2001 Dodge V10 U joints

[coastalcruiser]

I have this truck that has a strange kind of noise like the ujoints are gone
have a manual and they cant be greased otherwise I would have done that
seems to happen after it gets hot lets say i stop for gas, the truck shudders and jerks when you take a corner.
maybe its the differential? not sure how to diagnose it.

 

[sportsmanphil]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

If its doing this when you corner, Id say its the limited slip.

Drive it and get it hot, jack up the rear axle (both tires off the ground and trans in park) spin one tire and see if the other tire turns in the other direction.

Also might wanna check your fluid level. Some dip ***** at Dodge decided it would be a good idea to put a thin rubber plug in the diff cover. They leak, always have always will.

Pull that rubber plug and the diff fluid level should be just below the fill hole.

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

Climb underneath and do visual inspection of the U-joints. make sure the caps are not cracked and make sure the U-joint is sitting in the yolks uniformly.

You can also park the truck on level ground and block the front and back of a tire. Then with the truck NOT RUNNING, climb under and turn the driveshaft back and forth to check for play, observing how the U-joints behave.

Is it 4WD?? You may wanna check out the CV joints in the front. You never mentioned if it shudders through the steering wheel.

 

[jimr]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

I would not doubt the ujoints are setting up in it. I would also make sure its Not in 4 wheel drive

 

[Shrub88]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

seems to happen after it gets hot lets say i stop for gas, the truck shudders and jerks when you take a corner.

That is the classic symptom for clutch chatter in your limited slip rear axle. The clutches have a certain amount of preload on them and a special additive is used along with the gear oil to allow the clutches to slip smoothly when taking a sharp corner. As the miles rack up and the oil additive degrades, the clutches will no longer want to slip smoothly and will catch and grab then release and this is the shuddering you are feeling. Unless your rear axle has been recently serviced, I would go to your dealer and get 2 bottles of the limited slip additive, drain the rear axle and refill with some Mobil 1 75W-90 or if you tow heavy, 75W-140, along with the additive. Make sure you can get the fill plug loose before draining the rear end. Not sure if your rear has a drain plug, if not just pull the rear cover (will need a gasket if you do or can make one from RTV). Will probably need 4 quarts of lube. Put 2 quarts in, then put the additive in, and then top off till the level is just below the bottom of the fill hole. After you get it done, go to a parking lot and make several figure 8's at low speeds and this will work the additive through the clutches and hopefully it will be nice and smooth again.

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

shrub88 I will definitely do the oil change.
Jimr and itsaboattime its a 2wd sorry should have posted that.
I will post back for sure after I get the diff oil change done.
Thanks guys,
Rob

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: 2001 Dodge V10 U joints

That is the classic symptom for clutch chatter in your limited slip rear axle. The clutches have a certain amount of preload on them and a special additive is used along with the gear oil to allow the clutches to slip smoothly when taking a sharp corner. As the miles rack up and the oil additive degrades, the clutches will no longer want to slip smoothly and will catch and grab then release and this is the shuddering you are feeling. Unless your rear axle has been recently serviced, I would go to your dealer and get 2 bottles of the limited slip additive, drain the rear axle and refill with some Mobil 1 75W-90 or if you tow heavy, 75W-140, along with the additive. Make sure you can get the fill plug loose before draining the rear end. Not sure if your rear has a drain plug, if not just pull the rear cover (will need a gasket if you do or can make one from RTV). Will probably need 4 quarts of lube. Put 2 quarts in, then put the additive in, and then top off till the level is just below the bottom of the fill hole. After you get it done, go to a parking lot and make several figure 8's at low speeds and this will work the additive through the clutches and hopefully it will be nice and smooth again.

I changed the oil, used 3 liters of Castrol 75-90 and 4 oz of the Dodge additive took it out and happy to report its as smooth as silk!!!
Thank you!!!
It did have a rear drain plug, but I took the cover off anyway and cleaned the magnet off and sprayed the inside with solvent moped up the old black oil, painted the outside of the cover, and used grey RTV There was no gasket. The Additive was 12 bucks! Wonder why it cost so much?
Thanks for the reply shrub88!