Sorry for the joke title, I couldn't resist.

I've had a loud banging in the back for quite some time when ever I hit a bump. It's definitely metal on metal. (Seems on the drivers side) Thought it was the storage platform in the back, but today I took everything out of the van and low and behold, it has exactly the same bang. Bumper tight, trailer hitch tight, empty van... I'm stumped.

Anyone have a the same problem? Does anyone have a theory???

Thanks in advance,
Tar

'99 Ram Van B1500 (extended body)
5.2

 

It could be the spare tire tools. Unless you don't have them in the van. On my 00' 3500 (15 passenger) the tire iron and tire swap tools are on the drivers side at the back corner of the van. Usually the bracket holds everything together and is bolted to the panel but mine wasn't and did that for a time before I fixed it. I'm not sure how they anchor the bracket if your van does not have panels. I could be wrong but I thought that the cargo version (Ram Van) didn't have interior panels in back where the passenger version (Ram Wagon) did. Sorry if I'm beginning to ramble here. Regardless of if you have interior panels or not, I would check the tire tools.

-Bill

 

Good thought, I was thinking along the same lines, and so took all the tools out of the van, no spare tire, also there are no inside panels. Interior is totally empty. I'm painting the floor and putting in two layers of R5 foam in the walls. Also a thin layer of foam and topped with plywood for the floor. Still the banging.

Anyone know what that rod is attached to the bottom of the truck. Starts in a 4x4x1 plate, looks like rubber sandwiched between two plates of steel, and runs back into the rear bumper area.

 

Retorque the upper shock mounts.

The bushings get crushed over time , it loosens, and they clunk over every correct bump

 

Shocking results! You hit it on the head, thanks!!! Retorqued'em and all is quite.

Thanks again,

Tar.

 

You are welcome.

I had the same noise last year.

Drove me nutz

 

Spare tire hanger?

Glad you found the cause of your thump, and thanks to landyacht318 for the tip.

It is worth noting that if you use your undercarriage spare tire mount that the tire comes loose over time. Use the tire tool to retighten it through the access hole in the rear door frame. I recently noticed an odd bumping / sliding noise I could not identify coming from the rear and it turned out to be the spare tire.

 

This truck came with an 8 lug spare wheel/tire and it's a 5 lug truck. I years ago took out the spare tire, and don't have a clue how to put a new one back in if/when I get a 5 lug wheel. I think your right about what it is, but I'll have to do some research to figure out how to use it. At least it's tight and wasn't part of the banging. Since tightening the upper shock mounts all is quiet and its wonderful!~

New plywood sub floor, 1/2" floor insulation, floor tile, 2" insulation in the walls and 1" in the roof, new idler arm, new drag link, charged the a/c, (can't believe it works after being out of service for 6 years!) polished the headlights, compounded and waxed entire body and roof, rotated the tires, Armoral the entire cabin compartment, straighten the rear bumper, paint both front and rear bumpers, paint the grill, clean and Armoral the engine compartment, repair a/c vacuum control lines... all I have left to do is cover the walls and interior roof, put the rear deck back in and speakers in, change the trans filter and fluid, put synthetic diff fluid in the rear end, align the front end, and I'm done... for a while anyway.

 

I hear ya, mine has 15" wheels and when I bought new tires last year they discovered my spare is a 16" so they couldn't mount my one decent takeoff as a spare.

Restoring these vans back to safe and reliable status is a lot of work and it's not cheap.

Replaced: tires,brakes,control arm bushings, radiator, idler pulleys, belt, a/c compressor & evaporator & accumulator, fan clutch (retrofitted to electric now), muffler, tailpipe, fender, bumper, stereo system, speaker wiring, climate control *****, all rear view mirrors, drivers seat belt, headlamp bulbs

Installed backup camera. Polished headlamp housings. Sanded all the rust off the roof & rain gutters and treated it a year ago, still holding. I sanded and painted the van with ss black acrylic urethane in February. You don't even wanna know how long that took!

ToDo: sway bar bushings, shocks, rear end diff fluid with synthetic, O2 sensors, carpet, LF door latch, front spoiler, repairs to the fiberglass running boards, dual 12v battery system. Thats just the parts I have already bought and need to install, more to come

I like mine a lot and so it's worth it.. but man oh man!

 

You know, I think we should start a thread for people to list all the work they have done. Would be interesting so see what parts we all instal in common.

I will say, doing the work myself saves huge $$$$. Just to know, I got a price from a well known national shop on replacing the idler arms. They quoted $149/arm and about another 200 to put them in. I got them for 24 ea, and put them in myself. Had to buy a grease gun... so the whole thing cost me about 65.

I could never afford me!

Oh I do know about how much time it takes to paint, I use to paint race cars.

Tar