Noise in rear suspension area

[wcaldwell]

When I drive over a speed bump or some other sudden lift in the road, like when asphalt has risen adjacent to a stretch of concrete roadway, I hear a thump-type sound, like a flexing of sheetmetal. Anyone else with this situation? Is it the shocks going soft allowing the rear overload springs to hit on the underside of the frame below the bed? I have the normal 4-pack springs and then the 2 overload springs. It does it even unloaded. There's are shiny spots on the frame where the overloads are tagging the frame.



I've never had a truck with this kind of power or load-handling ability and just want to be sure everything is alright.



Thanks for any and all help and advice.



Wayne

<IXOYE><

 

[DStevenson]

Same thing happens to my truck. It also has the overload springs. Do you have a receiver in the hitch when this happens? I normally run with a receiver in or the warn shackle bracket in there and thought maybe the speedbump was jumping that around also to contribute to the noise.

 

[BRobertson]

noise

I traced the noise in mine to the rear sway bar bushings. They would bind when going over a bump, usually diagonally.

I replaced the factory rubber bushings with greaseable urethane ones from Energy Suspension purchased from Summit.

Problem solved!!

 

[sewman]

Is your spare tire tight?

Bob

 

[Ram_Kowboy]

I'll bet what your hearing is the overload springs making contact with the frame bracket. I think most of the trucks with overload springs have the same problem.



I seem to remember a guy reducing the noise by sliding some thick rubber over the brackets and using a hose clamp to keep them in place. The rubber was purchased at the hardware store. Used in plumbing to splice two pipe connections. Seems like the process was described quite well in a TDR journal around 1998.



Good Luck,

RK

 

[JimP]

Overload springs

I used to own a 96 Ram 2500, and now I have a 2001. 5 with the camper special package, and both of them have frame brackets installed with rubber bushings, or covers to prevent overloads from contacting frame. Could your rubber insulaters be missing from the brackets.



JimP.

 

[Matt42]

Re: noise

Originally posted by BRobertson

I traced the noise in mine to the rear sway bar bushings. They would bind when going over a bump, usually diagonally.

I replaced the factory rubber bushings with greaseable urethane ones from Energy Suspension purchased from Summit.

Problem solved!!

Do you have a part number from Energy Suspension?

Thx.

 

[SlyBones]

A while ago I thought I read about a TSB for the overload springs and Dodge sells a kit for upgrading the frame brackets, or something like that.

 

[Matt42]

Originally posted by SlyBones

A while ago I thought I read about a TSB for the overload springs and Dodge sells a kit for upgrading the frame brackets, or something like that.

That would also be good.

 

[wcaldwell]

The rubber isolators are still there. I don't run with a ball-hitch in the receiver. I can live with the noise - I didn't want to be tearing something up. I have to keep this truck for boucoup years - so I wanted to be sure everything was alright.



I guess I can check into the newer bushings and possibly other upgrades- maybe next summer after child support is finished and the car is paid off.

 

[BRobertson]

bushings

The part # 9. 5161R the R indicates red. They are available in red, blue, and black.

It took about 1/2 hour to install



Bob

 

[JGK]

Bushings

Bob,



How did you determine it was your bushings?



Thanks,

Jay

 

[SlyBones]

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/tsb/2000/02-04-00.htm



Here is what I was thinking of. Not quite the same.

 

[BRobertson]

bushings

JGK



I loosened the factory bushing brackets SLIGHTLY and the noise stopped. Mine would make noise almost exclusively when going diagonally across a bump or transition from parking lot to road.

Bob The new bushings were approx $15. 00