Gear Whine AAM 11.5

[nukegm]

I wasn't there in the actual inspection, but the tech showed me the wear pattern on the ring and pinion which indicated incorrect alignment. I'm sure he checked for FCA, because of the cost of the repair. I'm surprized FCA just didn't send a complete assembly. Instead they sent the assembly in pieces, which the tech had to rebuild. The diff was never opened due to only 14K miles on it.

i find it strange too, that they didnt supply a complete assembly. most dealers and shops couldnt set up a rear end to save their life. it is becoming a " lost art " cheers comrade!

 

[Ozymandias]

Never ever had easier Axles to set up then the AAM.
And they are quiet, totally quiet.

 

[Big MAK]

Never ever had easier Axles to set up then the AAM.
And they are quiet, totally quiet.

That’s good to know - so why do all 11.5 from FCA whine? Some a lot some a little.

I’m glad to hear they can/should be quiet since if I’m stuck with it I need to have it repaired with parts that aren’t sourced from FCA.

Lemon law hearing one week from today.

 

[Learjet]

If i have the radio off and the AC fan on low, i can hear a very very low coast whine....none while accelerating or cruising. Normal people would not even notice this in my truck

 

[Ozymandias]

I wouldn't accept a vehicle with an axle whine, no matter which brand or weight class.

No way.

 

[caterpillar345]

@Big MAK @Ozymandias Thought I'd second the problem. I'm the new second owner of a 2003 3500 6spd NV5600 w/ 11.5 AAM axle (see signature). It has approximately 105k miles. I've got a persistent whine that seems to be the same issue - it increases with wheel speed and is only there under throttle. Very noticeable at 60-65 MPH in 6th gear, 40-45 in 5th gear, 20-25 in 4th gear.

I intend to make a separate post about it in the 3rd gen forum and see if anyone can provide insight. Gotta figure out what to do to fix it...

 

[sag2]

Thanks for the replies. At this point the dealer(s) refuse to work on it. Went into lemon law proceedings, accepted a buy back offer they made 2 days before the hearing, FCA refused to honor their offer after they took all the cash from me they could and had tricked us into cancelling the hearing (we were honoring the offer and lowering the loan principal), FCA told me to hire an attorney, I hired an attorney, new lemon law hearing scheduled.

I know I can fix it myself by replacing the internals but at this point it's about FCA doing everything they can to screw me over. I'd be 100% ok with fixing it myself if FCA paid for the parts and didn't void the rest of the vehicle's warranty when I fixed it. Which was the objective of my original post. Well... I WAS ok with it. Now it's time to fight.

The truck hasn't been driven for over a month because FCA is charging me 67 cents a mile to drive it on top of loan payments, etc. I.e. on the buyback they claim I have to pay 67 cents per mile for usage.

So we bought another car because I didn't want them to have me over the barrel with no vehicle to drive - and the use penalty just driving it to work is $25 per day. Paying "rental fees" on a vehicle you are making payments on blows my mind.

Meanwhile, we have no truck to tow our RV with - which we were prepping for a long trip in 2020 (Alaska). Now plans are canceled, we're older and not sure if we will be healthy enough for a trip like that in a few years, everything is f'd. It's also the reason the excessive gear whine is a problem - we bought the truck specifically to have a dependable vehicle to take into far northern back country. If I can't rely on it, I can't take it into the back country. If the gearset is grinding away on smooth city highways there's no way it'd survive thousands of miles on tore up dirt roads.

This has been a massively expensive fiasco that is making me ill.

I'm still a huge fan of Cummins. And of Jeep/Wrangler. Sorely disappointed in FCA.

You might want to make a copy of the Nebraska Lemon Law to have when you go to the hearing. First, the usage fee only applies to the first repair attempt (for the concern they can't fix). So you are required to pay only to first repair and nothing after until the issue is resolved. In CA the use fee is total purchase price including all tax and registration, divided by 120,000, times the miles driven to first repair. Nebraska does not give a specific number like CA does, but for a $75,000 purchase price it is about $0.63 per mile in CA so you are not far off. I also don't understand how they made an offer to repurchase (it has to be in writing) and then tricked you. It sounds more like they offered a "cash and keep" where they give you money and you keep the truck as is to repair yourself, sell, or live with.
Also not sure why you purchased another car unless you really needed it. The taxes and depreciation on a new car probably exceed what the mileage charge would have been even if they did charge for all miles.
If you hired an attorney I'm shocked they have not already advised you of the above, and saved you the purchase of another car. I think I would be just as upset with the attorney for not advising you of your rights.
As far as fixing it yourself, you could have just quietly went off and repaired it yourself, the dealer or FCA would have never known unless you told them. The axle was already repaired, so no one could have said for certain if the repair you did was not the repair the dealer did. They just are not that smart. And you would still have any remaining warranty. Again, I'm not sure how it all went south unless you told the dealer or FCA what you planned to do.
And finally, if it isn't repaired, the dealer can't "refuse to work on it" if it still is under warranty and the problem can be verified. If it is in the shop being repaired, it just adds to the days down, and when you hit 30 days they have an obligation to repurchase.
Good luck, hope it all works out for you.

 

[Big MAK]

Yea bought the second vehicle so if the truck went back we’d have something to drive, added benefit of keeping the miles off the truck. We would have had a second vehicle eventually just wasn’t planning on it this year.

I didn’t quietly fix it myself because I had an “I can’t take it anymore” moment(s). Tired of eating the effects of companies bad choices without pushing back.

The situation has concluded amicably enough. Per the settlement I cannot talk about it specifically. All I can say is it’ll be fixed and not a lot of cost added on my side, so I’ll thank FCA for that.

Thanks for the insights, I’ll be working my way thru some of them.

 

[sag2]

Glad to hear your satisfied. In my experience FCA does try and do the right thing. Many times the dealer gets in the way of that happening quickly.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

If i have the radio off and the AC fan on low, i can hear a very very low coast whine....none while accelerating or cruising. Normal people would not even notice this in my truck

I have a 2018 I bought new in March. I've been given the run around by my dealer to the point they acknowledged the noise but say they refuse to fix it! Mine has a whine on coast and started at 8K miles. I spent a hour and 18 minutes on the phone today with FCA Customer care. I now have a case number and my issue was assigned to a review board? Suppose to find out something in a day or two. Also had a radio software issue they couldn't fix so they ordered a new radio that was suppose to be here this past Monday, it didn't no radio on Tuesday. Now they can't tell me when it will be here. Not impressed with FCA. My last 07 had 385K no issues, my 95 had 335K no issues.

 

[RVTRKN]

Has the dealer at least opened up the rear diff to confirm the wear pattern is normal. Setup your signature, so we can see your vehicle information or post it.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Has the dealer at least opened up the rear diff to confirm the wear pattern is normal. Setup your signature, so we can see your vehicle information or post it.

Yes they changed the rear end fluid this past Friday. Didn't help.

 

[Ozymandias]

Yes they changed the rear end fluid this past Friday. Didn't help.

I've never seen a mechanical problem disappear with a fluid change - but I know that with new fluid I can hide a worn or not properly set up gearset for around 500 miles till it starts whine again.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Well as I type,I'm on the phone with FCA. Checking on any progress.

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Well my case representative, Alex, called, might as well been a pre recorded message. His advice? For me to take it to a different dealer and maybe they will want to do the warranty work. Said it over and over. Never mind the dealer I bought it from and took it to. Had me take one of their techs for a ride so I could show him the whine, I did, he acknowledged the noise. But Service MGR. said it was to minor and wouldn't do anything about it!

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Well I took my truck to Jim Browne Chrysler in Dade City Fl. What a pleasant turn of events. I talked to Gene Sladkin the Service MGR. He had a mechanic ride with but started our conversation with,"I have a good idea whats going on". When e returned the mechanic that went with stated I hear it, lets go back. He talked with Gene, then Gene told me he was going to order a new rear end for me and then went on to say I'm going to put you in a rental till we get it done at no cost to me! What a different atmosphere. To say I was surprised would be a understatement. The dealer I bought it from treated me like a dog and here this dealership treated me as royalty.
I let you know how it all turns out.

 

[Cummins12V98]

THAT is how I have been treated at Crystal Chrysler in Cathredal city, CA near PalmSprings. AWESOME!!!

 

[SGBARRACUDA]

Well I got the call yesterday to pick up the truck. They said they couldn't do the radio warranty since FCA already sent a new one to the dealership in Ga. Guess I still have to deal with Jeff Smith one more time. I can't say enough about how well I was treated by Jim Browne Chrysler in Dade City Fl. Supplied me with a free rental for 10 days and warrantied the rear end with no problem. Also want to say Thank You to Gene Sladkin there for taking care of me. Now back to Jeff Smith in Pery Ga. on Monday for the radio.

 

[Big MAK]

That's awesome! So glad to hear they actually took steps to fix yours for you. Hopefully more people can get that quality customer service for this otherwise awesome truck.

 

[Ozymandias]

Well I got the call yesterday to pick up the truck. They said they couldn't do the radio warranty since FCA already sent a new one to the dealership in Ga. Guess I still have to deal with Jeff Smith one more time. I can't say enough about how well I was treated by Jim Browne Chrysler in Dade City Fl. Supplied me with a free rental for 10 days and warrantied the rear end with no problem. Also want to say Thank You to Gene Sladkin there for taking care of me. Now back to Jeff Smith in Pery Ga. on Monday for the radio.

I guess the gear whine is gone now?