Hello All,
I have a 2001 Durango R/T and it has been making this weird whining noise for about the last 20,000 miles or so and I am going to fix it soon. It only happens between the speeds of 50-70 MPH and when I am on the gas. When I am coasting it is whisper quiet. It is extremely loud or anything(probably not loud enough to get it on video) but it is there. Sounds real similar to gear whine, and at 50 it starts out low and as speed increases it gets higher pitched until around 70 where it goes away completely. I am not sure if it is coming from the front or rear as I have to have so much speed to make the noise in the first place it is difficult to pin point which end it is coming from. However, I did have my front differential rebuilt about 10,000 miles ago for an unrelated issue (Here is a link to that mess http://www.dakota-durango.com/forum/...d.php?t=151202)

With that all said and done I believe I have narrowed it down to to possible problems.

Wheel hub bearings or Pinion Bearing.....

Both of these are not cheap to replace and I can do the wheel hub bearings myself but not the pinion bearing. Is there any way to figure out which one is the problem or does anyone think it could possibly be something else.

THanks for you time and help.

 

Wheel hub is less than $230 so not bad really.

How long has it been since the diffs were serviced?

IndyDurango

 

The front was serviced about 10,000 miles ago......I changed the rear fluid about 15-20,000 ago and didn't notice any unusual smells or any metal.