the mix.I do remember this I would only get about 50000 to 60000 thousand miles and like clock work the rear end need some fixin.That was the only complaint I had with that truck and I drove her hard.
Take your rig to your local rear end shop (not a dealer ) they usually diagnose for free while you wait.
If you do the job your self , them guys can get you all the parts you need.
hope all helps

 

thanks for all the input so far. i just puller the diff cover off and found lots of silver stuck to the magnet (nice of them to put one in there). after looking around i found that the ring gear is not lashing right. the tops of all the teeth are worn and i can feel the sharp rough edge's when i run my finger over the top of it. and when i look in the back at the other gear (i don't know what its called) i can see the top of the teeth are wearing too. so i can see what the problem is, i know how to fix it (finally an excuse to get the 3:56 gears i want haha) but what erks me is what the fudge cause the problem? i drive a lot for work. i don't tow anything. just wife kids and camping gear. i don't gun it everywhere i go. so what gives? any idea's? fyi i did lift it couple years ago. so it has an inch and a half block in the rear and 33" tires. AND about 6 weeks ago i broke a leaf spring out of no where. and it was digging into the side wall of my tire. but i replaced that right away. but that couldnt have anything to do with this right?

 

wait, do i already have 3:55 gears? how do i know what ratio gears i have? with the tire size and lift i have what ratio gear should i put in? and i did learn the other gear is the pinion gear. is it a pain in the *** to do myself? i'm a pretty savy weekend warrior.

 

ok, i'll answer my own question. have been reading other folks post about gears. hammer you really know your stuff. i didn't see it i had broken c-clips, and i'm not sure if that is what caused this whole mess. but i had metal in there for sure. so i think i'm going to go with 4:10 gears and see if i can replace the OEM LSD. from what i read i can do the swap myself, but need to have it dialed in by a pro. right? if i had the cash i'd have my local 4x4 shop do it, but like everyone else i'm strapped for cash and time for that matter. anything anyone has to add or warn me about it welcomed!

 

hey, Brandon here. deff would say its yer differential, might be a rear wheel bearing but more than likely its yer diff. if u still need to figure out yer gear ratio there should be a info tag between cover bolts. if not u could count the ring gear teeth and pinion gear( the gear in the back that the drive shaft connects to) teeth and divide them. EX 37 / 9 = 4.11..... a 4.11 gear
hope this helps