High Pitched Whistle under Dash

[jetrinka]

Hey everyone.

I’ve got a 2021 Power Wagon that is making a noise.

It is a slight, high pitched whistle coming from under the dash in the drivers footwell area. At least that is where it manifests loudest. Listening with a mechanics stethoscope it is definitely originating from where the steering shaft goes through the firewall. It only happens at idle and steering input can make the noise change.

Under the hood I can barely hear the noise only on the drivers side of the engine bay. The stethoscope reveals some very slight of the same noise halfway down the power steering pressure hose beside the fan shroud. Everywhere else it’s quiet.

Something else to note is it doesn’t change by altering anything in the cab other than the steering wheel. Hvac, radio, etc.

Anyone encounter this one? Almost seems like a strange harmonic in the power steering system. I attempted to get a video of it but my phone cannot pick up the noise.

 

[jetrinka]

Update: I removed the belt and the noise goes away. The only thing I saw wrong is the belt tensioner bearing seems dry but it’s not a belt or bearing noise I am hearing.

If anyone has ever heard a diode trio in an alternator fail and the whining sound they make, it sounds just like that on a fainter volume scale

 

[Grateful Dad]

I might be hearing the same thing. I only hear it when I come to a stop or sitting idle somewhere. I wouldn’t call it loud but you can sure hear it even when the radio is on. Goes away as soon as rpm’s go above idle speed.

I guess it is kinda loud if the radio and hvac is off………….

 

[jetrinka]

Yes that certainly describes the noise. I got my stethoscope and followed it out into the engine bay and as far as I can tell is some high pitched resonance coming out of the high pressure power steering line. Not sure why. Half the line is covered by a noise insulation and the other half where the noise is loudest just has some corrugated plastic covering.

The truck is going into the dealer next week for a windshield treatment. I'll mention it to them.

 

[jetrinka]

Well the truck was dropped at the dealer tonight. We will see what/if it reveals anything

 

[jadmt]

almost can bet the dealer will say "can not duplicate" lol.

 

[jetrinka]

Well the dealer visit revealed a whole lotta nothing. Basically said they hear the noise but don't know what is causing it. Mentioned they also took the belt off the car and the noise went away.

I am going to go pick it up tonight and replace the belt and belt tensioner myself to see if that solves it. As I stated above the only thing I found wrong when I took the belt off previously was a slight fray to the belt and the tensioner bearing felt dry. I am going to not overcomplicate things, try that out and see how it goes. Maybe I'll get lucky.

 

[jetrinka]

Well if anyone cares replacing the tensioner and belt didn’t really affect the noise. However it did fix a problem if a really crappy tensioner. I’ve heard of Cummins having problems with theirs - makes sense the Hemi may have problems too.

Edit: Figured out YouTube and how to post a video.

The first is the stock tensioner with about 6500 miles on it. The second video is the gates replacement.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Wow big difference. That stock pulley sounds like junk

 

[jadmt]

Man a belt should not be frayed at 6500 nor should the tensioner sound like the bearing is crapped out. The dealer should have replaced those regardless.

 

[jetrinka]

Agreed. I was going to at least call the service writer and tell him. This is the first brand new vehicle I’ve ever bought. Not really liking this dealer/warranty game….

 

[Ruzzi23]

Hey everyone.

I’ve got a 2021 Power Wagon that is making a noise.

It is a slight, high pitched whistle coming from under the dash in the drivers footwell area. At least that is where it manifests loudest. Listening with a mechanics stethoscope it is definitely originating from where the steering shaft goes through the firewall. It only happens at idle and steering input can make the noise change.

Under the hood I can barely hear the noise only on the drivers side of the engine bay. The stethoscope reveals some very slight of the same noise halfway down the power steering pressure hose beside the fan shroud. Everywhere else it’s quiet.

Something else to note is it doesn’t change by altering anything in the cab other than the steering wheel. Hvac, radio, etc.

Anyone encounter this one? Almost seems like a strange harmonic in the power steering system. I attempted to get a video of it but my phone cannot pick up the noise.

Any updates… I have the same exact noise. It comes and goes and can definitely hear it most at idle, and like you said the only thing that affects the noise is turning the steering wheel. I brought it to the dealer, and they acknowledge that they can hear it too, but they have no idea what this noise is. It’s driving me up a wall lol!

 

[jetrinka]

Any updates… I have the same exact noise. It comes and goes and can definitely hear it most at idle, and like you said the only thing that affects the noise is turning the steering wheel. I brought it to the dealer, and they acknowledge that they can hear it too, but they have no idea what this noise is. It’s driving me up a wall lol!

Unfortunately no update. Still makes the noise. I’m thinking I may take it back to the dealer and just tell them to keep it until it’s fixed…. I can only imagine it’s going to take replacement of random parts till it’s fixed.

 

[Ruzzi23]

Yea I’m waiting to hear back from the dealer also. It’s weird how it just randomly started a few days ago, I have a little over 6K miles. Truck is all stock btw.

 

[jetrinka]

Mine is stock other than a GMRS radio, Magnaflow muffler and some mud flaps. Was doing the noise before the muffler too.

 

[flan]

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the lines coming off the pump had a internal defect. I maintain a 2011 5500 Ram and one day there was a hissing noise under the dash by the brake pedal. Only place you could hear it. Not under the hood. It would go away when you stepped on the brake pedal. My first thought was the master cylinder but I looked online to see if anyone had experienced a similar issue. Sure enough it was a common problem for that year and the issue ultimately was the high pressure line coming off the power steering pump. It has a plastic liner that separated from the jacket and got pushed into the union where it meets up with a ridged line. The fix was to undo the hose, grab the liner with a pair of pliers and rip it out. Bolt the hose back up and good to go.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

If the belt stops the whine it would seem as if there is an issue with the PS hydro system

 

[jetrinka]

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the lines coming off the pump had a internal defect. I maintain a 2011 5500 Ram and one day there was a hissing noise under the dash by the brake pedal. Only place you could hear it. Not under the hood. It would go away when you stepped on the brake pedal. My first thought was the master cylinder but I looked online to see if anyone had experienced a similar issue. Sure enough it was a common problem for that year and the issue ultimately was the high pressure line coming off the power steering pump. It has a plastic liner that separated from the jacket and got pushed into the union where it meets up with a ridged line. The fix was to undo the hose, grab the liner with a pair of pliers and rip it out. Bolt the hose back up and good to go.

What engine was in this truck?

 

[flan]

What engine was in this truck?

6.7 CTD

 

[Ruzzi23]

What engine was in this

Unfortunately no update. Still makes the noise. I’m thinking I may take it back to the dealer and just tell them to keep it until it’s fixed…. I can only imagine it’s going to take replacement of random parts till it’s fixed.

anything new with this mystery noise?