Hello everyone.
New to this forum, new to Dodge trucks. I picked this truck up for a toy, 4th vehical. It is a 97 1500 extended cab 4x4. 124k on the clock. I have only put 200 miles on it since I got it 5 weeks ago. I noticed a whining sound while driving at highway speeds. faster you go, the more intense it gets. slow down, it gets less. under 20mph, it is gone. it is not in the motor or trans. I can not tell if it is front or back. I am thinking it is in the front, but not sure. Tires were bad, replaced them. noise is still there. I surched all over the net. cant find anything. I check the rear yoke, only rotates a small amount. way less then 1/16 of a turn. so I dont think it is in there.

Since I always replace the wrong parts, any help will be welcomed

 

I have a 98 1500 QC 4x2. You probably have the same rear axle as mine-a Dana 44. If so, there is a good chance at that mileage the diff is taking a sh$t. Jack up the rear axle and spin the back tire (assuming it isn't full-time 4wd). That'll tell you if it's the differential. The old Dana 40's were bullet proof. These "upgraded" 44's have a spotty record, at best, even in Ford's and Chevy's.

 

When I spin the tires, what should I be looking for? sound, hisitation, grinding? When I first got the truck, I spun the rear driver tire. It sounded like the drum was sticking, but moved ok. did not try the pass side

 

it could be diff gear whine or possibly a wheel bearing. If it's louder when are turning at speed (like a bend in the road) you could suspect a bearing over a diff gear whine.

 

be very very careful doing this... park on level ground, chock the front, and put the rear end up on jack stands. have an assistant crank the truck, put it in gear and rev it up and down. careful of the spinning tires and driveshaft, listen to where the noise is coming from. transmission, drive shaft, rear diff, or wheel bearings. if the noise was coming from the front, then you'll hear nothing.

no $hit - be careful. i about tore a leg off on the tire doing this one time.

 

this may be too simple, but have you put on an off road tire? if so that could be the whine
I had goodyear super sport tires put on mine and they were silent until i found out that wlamart had inflated them to 35 psi instead of 80 like what its rated for

 

Try leaving your significant other at home and see if the whining stops (particularly at higher speeds).

 

haha does the whining noise seem to be coming from the passenger side ?

 

Not to pick a fight here, but our Rams have Dana 44s in the front, and Chrysler 9.25s in the rear. No Dana 44s in the rear, unless it was a custom job.

 

Rear Differential. I just had to rebuild mine at 96k miles. Same exact noise you are describing.

I hope your your sake that that isn't the problem though.