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Rubbing / Grinding sensation in the driveline....

Snagster123

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2020 PW: so after about 7 trips to 2 different dealers, STAR cases, etc.., they still can't diagnose. Rubbing / Grinding at slow speed like 0 to 4 mph then it goes away. This happens in forward and reverse, but not in neutral. Kinda tells me it's in the trans or maybe in the T-Case. I'm still under full drivetrain warranty, sooooo tired of this and soooo tired of taking it back to them...

Any ideas?
 
Change the lubricants in your front and rear diffs.
Check the U joints.
 
Change the lubricants in your front and rear diffs.
Check the U joints.
Dealership did all that. I paid for a front end service (fluids), and they changed out the entire carrier assembly in the rear axle. Not the u-joints.
 
Brake pad sticking?
Dealer says no. But to be honest, it does sort of feel like a brake pad sticking... this truck has a lot of systems related to the brakes like Hill Decent, Hill Launch, antilock brakes, Adaptive Cruise Control, Collission Avoidance, etc... something in there could be messed up...
 
At this point, I am hanging my hat on either the Transmission or the Transfer Case. Pretty sure the Transmission has clutches in it. Does the Transfer Case have clutches or is it Gear or Chain driven?
 
Going straight forward/backwards from a stop or turning?

Both my 19 and 22 Power Wagons had a vibration when turning from a stop.

Same run around from the dealer so I decided to change the rear diff fluid on the 22 to Amsoil at 17k miles.

No more vibration...
 
Did you try turning off the hill start assist (or whatever they call it)?

I know it will make a chattering (for lack of a better term) when starting.
I leave it off, never use it..

On a different truck, dealer replaced the rear locker coil. Truck had a shudder when starting and turning. Kept taking it back. Eventually I talked them into checking the preload on the diff carrier bearings. Turns out they were set a little too tight.
 
One other thing to check, the flex plate. They can develop cracks that propagate out from bolt holes and can make all kinds of strange noises.

It seemed common on GM trucks at one time and I've never really heard of it on Rams.
 
Did you try turning off the hill start assist (or whatever they call it)?

I know it will make a chattering (for lack of a better term) when starting.
I leave it off, never use it..

On a different truck, dealer replaced the rear locker coil. Truck had a shudder when starting and turning. Kept taking it back. Eventually I talked them into checking the preload on the diff carrier bearings. Turns out they were set a little too tight.
hill start.. turned off. They have replaced the entire rear carrier.. no change.
 
Going straight forward/backwards from a stop or turning?

Both my 19 and 22 Power Wagons had a vibration when turning from a stop.

Same run around from the dealer so I decided to change the rear diff fluid on the 22 to Amsoil at 17k miles.

No more vibration...
So these Power Wagons dont have clutches in the differential... they are gear driven positrak units... They have replaced the entire rear diff/carrier along with new fluid. they did add friction modifier which I dont understand adding for a unit without clutches. IDK...
 
realizing this is an old thread, I am having the exact same issue with my 2022 (21k miles). It's been the dealer for a week, after just two weeks ago having the rear diff fluid changed which did not correct the problem. They are able to replicate the "shudder" at very low speed with the wheels slightly turned but cannot determine what it is. They have tried "chassis ears" to pin-point the source to no avail, opened up both the front and rear differential and finding zero issues, so now they are citing a TSB to use the additive in the rear diff. Claiming it took care of it but we'll see. I know it won't be coming home until it's perfect again. Has anyone had this additive help in a PW?
 
The additive is for a clutch/disc positrac type of rear. These Piwer Wagons have a helical gear driven posi and should not require any additive.
 
realizing this is an old thread, I am having the exact same issue with my 2022 (21k miles). It's been the dealer for a week, after just two weeks ago having the rear diff fluid changed which did not correct the problem. They are able to replicate the "shudder" at very low speed with the wheels slightly turned but cannot determine what it is. They have tried "chassis ears" to pin-point the source to no avail, opened up both the front and rear differential and finding zero issues, so now they are citing a TSB to use the additive in the rear diff. Claiming it took care of it but we'll see. I know it won't be coming home until it's perfect again. Has anyone had this additive help in a PW?
Let me know what you find out.
 
Let me know what you find out.
They added the magic elixir and I'll get it back Monday after that install the new front driveshaft since the boot on the double cardan joint started throwing grease which I at first thought might be contributing until remembering our trucks have CAD's. The TSB/additive solution doesn't make any sense to me without clutches in the rear end and hasn't really given me a warm fuzzy feeling since they told me, but they did open up and inspect everything so not much more I can ask I guess.

I did verify they are covering everything under the Powertrain warranty which still has a lot of life on it, but could be time to move along from the PW as I don't have much faith in "additive fixes".

Posting on here to see if anyone else had/has this issue with a PW and if the additive resolution held up for them.
 
They added the magic elixir and I'll get it back Monday after that install the new front driveshaft since the boot on the double cardan joint started throwing grease which I at first thought might be contributing until remembering our trucks have CAD's. The TSB/additive solution doesn't make any sense to me without clutches in the rear end and hasn't really given me a warm fuzzy feeling since they told me, but they did open up and inspect everything so not much more I can ask I guess.

I did verify they are covering everything under the Powertrain warranty which still has a lot of life on it, but could be time to move along from the PW as I don't have much faith in "additive fixes".

Posting on here to see if anyone else had/has this issue with a PW and if the additive resolution held up for them.

Did they check the carrier bearing preload? You have to drop the rear driveshaft and pop the rear axle shafts out and put an inch lb wrench on the pinion nut, spin and compare to spec. It will chatter if even slightly tight, especially once warm.
 
Did they check the carrier bearing preload? You have to drop the rear driveshaft and pop the rear axle shafts out and put an inch lb wrench on the pinion nut, spin and compare to spec. It will chatter if even slightly tight, especially once warm.
I don’t believe they did but I’ll inquire about it. Truck was perfect and didn’t do this for first 20k miles with nothing being done or changing.
 
I don’t believe they did but I’ll inquire about it. Truck was perfect and didn’t do this for first 20k miles with nothing being done or changing.
Welp. The magic elixir didn't do jack. Service Advisor went to bring the truck up to me after they called and said it was done and he pulled up, put down the window and said "I think it's still doing it". I hopped in and we both rode around the lot verifying that it was infact unchanged. Made me feel a little better for a brief second that he was visibly, and vocally very upset with the tech that did the repair and said it was fixed. They are going to start looking into it further tomorrow and perhaps it's time to change out parts instead of dumping in some pourage. We'll see if STAR and @RamCares get involved. Truck has been perfect for 21k miles outside of a wonky GPS in carplay, no event occurred, no offroading, just highway miles to and from Colorado this last trip.
 
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