Here's the update on what they did at the dealer guess mine pinion nut was loose and they replaced bearings, damaged gears, etc. along with the airbag inflator.

 

Well damn. My 2009 1500 started showing these symptoms (the whirring/roaring/whining/screaming) last month and it's been getting worse. I was supposed to be camping this week and next but am afraid to pull a travel trailer with it in this condition. So, I took it to the local shop where it sat for 2 days. They were trying to get a replacment rear end for it but couldn't find one.

They referred me to a shop that rebuilds drive shafts and diffs. I took it there, the guy (nicest guy ever) had it up on the lift and briefly checked things out. He said that it didn't appear to be the pinion nut because nothing felt loose. There is no wiggle in the drive shaft and u-joints. He said that, at the very least, it looks like I'll need to have all the bearings in the rear end replaced which will be about $800. If it's the ring and pinion, I'm looking at $1200. Either way, he can't do it until next week. And I'm still supposed to be camping. Damn it.

Question.....most answers I've seen by googling relate the symptoms to the pinion nut and/or bearing. So, just because there is no wiggle wiggle, does that rule out the pinion nut and/or bearing as the culprit? Could this be an axle bearing doing this?

Also, this recall, my truck was manufactured in Jan 2009. The recall only includes 2009 models manufactured from July. Damn it. I called Chrysler about it and, while the guy was polite, he basically said "tough **** buddy".

 

That sucks bud, I really never felt any symptoms, only thing I noticed after the fix was that it coasts easier going down the road.

 

Wow, that's quite the doctor's bill there. I still can't get a call back from my dealer.

 

Is your truck exhibiting any signs of this illness?

 

Nada. But, I did get the recall notification.

 

Just had mine done, Kinda regret it. They didn't do crap and I had to take time off work. They put on a "pinion nut retainer" and thats it, despite the fact that my diff has fluid all over the front. I was really hoping they would replace that seal. They didn't even mention that theres a leak. They clearly didn't even check for damage or anything, just popped a retention clip on and said next!

Typical Dodge, do exactly the recall/minimum possible repair and call it quits. This is why I don't buy or have any vehicles serviced at a stealership.

P.s. they pestered me multiple times about putting myself on the waiting list for the airbag recall. They are back-ordered on the part so bad that its a 1.5 year estimated waiting list. I told em to F*** off with that crap.

 

I finally called the other Dodge dealer here on the island yesterday. I got on the list for both the pinion deal and the airbag recall, but they did not have the parts in stock and there was no ETA on them from Dodge.

It's annoying because I want to change my front and rear diff fluid, but if they are going to just open it up to fix stuff, that's a waste of a lot of money on Royal Purple fluid. The annoying part is I don't know if I should wait or not because I don't know how long it's going to be (yay, Hawaii...).

 

Well as you could see in my case, they did not do anything other than pop a clip onto it. I know there is a leak on the pinion seal (possibly related but who knows now), and I am probably low on Diff fluid....