Are the 6-speeds louder than auto

[rmcnamee]

Hello all,

Just picked up my 2003 3500 Quad Cab shortbed 4x4 Laramie with HO/6-speed the other day and it is AWESOME! Much better than my 2001. However I have a few questions regarding trans. noise and vibrations on the floor.



1. When I test drove a 2500 HO/6-speed, the trans seemed pretty quite from inside the truck, but the truck I bought seems kind of loud on the inside of the truck when I'm running down the road over 40 MPH. Is this normal? Aside from the hole in the floor for the shifter, is there less sound insulation on the floor of the manual equiped trucks when compared to the autos? Will adding more insulation help? Could this be caused by low gear oil in the trans. or the clutch/bearing issues others have been posting?



2. There seems to be a lot of vibrations you can feel through the pedals and through the floor. Again, is this normal? If not, what could be cause and what can be done to correct it?



If it's all normal, then I'll just have to get used to it. If not, I'd like to get these things addressed ASAP.



Thanks all,

Ryan

 

[Prairie Dog]

I can't comment on which is louder but the first bomb I did was to insulate all four doors. Went to Home Depot and got 3 bags of 1" thick insulation and a can of spray adhesive. Easy job and it made a significant difference in the amount of road noise I get. Spent maybe $20.

 

[rmcnamee]

Thanks for reply Prairie Dog. What type of insulation did you use? Is it fiberglass?



Ryan

 

[Garry Verheyden]

Ryan,

My dad has the 03 3500 dually 6 spd and my sister has the 03 3500 shortbox auto. I wouldnt say the 6 spd is louder( just different sounding). The only thing that is louder is the tire noise from the extra 2 rear wheels.

The plastic housing around the shifter acts like a drum, increasing the noise a bit. You should remove it and put some sound deadening adheasive on the inside of the plastic and then cut up some pieces of felt underlayment inside the plastic housing, this will make a big improvement.

If you really want quiet, remove the interior and get a 50' roll of torch on roofing. I cut the roofing material into 6" wide strips and heated them up with a tiger torch. I put 3 layers on the floor and two on the walls. My 96 is WAAY quieter than a stock exhaust Dodge. Mine has a 5" exhaust that sounds quiet from inside now.

Garry.

 

[Blakers]

My new truck is louder on the inside at highway speeds than my 95. But I attribute it to it being a Quad cab as opposed to a regular cab. The Quad cab has a lot more surface area exposed to the noise-generating drivetrain than the regular cab.



Blake

 

[Prairie Dog]

Yes it was fiberglass. I found that three packages were just about rite to do the job. Just be carefull with that spray adhesive, it can be he!! to get off plastic.

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by rmcnamee





2. There seems to be a lot of vibrations you can feel through the pedals and through the floor. Again, is this normal? If not, what could be cause and what can be done to correct it?



If it's all normal, then I'll just have to get used to it. If not, I'd like to get these things addressed ASAP.



My '03 3500 longbed HO SWR isn't noisy, even at 75 mph and 2250 rpm. However, I felt buzzing vibrations though the pedals early on. Then, too, a 6-spd will make noise in first gear because it winds up so fast. I have 15k on my truck now and don't think the vibrations are still there. Maybe I've gotten used to it and no longer notice it. Who knows, who cares? It's a great truck!

 

[Ladders]

Just got the "dreaded" clutch noise yesterday for the first time, idling in N. Also have a "squeak" from the clutch pedal when releasing it. Think its one of the joints under the dash.



HoooHum, now I part of the "normal" crowd !!



SOTSU!

\\BF//

 

[CATCRACKER]

my 6spd is as loud as hell. i like the sound of gears meshing. when i first picked up the truck me and my wife where not used to listening to a true heavy duty transmission work. this transmission is a bad mambo jambo

 

[rmcnamee]

Thanks for all the replys everyone. Well, after almost a week and 400+, I've either gotten used to the "normal" noises or everything just needed a little to "break-in" because everything is nice and quite now. Let me close by saying that this truck ROCKS and the 6 speed is the only way to go .



Thanks again,

Ryan

 

[Elite1]

I don't notice it being loud, and I don't get any noticeable vibrations. Might want to check your trans gear case oil. Does any one remember the size of that allen wrench (hex) ? It is a big one.

BTW: my rear end was down almost a QT. it is now about 1/4" below the fill hole.

 

[krabman]

Yea, is that thing huge or what? I stuck a bolt head that matched up into it and turned it with a small pipe wrench. Sometimes you get the feeling they are trying to force you to take it in.

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by krabman

Yea, is that thing huge or what? I stuck a bolt head that matched up into it and turned it with a small pipe wrench. Sometimes you get the feeling they are trying to force you to take it in.

How do you like your BD short shifter? Big diff? Little diff?

 

[krabman]

It seems opinions vary on that, I thought it was a modest but nice improvement. I did swap trucks for a minute with a guy cause he thought his ez might be putting out less than other guys based on their description of the improvement they had and I was taken aback by how much more work it seemed to be to shift his truck compared to mine. So one of those things where you think nice but no big deal until you lose it...

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by krabman

It seems opinions vary on that, I thought it was a modest but nice improvement. I did swap trucks for a minute with a guy cause he thought his ez might be putting out less than other guys based on their description of the improvement they had and I was taken aback by how much more work it seemed to be to shift his truck compared to mine. So one of those things where you think nice but no big deal until you lose it...

Hey, thanks for the quick response! A final question: how do you get the boot off? The directions I saw aren't too clear on that.

 

[krabman]

There is a screw under the passenger side cup holder and under the two bins on the drivers side. Once you pull those screws you can pick up the console a little and reach under and pop the boot out from the bottom. I slid it up and left it on the handle which can then be unscrewed. After that the console can come out. Install time is one beer.

 

[Jeremiah]

Originally posted by krabman

There is a screw under the passenger side cup holder and under the two bins on the drivers side. Once you pull those screws you can pick up the console a little and reach under and pop the boot out from the bottom. I slid it up and left it on the handle which can then be unscrewed. After that the console can come out. Install time is one beer.

Scotch and soda for me. But I get the drift. Hey, thanks!