[NeilG]

Ok, one more thing I noticed in my new to me durango.

Its an 03 SLT with the 4.7 and 4x4..156,000 miles.

Going slow in a parking lot, when you turn to one side or the other it happens. Going straight it does not happen. It seems to go away as speed picks up. It happens in neutral and in drive. sounds like it is coming from the back of the vehicle.

Now to describe it....its not a grind...its sort of a whine...the frequency wavers up and down even as speed remains constant....again only when turning. not super loud but its there. Does this sound like a differential issue?

Thanks again,
Neil

 

[valiant67]

Sounds a bit like the issue I'm having with my 99 Dakota, sort of a wooo-wooo-wooo from the rear when turning slowly in parking lot maneuvers. I'll assume your Durango also has the 9.25" Chrysler rear axle. These were bulletproof axles but in the late-90s they lost that reputation. I've got a spare axle to swap in mine, but who knows if it will be better or not.

 

[ImperialCrown]

If you haven't done so already, I would treat the drivetrain to a complete fluid change.
The fluid conditions coming out of the unit should be noted, The differential cover may have a chip magnet to clean. If it is a limited-slip 'posi' differential, you will want to add a small bottle of Friction Modifier to the fresh hypoid oil.
Use quality fluids. Mopar has synthetic 75W-140 (for towing) or synthetic 75W-90 (standard duty) hypoid oils. Use ATF+4 in the transmission and transfer case. The covers are reinstalled using orange RTV (there is a special axle RTV, some RTV's will breakdown when exposed to hypoid oil or other types of RTV) and leak.
Pinion bearings turn about 3 times faster than the carrier bearings, so can be easily heard at low (parking lot) speeds. The carrier bearings may start a low growl above ~25 mph. Neither should be affected by turns, that may be the 'posi' clutches or side/spider gears. Least common, but still possible is a scored gear tooth finish can make a howl at certain speeds that will change in pitch with a change in speed.

 

[NeilG]

Sounds a bit like the issue I'm having with my 99 Dakota, sort of a wooo-wooo-wooo from the rear when turning slowly in parking lot maneuvers. I'll assume your Durango also has the 9.25" Chrysler rear axle. These were bulletproof axles but in the late-90s they lost that reputation. I've got a spare axle to swap in mine, but who knows if it will be better or not.

I live near a "pull it yourself" junkyard and I can get the whole rear for about 75 bucks, but like you said who knows if it would be any better....rebuilding one seems a bit daunting but Ive done rebuilds on engines plenty, and transmissions on motorcycles, etc....
I guess if I get to the point where I think its gonna blow up, I could always get one from the junk yard and rebuild THAT one at my leisure and have it ready...the downside would be changing the whole rear end....

 

[NeilG]

If you haven't done so already, I would treat the drivetrain to a complete fluid change.
The fluid conditions coming out of the unit should be noted, The differential cover may have a chip magnet to clean. If it is a limited-slip 'posi' differential, you will want to add a small bottle of Friction Modifier to the fresh hypoid oil.
Use quality fluids. Mopar has synthetic 75W-140 (for towing) or synthetic 75W-90 (standard duty) hypoid oils. Use ATF+4 in the transmission and transfer case. The covers are reinstalled using orange RTV (there is a special axle RTV, some RTV's will breakdown when exposed to hypoid oil or other types of RTV) and leak.
Pinion bearings turn about 3 times faster than the carrier bearings, so can be easily heard at low (parking lot) speeds. The carrier bearings may start a low growl above ~25 mph. Neither should be affected by turns, that may be the 'posi' clutches or side/spider gears. Least common, but still possible is a scored gear tooth finish can make a howl at certain speeds that will change in pitch with a change in speed.

when turning a good bit like in a parking lot, one rear wheel begins to rotate at a different speed then the other...thats when the noise happens....thats got to be the tip off for something.
The pitch wavers at a constant speed, but the range that it wavers in increases with speed if that makes any sense.
Straight line is quiet so i guess thats good....and obviously, im not going to be making a sharp turn at 60 mph....so maybe it will hold up a while.

Thanks for the advice about the fluids....will do that for sure as I have a small bayliner that I will be towing with this truck from time to time. Not to mention I will be driving it down the beach a mile or two about a dozen times a year.