Hello, i‘m Stephan and i‘m new in this forum!
I drive a 2000 Dodge Dakota 2wd
with the 3.9 an since one week it makes a weird noise when in R D 1 2 when the car is in Park or N the noise is gone. Its like a rattling noise.
Maybe it has to do something withe the Belt or the Pulley which i changed some days before i heard the noise the first time ! Does anyone know where it could come from ?

 

If it only does it in gear, probably not the belt. Might be a cracked flexplate..... getting to it to inspect it is the fun part. Gotta pull the starter, and the dustshield, and even then, it's hard to see.

 

Thank you for your fast feedback, is there anything else what could cause that ?
And if its the flexplate cus the car „only“ has 93000 miles ! how is this possible and what could happen if i just leave it like that as long as it works?

 

Probably. Cat is another thing that tends to make some odd noises, but, it generally isn't gear dependent. If you are feeling brave, crawl under there with the engine running, and see if you can localize the noise.

If the flexplate is indeed cracked, you could probably drive it for a while, BUT..... at some point it IS going to fail, and the truck will stop moving under its own power, and it may even eject parts of the flexplate at EXTREMELY high velocity... Really not a good scene.

 

Okay, thank u! In case it is the flex plate should i change the whole tourqe converter at once ?

 

And i also just recognized that the sound is getting louder when i slow down the car and is at its loudest when i‘ve stopped( while driving the noise is not there anymore !) shouldn’t it be reverse if the flex plate is cranked?
I‘m sorry if this are dumb questions, I am have done many things on this car, but thats the first noise i can‘t relate to something !
And i‘m also sorry if my english is not the best cus i‘m from austria 😅

 

Stephan, generally you are correct - it's more common that the torque converter bolts come loose, in P N there is no tension on the bolts and they will rattle, in RD12 the bolts are loaded and will not make noise.

The unfortunate part is that the exact opposite is true inside the transmission: in PN there is very little charge pressure and everything is "floating" inside. in RD12 the transmission now has to hold a speed differential, which increases pressure.

I think it is time for a routine transmission band adjustment. It requires a special socket (easy to get) and a torque wrench, the front band adjustment is inside the transmission pan, the rear band adjustment is outside the pan.

 

dang flexplates still breaking..after all these years 0ive broken them in a 67 valiant,64 d100(swapped in bigblock and 727 tranz), 2 in my 74 d1oo, and and a 74 w200...i wonder if they still make the b and m flex plates or if they will work

 

Thanks for your help, i recognized the noise was always there when the engine is on, just very silent in park an n. So it was the belt tensioner! Replaced it today and noise is gone🤦🏻‍♂️