As is annoying vibrations.
2002 Ram 1500 4.7. 100300 miles
The damn thing vibrates at 1800 and 2200 RPM above 55mph.
Its my dads truck and he had just put new Yokohama Geolandars on it and had the AC serviced about a month ago.
He was going to take it back to the tire shop to have the balance check and the AC checked as well (as it is cycling on and off, real b!tch in 95+* Texas heat).
The truck ALSO has some sort of rear end problem. AKA, snap-pop-click-squeek-squeek. And a cringe from both of us.
Had the rearend serviced at the dealership around 6-7 months ago, maybe more, along with the trans.
Trans fluid is fine.


What do you guys think?

 

Rotating the tires seems like the best bet. As for the rear end issues with the "snap-pop-click-squeek-squeek", that sounds like shocks or shackles to me.

 

The tires don't need rotating, they need balancing.
And I am 100% sure that the problem with the rear end is NOT the suspension, thats one of the things I checked myself.
I'm pretty sure the pumpkin is gonna have to be pulled. When you throw it in drive after sitting for a period of time, it goes snap-pop-click, if its REALLY bad it will lurch the truck forward.
Pinion maybe?

 

Sorry bad verbiage, i meant balancing.

As for the noises, I still say shackles. Mine does the same thing. I know I need to take my shackles down and grease the pins but they are so aggravating to pull the leaf springs back down.

Mine usually dont make noise unless I give it gas and they shift in movement.

Try getting some WD40 or PB Blaster and soaking them and then driving and see if it helps. If not, well, the rear end is fairly simple with only a handful of moving parts. Your pinion could pop or snap i guess if the bearing is just that bad but it wont squeak.

But if you think it is the pinion then pull the rear diff cover and inspect it. If you have not changed the rear diff fluid in a while then now would be a good time to do that as well as inspect.

 

I didn't even know these trucks had shackles. Even on 2WD?
Anyway, I'll check'em.
That still doesn't explain the lurch forward AFTER the pop-click.
It feels like diff to me. And I think the squeek is coming from the driveshaft. You hear it really good with the windows down til about 40MPH. Then its rotating so fast you can't hear it.

Does it help anything if I say that the truck went down a sand road everyday for a while??

 

If you hear noise while driving but not necessarily accelerating then that could be the pinion but they normally howl or whine and it can be different at different speeds. As for the popping, it could be clutch pack retaining clips inside the diff if you have a stock LSD.

And yes, stock 2wd DRs have shackles. One long bolt holds it to the frame and another holds the leaf spring to the shackle.

Sounds like you still need to pull that diff cover and start inspecting.

 

Well, my dad