Noise from front end of drive shaft
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Noise from front end of drive shaft
Okay, so a brief summary....
2008 1500 Quad Cab, 4.7L, TRX (2 wheel drive) 70,000 miles. I bought it a year ago. 3 months ago, my pinion nut worked its way loose causing my drive shaft to separate from the rear end and fall off (but stayed connected to the transmission). Luckily (or so I think anyway) I was slowing down on the side of the road (maybe 10-15 mph) instead of full highway speeds.
I inspected the damage and could find nothing wrong with the pinion or ring gear, so I tried to just put it back together, but there was a noise coming from the rear end, so I finally took it to a mechanic who has experience rebuilding rear ends.
He first found that the drive shaft was out of round by about 0.055" (I believe specs is 0.010"), so I had it repaired and rebalanced by a reputable drive shaft shop. The mechanic reattached the drive shaft to the the truck and it spun true, but the noise remained.
The mechanic disassembled the rear end and found one of the pinion bearings was bad. He replaced all seals and bearings in the rear end, even those on the axle. Reassembled the rear and reattached the drive shaft.
Good news, the original noise is gone.
Bad news there is a noise coming from the front end of the drive shaft, about 10" inches from the transmission. It is a cluncking/banging sound, like something is inside the drive shaft. I took the drive shaft back to the same drive shaft shop and they said the drive shaft and u-joints are fine. The mechanic had his transmission guy look at the truck's transmission and it was given a clean bill of health.
So the question is what else could this be? Is the extra resistance from the new bearing causing some problems? The drive shaft shop said sometimes the drive shafts will transmit a noise from somewhere else, but from where?
The part I can't wrap my mind around is why this 'new' noise? To me it seems like it has something to do with the work in the rear end since this new noise wasn't there before.
I'm lost and losing hope with this truck. It is my first Dodge and it has not been a most pleasant experience.
2008 1500 Quad Cab, 4.7L, TRX (2 wheel drive) 70,000 miles. I bought it a year ago. 3 months ago, my pinion nut worked its way loose causing my drive shaft to separate from the rear end and fall off (but stayed connected to the transmission). Luckily (or so I think anyway) I was slowing down on the side of the road (maybe 10-15 mph) instead of full highway speeds.
I inspected the damage and could find nothing wrong with the pinion or ring gear, so I tried to just put it back together, but there was a noise coming from the rear end, so I finally took it to a mechanic who has experience rebuilding rear ends.
He first found that the drive shaft was out of round by about 0.055" (I believe specs is 0.010"), so I had it repaired and rebalanced by a reputable drive shaft shop. The mechanic reattached the drive shaft to the the truck and it spun true, but the noise remained.
The mechanic disassembled the rear end and found one of the pinion bearings was bad. He replaced all seals and bearings in the rear end, even those on the axle. Reassembled the rear and reattached the drive shaft.
Good news, the original noise is gone.
Bad news there is a noise coming from the front end of the drive shaft, about 10" inches from the transmission. It is a cluncking/banging sound, like something is inside the drive shaft. I took the drive shaft back to the same drive shaft shop and they said the drive shaft and u-joints are fine. The mechanic had his transmission guy look at the truck's transmission and it was given a clean bill of health.
So the question is what else could this be? Is the extra resistance from the new bearing causing some problems? The drive shaft shop said sometimes the drive shafts will transmit a noise from somewhere else, but from where?
The part I can't wrap my mind around is why this 'new' noise? To me it seems like it has something to do with the work in the rear end since this new noise wasn't there before.
I'm lost and losing hope with this truck. It is my first Dodge and it has not been a most pleasant experience.
Last edited by nodnermot; Sep 4, 2012 at 10:10 AM.