Hi,
I just bought a '99 v10 ram 2500 4x4 and am wondering if anyone else has had this annoying intermittent rattle. It kind of sounds like something vibrating a shroud (my blower motor would be off) and it starts only at 57mph - 60 or so. It's a light tinny,chirpy or ticky sound. I've gone under and see the tin heat shrouds near the exhaust pipes but they aren't loose. It sometimes starts and stops briefly when I hit a bump. Other times it doesn't start up at all at those speeds. I thought it might be the hood release but taped it down and it still does it. I saw that the air cowling at bottom of windshield was loose-the plastic rivets had broken-I drilled and screwed it down tight. Still does it.
This truck has 81,700 mi. and is in excellent condition otherwise..

 

Does the v-10 have the heat shields around the motor mounts as well? Them may be touching something....

Could you put it up on jackstands, and get it to make the noise?

 

They are there and are quite stiff. I'd have to take to a garage to lift it off ground. Might do that.

 

You might be hearing ping or detonation. My V10 does it right around those speeds when it's time for a tune up. When was the last time it had the plugs replaced? What octane do you run in it?

 

My '95 V10 did the same thing, only at 65-70. Tune up solved the noise.

At first i thought it was a heat shield loose, as that is what it sounded like to me.

Funny part is, I never noticed it until I got hearing aids.

 

So if I turn off my hearing aids, my engine will run better? COOL!

 

I can't guarantee it will run better, but it should sound better!

 

I have found that my cracked dash rattles and vibrates around those speeds as well. I can put my hand on it and make it go away.

 

dittto.....sometimes lol!!!

 

Thanks for the tips. The dash is cracked on mine too but the sound seems to come from under the hood and is like metal on metal. Also, I don't believe it is pinging- at least how I recall how it sounded on a 318 I had many years ago. I went under and saw that the driver side heat shield at the motor mount seemed to flex more than the other side and the space from the bottom of the header is very close to it -1/4 in. The other side is an inch away from it's shield. Anyway, I tied it downward with wire. ( the sound emanates from the other side of the engine though!)
Now, I did change the plugs yesterday but the old ones seemed fine except that one was RC12LC4 instead of the QC9MC4. I replaced the front 02 sensors in an attempt to maybe get better mpg - 5.7 I need to wait for a while to fill up again to check that.
Well, I drove down the hwy up to 70mph and this time there was no rattle. I hope I did something to make it stop. As I said in my first post though, it does not always happen.