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2012 Ram 1500 Whining noise!!

58K views 38 replies 33 participants last post by  Phunahm 
#1 ·
Just recently purchased a NEW 2012 RAM 1500 SPORT. Quickly discovered that it makes a slight whining, or humming sound when trying to maintain speed anywhere from 20-60km/h. Doesn't seem to be consistent with any type of shifting, mostly acceleration!! can have the pedal pressed down 1/4 of an inch, and the noise will occur, and as soon as i let off, it will instantly stop. This humming remains when trying to hold speed at say 40km/h, and even sometimes remains when letting off gas and truck is downshifting. BUT when on highway trying to hold 100km/h, it doesn't occur. The kicker of all this is that i have test drove 2 other RAM's of the same year and model, and they both seem to do the same thing!! If anyone has any insight on this, or knows what it could possibly be, the help would be greatly appreciated.

Tks, Ryan
 
#2 ·
Did the MDS kick in??? My friend just bought a 2012 and found that it did the same thing when when the MDS kicked in......

Don't know if that's that case but he was told this by his dealer. He purchased a 2012 as well.... You might want to contact your dealer.
 
#3 ·
MDS...as in the ECO light that is displayed in the cluster??... doesn't seem to be associated with that at all, seems to make the noise weather the ECO is on or off.
Ive read elsewhere that it may be a torque converter, rear diff bearings, or the shift points in the tranny, although it sounds like its coming from the engine compartment. Having a hard time trending it with shifting, or anything else, happens when city driving between 20-60 km/h. up shifting or downshifting/ maintaining speed.
 
#4 ·
This could be gear noise transferred through drive shaft from differential. Not real loud but occurrs under light throttle or coast. My dakota has this issue and the dealer has rebuilt the differential twice, replaced the complete rear axle, and foam filled the alum drive shaft to help minimize the noise transferr. Still have the noise but somewhat less. I had a steel drive shaft made, with foam, which eliminated most of the noise but during install noticed that the original slip yoke was loose on the output spline of the tranny. Which the dealer said is normal?? I am back to the original shaft until the silp yoke issue is resolved so as not to have warranty problems when the output shaft has to be replaced.
 
#35 ·
ram 1500 whine

Sounds like my 2010. I am manipulating the throttle in the video. I am happy to hear the other trucks do it as well. Maybe just a typical ram sound?

Did you end up fixing this? I got the same noise and I cant figure out what it is and its been getting louder so I really want to get this fixed. Email me at bradenrey123@gmail.com please and thanks. Cheers
 
#6 · (Edited)
Has anyone figured out what this is from? I have heard there are many ram 1500s with this issue. For my truck I notice it mostly after driving for 20 minutes or so and it sounds like the squeal or whine of belts or a bad power steering pump. So I changed my belts and at first I thought that solved the problem but the whine has re-appeared. IMHO I think it is a pulley but I am not sure.
 
#7 ·
possibly the belt tensioning pulley ??

i only hear a noise when my CB radio is on, so i know that my problem is an Alternator diode. I can hear the noise during acceleration & shifting
 
#8 ·
Whinibng noise at 1000 to 1300 rpm

I have the cure for the whining noise and Chrysler knows about it. I took my 2012 Ram to the dealership and it was determined that the noise is coming from the velocity of the fluid through the transmission cooler lines. No, I am not joking, the fix is to remove the plastic mount that holds the lines so that they have some movement. Chrysler has the fix as adding some foam insulation to the lines but this only quietened the noise but moved it over a broader range. The tech at the dealership tried separating the lines and now the noise is virtually gone!! Real simple but hard to find. This was driving me nuts for a long time and now the noise is gone. Give it a try, you will be amazed!!
 
#11 ·
Similar Issue with mine

I have the same (or very similar) issue on my 2012 RAM 1500 Longhorn I just purchased although mine does only appear when I get into the gas fairly hard. Mine will stop when I let off the gas. Seems to happen most frequently above 30mph. Was thinking it might be a rear end issue but the sound sure seems like it is coming from the passenger backside of the engine compartment. Hope this fix is as easy as transmission coolant line mounts. I'm taking it back to the dealer in a couple of days.
 
#15 ·
I found the mount today. Open the hood and look down the passenger side of the radiator support. You will see the AC lines. Just below them is the trans cooler lines and a small plastic block holding them to the rad support with a single 10mm bolt. Simply remove the bolt and install some rubber behind it....or....remove the bolt completely and run a zip tie from the trans lines to the AC lines to hold everything in place but keep the trans lines away from the rad support.

Hope this makes sense.

Paul
 
#20 · (Edited)
Guys, The noise is coming from the bolt (resonance transfer) that holds the transmission oil cooling lines to the fan shroud housing on the passenger side of the vehicle. Chrysler has a "fix" for the issue that involves putting foam refrigerant line insulation over the rubber portion of the transmission cooling lines. See this link for my posting on another forum site:


www.ramforums.com and search for "front end howling noise". Also do a google search for the same and you will see more information at www.bobistheoilguy.com


You want to isolate the transmission line clamp from the housing where the bolt attaches to the fan shroud housing!


My solution was to remove the 10mm bolt and nut, leave on the plastic retaining clip, then insert a 2" long plastic push pin (black serrated plastic pin that is used on trim pieces) through the plastic retaining clip to hold the line in place. I also added 2 medium sized rubber grommets (one of each side of the plastic retaining clip to isolate the bracket) and pushed the pin through the 10mm bolt hole. The push pin holds the line securely and the noise is 98% gone (only hearing it one time since when it was colder than 30 degrees).

I took off the foam insulation to see if it made a difference with my fix above. It did not - so I left it off and I'm going to leave it as is with the push pin installed. The push pins were available from a Ford dealership for around $2. Chrysler might have them, but the Ford push pin worked perfectly. How's that for a slap to Chrysler! Using a Ford part to fix a brand new Dodge Ram 1500!!!


I was lucky - I had 2 Chrysler Field Service Engineers look at my vehicle and they heard the sound and agreed there was an issue. They were the ones who had a bulletin about the foam insulation over the rubber sections of the transmission oil cooling lines. Hopefully Chrysler will have a more permanent fix rather than using the foam pieces.


Chrysler was opposed to removing the bolt as they felt the lines would eventually fail due to metal fatigue from the vibration. The plastic push pin method holds the line in place, but doesn't allow the resonance from the transmission oil cooling lines to transfer into the fan shroud housing which amplifies the noise like a drum. What's best is that it is an easy solution for less than $3 in parts that anyone can do.


Good Luck!

757guy
 
#23 ·
problem solved

took mine in today talked to the service manager about the wooing noise.I told him about the bracket for the coolant lines connected to the rad housing.So he said lets try it.I was skeptic but hopeful and to my amazement it worked, I am tickled pink to say the least.Not sure who figured this out but whoever it is my hat is off to you thanks a million times.
 
#26 ·
I removed mine, and it didn't make any real difference, so I put it back in. My engine whine must be minimal compared to rest of you. It doesn't bother me and only can be heard at low speed between 1000-1300 rpm. It doesn't get loud enough to interfere with any conversation or phone calls either.
 
#27 ·
My new 2013 was doing the same thing, so I just took the bolt out completely and installed a piece of foam in between the bracket and fan shroud. The noise is now gone. Here's a picture of mine. I have 10,500 miles on my truck and have no noise or issues with it.
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