Differential or Transmission Clunk

[The_Chemist]

I didn't know dealers would even try to rebuild axles. I've heard they just replace the whole axle assembly as the time spent rebuilding vs. replacing is similar with less likely of it going wrong. Gear swapping is somewhat of an art to get right. I've done maybe a dozen or so gear swaps and it does take some practice to get it right. This is after I've had 2 so called professional gear shops rebuild my 88 mustang rear and 2004 Dodge 3500 axles without success which sent me on the quest to do this work myself. I've made some mistakes having to rebuild a 2nd time but the last few I've done worked without issues.

Wish you luck. Unfortunately you will never know if it was the axle rebuild or the driveshaft flange bolts that caused the issue (unless of course they torque the flange bolts incorrectly similar to what the factory did - LOL).

Oh Geez, that's really good to know! Now my big yellow lemon will be even worse! I'm probably going to have to try and get rid of this piece of ...... I am really doubting long-term reliability on it now.

I've only got 2,601 miles on the truck and it has been nothing but trouble.

After they get the new rear brakes and diff fixed (or should I say patched), they then have to drive the vehicle and get rid of all the squeaks and rattles. Hopefully if the diff is going to get chewed up, it'll happen while the dealer (Heritage) still has it.

What a lemon!

 

[The_Chemist]

I'll paste an email response below from my service advisor at the dealer, when I asked for a status update on my truck today. They had it this time since last Tuesday. The door panel and console he refers to is being replaced from the last time the truck was in (damaged from dash removal). They had to take the dash out to retrieve a bolt that was rolling around in the heater box. It was in there from the factory. No bolts were missing. It must have been dropped in at assembly. I'll post a picture of that as well.



HAD TO RE ORDER GEAR FOR REAR DIFF CAME IN DAMAGED SHOULD BE HERE IN NEXT FEW DAYS ,
DOOR PANEL IS HER JUST WAITING ON CONSOLE TO ARRIVE
STAIN SEAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER WE CAN MOVE IT OUT OF SHOP
REAR BRAKES ARE HERE BEING REPLACED WITH DIFF REBUILD
OTHER NOISES WILL BE LOOKED AT ONCE WE CAN DRIVE IT AGAIN
THANK YOU
I SHOULD BE IN CONTACT EARLY NEXT WEEK ON THE OTHER ISSUES

 

[NDanecker]

Is that a picture of your interior after they tore it apart....to find a rattle? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck man. I feel sorry when I hear / see cases like this. I'm a hard core FCA fan but when I see **** like this I'm not so sure its FCA but inexperienced service techs and dealers. WOW!

 

[Ickabod]

I'll paste an email response below from my service advisor at the dealer, when I asked for a status update on my truck today. They had it this time since last Tuesday. The door panel and console he refers to is being replaced from the last time the truck was in (damaged from dash removal). They had to take the dash out to retrieve a bolt that was rolling around in the heater box. It was in there from the factory. No bolts were missing. It must have been dropped in at assembly. I'll post a picture of that as well.



HAD TO RE ORDER GEAR FOR REAR DIFF CAME IN DAMAGED SHOULD BE HERE IN NEXT FEW DAYS ,
DOOR PANEL IS HER JUST WAITING ON CONSOLE TO ARRIVE
STAIN SEAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER WE CAN MOVE IT OUT OF SHOP
REAR BRAKES ARE HERE BEING REPLACED WITH DIFF REBUILD
OTHER NOISES WILL BE LOOKED AT ONCE WE CAN DRIVE IT AGAIN
THANK YOU
I SHOULD BE IN CONTACT EARLY NEXT WEEK ON THE OTHER ISSUES

View attachment 34131

Hey, while they are there, why don't you have them fix the blend door....

 

[The_Chemist]

Is that a picture of your interior after they tore it apart....to find a rattle? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck man. I feel sorry when I hear / see cases like this. I'm a hard core FCA fan but when I see **** like this I'm not so sure its FCA but inexperienced service techs and dealers. WOW!

Yes, that is a picture the level 3 tech took after he found the bolt in my heater box

My truck exemplifies slop assembly quality at the factory. Its got so much wrong with it, I don't ever feel it will be right.

The dealer has been great about everything. I purchased the truck from Freedom in Harrisburg PA which is now Heritage. I'm thankful for the tech that is working on my truck. He's very good, knowledge and talented (except for the scratched door panel and center console). I could see why that happened though, as much as he had to take apart to fix the factory defects. The service manager is great, as is the service advisor. Together they all make a great team. My truck is just a big lemon. The dealer is doing all they can to get it right.

The dealer is stuck fixing all the factory slop and lack of quality from the factory.

It's a real shsme. My truck window sticker was $70,000. I could have bought a Lexus. The 2019 Ran 1500 is definitely a world class design, BUT, quality is shameful as is reliability.

I do realize this could happen with any brand, but my truck has got so much wrong with it from the factory, I doubt if I will ever get it all fixed. I also doubt long-term reliability. It's a gorgeous truck with top grade materials used on the interior, but assembly quality is abysmal! I just got a Lemon!

I waisted my hard earned money.

 

[NDanecker]

Yes, that is a picture the level 3 tech took after he found the bolt in my heater box

My truck exemplifies slop assembly quality at the factory. Its got so much wrong with it, I don't ever feel it will be right.

The dealer has been great about everything. I purchased the truck from Freedom in Harrisburg PA which is now Heritage. I'm thankful for the tech that is working on my truck. He's very good, knowledge and talented (except for the scratched door panel and center console). I could see why that happened though, as much as he had to take apart to fix the factory defects. The service manager is great, as is the service advisor. Together they all make a great team. My truck is just a big lemon. The dealer is doing all they can to get it right.

The dealer is stuck fixing all the factory slop and lack of quality from the factory.

It's a real shsme. My truck window sticker was $70,000. I could have bought a Lexus. The 2019 Ran 1500 is definitely a world class design, BUT, quality is shameful as is reliability.

I do realize this could happen with any brand, but my truck has got so much wrong with it from the factory, I doubt if I will ever get it all fixed. I also doubt long-term reliability. It's a gorgeous truck with top grade materials used on the interior, but assembly quality is abysmal! I just got a Lemon!

I waisted my hard earned money.

I hear you. However, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. One thing ya have to take into account is that most people who have issues post on forum boards so we (forum board guys) see these negative comments and make our decision about a brand thinking they all suck when actually they constitute a very small portion of the brand. While there are a few people that have severe issues there are many who don't (and don't post or visit this board).

My last vehicle was a 18 Jeep Trackhawk. Sold it 6 months later after getting bored of it, but mostly worried about its quality also. Had a very bad 4 to 5 sloppy shift that was so bad people who I took for rides asked about it. Dealer said its not blowing codes and they are not about to pull down the transmission to look for an issue. Basically - call me when it breaks. I WAS FURIOUS! This is a $98k vehicle. Between that and other small issues I dumped it before it got worse. However, I still like FCA products and would buy another Jeep Trackhawk in a heartbeat. Looking forward to the new body style when they come out, or the Hellcat Ram - whichever I fancy first. LOL

Not suggesting a path for you, but if I were in your shoes I'd sell that truck when they get it back to normal operating condition and get a new Ram (if that is what you like). Odds of getting a lemon again is slim. Or just lease then drive it like you stole it. LOL

 

[The_Chemist]

Hey, while they are there, why don't you have them fix the blend door....

Not having any issues with A/C performance. ....at least so far. The cabin cools down rapidly and gets very cold. It's been above 90 degrees here lately and very humid. No issues.

I hear you. However, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. One thing ya have to take into account is that most people who have issues post on forum boards so we (forum board guys) see these negative comments and make our decision about a brand thinking they all suck when actually they constitute a very small portion of the brand. While there are a few people that have severe issues there are many who don't (and don't post or visit this board).

My last vehicle was a 18 Jeep Trackhawk. Sold it 6 months later after getting bored of it, but mostly worried about its quality also. Had a very bad 4 to 5 sloppy shift that was so bad people who I took for rides asked about it. Dealer said its not blowing codes and they are not about to pull down the transmission to look for an issue. Basically - call me when it breaks. I WAS FURIOUS! This is a $98k vehicle. Between that and other small issues I dumped it before it got worse. However, I still like FCA products and would buy another Jeep Trackhawk in a heartbeat. Looking forward to the new body style when they come out, or the Hellcat Ram - whichever I fancy first. LOL

Not suggesting a path for you, but if I were in your shoes I'd sell that truck when they get it back to normal operating condition and get a new Ram (if that is what you like). Odds of getting a lemon again is slim. Or just lease then drive it like you stole it. LOL

What you stated is exactly my thought process.

I don't hate FCA. Like I said, I just got a lemon.

I love the Ram 1500! Mine is just a bad one. I am going to see if FCA will do anything for me to help me get out of this truck and into another one.

The dealer set me up with an Enterprise rental while my Longhorn is in the shop. The rental is a 2020 Jeep Cherokee Limited. It just came in the day my truck went into the shop, so it only had 16 miles on it.

Quality totally abounds in the Cherokee. Not a single squeak, rattle or noise. Drivetrain is great for what it is as well.

I'm really hoping that FCA will help me get out of this truck and into a new one. I couldn't sell my truck in good conscience to someone else, knowing most likely the issues will continue. And.... if I trade it, I'll lose my _____!

 

[The_Chemist]

Just an update. I got my truck back today after 19 days (this time) in the shop.

The ring and pinion gear were charged out. The service manager told me the Chrysler engineer turned the old assembly by hand and could feel binding at one spot of the rotation.

When they opened the housing, the oil came out looking like milk. It was all full of water. The truck had the clunking issue from day 1. I'm scratching my head to figure out how water could have been in the differential oil? There were no leaks at the seal.

My truck has to go back in again when the Chrysler engineer can look at it again. The vehicle makes a high pitched noise when you hit 43, 44 mph. It's not wind related. No mater what kind of air is moving or what direction you drive, it makes the high pitched noise. They have listened with chassis stethoscopes and still can't track it down. So it's up to the Chrysler engineer to try and determine what to do.

This has to end at some point in time. It's ridiculous now. The dealer has a case open with Chrysler.

My congratulations to all of you out there who got good trucks. Mine is the 1 in a million bad ones. I've been spending so much time getting factory defects fixed on this Longhorn now, that I haven't gotten any enjoyment out of owning the vehicle. It's been a nightmare.

The one saving Grace is that the service manager and his team at Heritage CDJR in Harrisburg PA (formerly Freedom) are awesome!

 

[HKP7PSP]

Just an update. I got my truck back today after 19 days (this time) in the shop.

The ring and pinion gear were charged out. The service manager told me the Chrysler engineer turned the old assembly by hand and could feel binding at one spot of the rotation.

When they opened the housing, the oil came out looking like milk. It was all full of water. The truck had the clunking issue from day 1. I'm scratching my head to figure out how water could have been in the differential oil? There were no leaks at the seal.

My truck has to go back in again when the Chrysler engineer can look at it again. The vehicle makes a high pitched noise when you hit 43, 44 mph. It's not wind related. No mater what kind of air is moving or what direction you drive, it makes the high pitched noise. They have listened with chassis stethoscopes and still can't track it down. So it's up to the Chrysler engineer to try and determine what to do.

This has to end at some point in time. It's ridiculous now. The dealer has a case open with Chrysler.

My congratulations to all of you out there who got good trucks. Mine is the 1 in a million bad ones. I've been spending so much time getting factory defects fixed on this Longhorn now, that I haven't gotten any enjoyment out of owning the vehicle. It's been a nightmare.

The one saving Grace is that the service manager and his team at Heritage CDJR in Harrisburg PA (formerly Freedom) are awesome!

I hope you get some satisfaction soon sir, regardless of how. I'm glad you have a great dealer that is standing by you - that truly makes all the difference. I'm proud to take my truck in for anything to the dealer I've adopted since buying the thing... they are above and beyond with taking care of me.

 

[The_Chemist]

I hope you get some satisfaction soon sir, regardless of how. I'm glad you have a great dealer that is standing by you - that truly makes all the difference. I'm proud to take my truck in for anything to the dealer I've adopted since buying the thing... they are above and beyond with taking care of me.

Thank you @HKP7PSP for the well wishes.

I hope I do get some satisfaction soon. This just drags on and on. I now have to wait for the Chrysler engineer to come in again and drive my truck while he tries to figure out what is wrong. He's on vacation this week.

The dealer, Heritage, has been very good to me throughout this ordeal.

 

[Maconi]

Don't feel bad. Most of your problems arent unique, you just have a dealer willing to make it right. A lot of people are just told to deal with it (and surprisingly, they do). Not everyone comes to forums like this either.

I've had the same problem with my 2015 Chrysler 200 C AWD (another FCA product). 10K miles in and the entire rear differential had to be replaced.

 

[KRField]

@The_Chemist what is the build date of your truck?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The_Chemist]

@The_Chemist what is the build date of your truck?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Buiold date is in my signature. It's 9/24/2018.

 

[The_Chemist]

Don't feel bad. Most of your problems arent unique, you just have a dealer willing to make it right. A lot of people are just told to deal with it (and surprisingly, they do). Not everyone comes to forums like this either.

I've had the same problem with my 2015 Chrysler 200 C AWD (another FCA product). 10K miles in and the entire rear differential had to be replaced.

Unfortunately for me, the plot thickens. On my drive to Mass this morning, I noticed that when going around sharp corners (close to 75 degrees or more) the rear wheels are trying to turn at the same speed. This is causing one of them, I cant tell which one, to skip or scrub over the dry pavement rather than roll over it. I don't know anything about these gears, I'm a chemist, not a mechanic. Do the gears need to break-in after a rebuild? The truck also scrubbed when turning into the church parking lot. At a few red lights when I was making a right hand turn, one of the rear tires chirped. Never did that before the rebuild.

Anyway, this prompted me to place the truck in 4WD Auto. I never tried it before. To my surprise, the front axle is LOUD when my foot was on the gas. It makes sort of a groaning or scraping sound. When turning corners it gets even louder sounding like a tire is scraping a fender liner. So it appears that there is some malfunction with the front axle as well. I've owned 2 other rear wheel drive based 4WD vehicles and neither one of them exhibited this behavior when in 4WD Auto.

After the rear diff rebuild, I've gained a new noise as well. There is a high pitched sound that starts at about 31 to 32 mph. It gets drowned out by tire noise once you hit 40 mph. Then back to the noise that was there from day 1. When you hit 43 to 44 mph you get a different high pitched noise that stops once you hit 50 mph. The Chrysler engineer is coming back to try and figure that one out.

Is there ever going to be an end to this?

 

[Edwards]

Unfortunately for me, the plot thickens. On my drive to Mass this morning, I noticed that when going around sharp corners (close to 75 degrees or more) the rear wheels are trying to turn at the same speed. This is causing one of them, I cant tell which one, to skip or scrub over the dry pavement rather than roll over it. I don't know anything about these gears, I'm a chemist, not a mechanic. Do the gears need to break-in after a rebuild? The truck also scrubbed when turning into the church parking lot. At a few red lights when I was making a right hand turn, one of the rear tires chirped. Never did that before the rebuild.

Anyway, this prompted me to place the truck in 4WD Auto. I never tried it before. To my surprise, the front axle is LOUD when my foot was on the gas. It makes sort of a groaning or scraping sound. When turning corners it gets even louder sounding like a tire is scraping a fender liner. So it appears that there is some malfunction with the front axle as well. I've owned 2 other rear wheel drive based 4WD vehicles and neither one of them exhibited this behavior when in 4WD Auto.

After the rear diff rebuild, I've gained a new noise as well. There is a high pitched sound that starts at about 31 to 32 mph. It gets drowned out by tire noise once you hit 40 mph. Then back to the noise that was there from day 1. When you hit 43 to 44 mph you get a different high pitched noise that stops once you hit 50 mph. The Chrysler engineer is coming back to try and figure that one out.

Is there ever going to be an end to this?

On your first issue, since you have the ORG you have the electronic locking rear diff. It sounds like it is locked. Is the light on under your shifter (Axle lock?) If so, just turn it off and you'll be good. If it is off and you still have the rear diff locked, then the dealer needs to sort that out. Either you've got a malfunction in the E-locker or they bound something when they replaced the gearing. I'd have them look at the noise as well - they could be related.

See if the dealer will let you drive a new truck on the lot with the same config as yours. That will give you a good baseline to measure the sounds against. You can hear the front axle when live but it shouldn't be loud.

 

[The_Chemist]

On your first issue, since you have the ORG you have the electronic locking rear diff. It sounds like it is locked. Is the light on under your shifter (Axle lock?) If so, just turn it off and you'll be good. If it is off and you still have the rear diff locked, then the dealer needs to sort that out. Either you've got a malfunction in the E-locker or they bound something when they replaced the gearing. I'd have them look at the noise as well - they could be related.

See if the dealer will let you drive a new truck on the lot with the same config as yours. That will give you a good baseline to measure the sounds against. You can hear the front axle when live but it shouldn't be loud.

Thanks for the advice. The E-Locker is not on. The indicator light is not illuminated.

I think something is out of tolerance from the rebuild.

The dealer does not have another vehicle with the ORG. I'm thinking these noises are unique to my truck. The noises are so noticable, that I feel other owners would be complaining if their trucks had them as well.

The Chrysler engineer drove my vehicle and initiated the rebuild. The service manager has a call into him to return for more diagnosis.

This is going to be a long haul.

 

[NDanecker]

Sounds like gear whine which will not go away and just get worse. Guessing they rebuilt the rear end and not replaced it? That is why I thought they would have replaced the whole rear axle and not rebuild. Setting up a rear end takes some talent and most don't know how to do it correctly. If you don't get a good gear pattern you need to either reset the pinion depth or backlash to get a good pattern, and most will just let it slide as it requires extra labor to get it correct (pull pinion, pull bearing, +/- spacers, press bearing back on, new crush sleeve setting proper pinion nut torque, etc, etc etc).

Not sure how water could have gotten into the rear end unless you or someone else submerged the rear in water. ???? That makes no sense at all.

Good luck.

I'm just starting to get another issue with my rear axle. When you stop quickly from highway speeds, and then release the brake the rear axle snaps or unwraps (for a better term) and makes a knocking noise. At times it freaks me out because it almost feels like some tapped your rear bumper. Seems like the axle is wrapping and held there by the brakes, but releases when you release the brake just before hitting the gas. Never did this before. Ugh....

Seriously thinking of going back to 3500 DRW with Diesel. Once you tow with a beast its difficult to tow with a Golf Cart. LOL!

 

[The_Chemist]

Sounds like gear whine which will not go away and just get worse. Guessing they rebuilt the rear end and not replaced it? That is why I thought they would have replaced the whole rear axle and not rebuild. Setting up a rear end takes some talent and most don't know how to do it correctly. If you don't get a good gear pattern you need to either reset the pinion depth or backlash to get a good pattern, and most will just let it slide as it requires extra labor to get it correct (pull pinion, pull bearing, +/- spacers, press bearing back on, new crush sleeve setting proper pinion nut torque, etc, etc etc).

Not sure how water could have gotten into the rear end unless you or someone else submerged the rear in water. ???? That makes no sense at all.

Good luck.

I'm just starting to get another issue with my rear axle. When you stop quickly from highway speeds, and then release the brake the rear axle snaps or unwraps (for a better term) and makes a knocking noise. At times it freaks me out because it almost feels like some tapped your rear bumper. Seems like the axle is wrapping and held there by the brakes, but releases when you release the brake just before hitting the gas. Never did this before. Ugh....

Seriously thinking of going back to 3500 DRW with Diesel. Once you tow with a beast its difficult to tow with a Golf Cart. LOL!

Yes, they rebuilt the differential. The truck has never seen water other than rsin. It spends most of its time under my carport on a battery maintainer. I bought it now, keeping the mileage low, to use when I retire in 7 years. I know, bad idea since it will depreciate....

When I correspond with the service manager later in the week, I'm going to ask that the entire rear axle assembly be replaced. I guess that will depend on whether or not Chrysler will approve that. Obviously it can't be set up correctly as the inside wheel and outside wheel are not easily turning independently of each other.

The front axle also appears to be faulty. It makes a loud groaning or grinding noise under acceleration and really gets loud when making a tight turn in 4WD Auto.

I appreciate your input!

 

[The_Chemist]

Sounds like gear whine which will not go away and just get worse. Guessing they rebuilt the rear end and not replaced it? That is why I thought they would have replaced the whole rear axle and not rebuild. Setting up a rear end takes some talent and most don't know how to do it correctly. If you don't get a good gear pattern you need to either reset the pinion depth or backlash to get a good pattern, and most will just let it slide as it requires extra labor to get it correct (pull pinion, pull bearing, +/- spacers, press bearing back on, new crush sleeve setting proper pinion nut torque, etc, etc etc).

Not sure how water could have gotten into the rear end unless you or someone else submerged the rear in water. ???? That makes no sense at all.

Good luck.

I'm just starting to get another issue with my rear axle. When you stop quickly from highway speeds, and then release the brake the rear axle snaps or unwraps (for a better term) and makes a knocking noise. At times it freaks me out because it almost feels like some tapped your rear bumper. Seems like the axle is wrapping and held there by the brakes, but releases when you release the brake just before hitting the gas. Never did this before. Ugh....

Seriously thinking of going back to 3500 DRW with Diesel. Once you tow with a beast its difficult to tow with a Golf Cart. LOL!

How many miles do you have on your truck now?

I have a similar axle symptom as to what you described as unwrapping. My truck did the same thing at low speed at a parking lot stop sign. I actually thought someone hit my rear bumper. This happened Saturday, right after I picked the truck up from the dealer.

 

[Edwards]

Yes, they rebuilt the differential. The truck has never seen water other than rsin. It spends most of its time under my carport on a battery maintainer. I bought it now, keeping the mileage low, to use when I retire in 7 years. I know, bad idea since it will depreciate....

When I correspond with the service manager later in the week, I'm going to ask that the entire rear axle assembly be replaced. I guess that will depend on whether or not Chrysler will approve that. Obviously it can't be set up correctly as the inside wheel and outside wheel are not easily turning independently of each other.

The front axle also appears to be faulty. It makes a loud groaning or grinding noise under acceleration and really gets loud when making a tight turn in 4WD Auto.

I appreciate your input!

Well here's a wild thought. If you had water that can't be explained in the rear diff, I would ask them to crack open the front diff and the transmission so see if water got in there too. That could explain your front end noise since no one knows how the rear got wet.