My wife's daily driver is an 04 hemi limited 4x4 and once in a blue moon when we first fire it up, the engine is LOUD. It doesn't sound like an exhaust leak, it sounds more like massive fans running in a warehouse. I've checked the radiator fan and it doesn't seem to be the culprit, and it drives/runs fine when it does this. It also does it for 5 minutes or so and then settles down to its normal rumble.

Our friends drive an 05 hemi limited and they've noticed the same thing.

Any idea? Since it drives fine, I'm tempted to just say "it's one of those things" but I'd hate to ignore it if its a symptom of something more sinister...

 

TWM:
Your situation is the classic case of a temperamental fan clutch. As they age, they can get cranky and make a bunch of noise for the first mile or so of driving.
How many miles on the D? I changed the clutch on my 04 along with the T stat and radiator hoses a while back.
You will want to go with oem if you replace it as many folks have reported that their new aftermarket fan clutches are noisy like your present one.

I headed that warning, and bought oem. No problems so far.

Don

 

That makes a lot of sense! We have about 105 on ours, our friends with the same issue have about 120. Sounds like ill be replacing a few fan clutches here. Time to add it to the list!

Thanks.

 

TWM:
While you are at that important maintenance, consider the coolant which has a 5 year or 100k replacement interval.
Transmission/filter, transfer case, and both axles ought to be drained and refilled with fresh fluids also if this has not been done in the last 50K.

Don