Hi, i was just wanting to ask around about a noise that has been coming from my 98 Ram 1500. It has been going on for about 5 months now and has gotten worse and worse. The noise is a popping sound and it only does it whenever I am taking off from a stop or coming to a stop and sometimes when it shifts in the lower gears. It sounds like it is coming from the front of the truck. It is really starting to bother me and i would love if somebody could help me figure out what it is before it causes complete failure of something and i get stuck without a vehicle. Thanks in advance.

 

2wd or 4x4?

I would check u joints very closely!

 

Check your ujoint like gdstock said. Check ball joints also... If its a 4x4 check the transfer case out and make sure it is secured nice tight to the tranny and check the snap ring on the tail housing of the T-case... Trust me you dont wanna know what will happen if any of that stuff is loose.. I found out the hard way

 

Check carrier bearing(two pc driveshaft)sound travels weird under a truck with all the metal to echo off,and what you decribe, most likly as mentioned...........

 

Thanks guys for all of the info! It was very helpful! I took it by a local mechanic today and it was the u-joint on the front drivers side wheel. He also took a look at the driveshaft and said that the one on the rear of the driveshaft was bad also. I have had a u-joint go bad on the other side too but it didnt do anything like this one is doing! Also, what is weird is that the day after i posted this, i was coming home from my girlfriends house and all of the sudden the whole truck just started vibrating very bad and that made me think that it was a wheel bearing. I didnt know that a u-joint could cause so much things to happen.. lol

 

I had a '79 Chevy 1/2 ton 2wd that had a bad u joint. Started shaking real bad and a few seconds later heard and felt a big boom. At the same time the rpm skyrocketed. Pulled off the road and the front half of the driveshaft was hanging from the trans and the rear half was about 1/4 mile behind me.

Good thing you caught it before something worse happened.

 

I was gonna say, "turn up the radio".

 

Oh my!! That sounds intense! I hope neither of them break but i really hope the one on the driveshaft doesnt!! If it can go all day tomorrow, then I am good because it is going in the shop Wednesday!

 

Another thing, I know the mechanic that checked it and i trust him alot but it doesnt make since that it would be the wheel u-joint because when i am coming to a stop now there is a very fast clunking noise. It is even when i am literally almost stopped. Doesnt the u-joint spin with the wheel??
Also, it is a 4x4.

 

Hey everybody. Had it looked at today and the mechanic said that it is the actuator!