I have a stock 03 dodge 3500 auto trans with 166k miles
bought it off of a lot about a month ago, i use it to tow a toyota crawler.
maybe a week ago i noticed the truck making a blowing noise or reving louder than normal upon take off. The noise would sort of blend into the normal engine/turbo noise as the truck would hit 45 or 50mph, and then stop. I first experienced this without a load just driving around town and maybe only 10% of the time only on take off.

I thought the problem was a worn serpt belt and or the tentioner.
Replaced the belt first and didnt have any symptoms testing it out, until I hooked up the rig and trailer and started off on a 2 hour tow. As soon as i hit about 60mph getting onto the freeway the blowing noise faded in for about 10 seconds and then stopped. For the rest of the trip any uphill grade would trigger the noise, but not always. When the noise kicks in power is lost. The rpm do not increase as the noise comes in and out, and the noise will escalate with the rpm rise.. Not having many options i continued on making it to the destinations without much trouble just concern.

I made it 3/4 of the way home without any noise. The truck did great even up windy uphills stuck behind traffic. Amazed, i finally said something and 5 seconds later the noise kicked in at a steady rpm on a flat road. Faded in for 5-7 seconds and faded out. I jinxed myself i guess, the problem continued intermittently as i towed through traffic.

The next day i swapped in a new tentioner, and was confident it was the fix after feeling the difference in tension to my old stock one.

No problems for a day or 2 then it pops back up in the last few days but very rarley. Im really frustrated with it at this point and out of my own solutions. I would much appreciate any help or insight as im trying to save from having to take it to a dealer or mechanic, and really hoping its not tranny related or another costly fix.

Anyone else experienced something like this before?

 

Welcome to the DTR.


Do you have a boost or EGT gauge? I'm feeling that this is a boost issue, maybe a bad wastegate. Look over your intercooler boots, see if you have a loose or cracked one.

 

No aftermarket guages yet. Going to look over the boots and clamps asap. Can i check the wastegate?
Thanks for the help this is a great website

 

it sure sounds like the clutch fan is kicking in.

 

That is possible, but the loss of power issue does not sound like a fan clutch.

I do not know how to check a stock wastegate off the top of my head...

 

it all depends i notice it on my stock truck but if i had the 800 ponies your truck puts out i might not. could always try un hooking the fan clutch. what years had issues with the plastic intercoolers i thought it was 04 or 04.5's but its something to check.

 

I thought it might be the fan clutch but it does it when the truck is cold aswell.

 

The clutch can engage hot or cold...

When you say it loses power, do you mean a little, or does it fall on it's face?

Any codes?

 

First make sure yo don't have the AC or Defrost on, that includes the fist position past floor also because it will cause the AC compressor to kick on which in turn will cause the fan to kick in. Do you have any fault codes? Yo can check this by going Key on , key off, key on, key off key on then see if you get any fualt codes displayed. Let us know what you get

 

Sounds exactly like a boot leaking...check the ones coming out of the turbo going into the intercooler...these are notorious for being loose and blowing by, or blowing off...I found out the hard way the first time. Sounded like the fan staying engaged and blowing sound. Took to the dealership and they tightened the boots for $100 deductible. Did it again a few months later, and I removed them and put hairspray on them and then tightened the crap out of them...this held up until mods were added, then I upgraded to the heavy duty boots.

 

im showing a P0483 code... what does this mean?

yea i made sure the defrost is off and ac is off, tranny fluid and ps are also topped off. all of the boots are tight and look to be in good shape. when i say power is lost id estimate 15% loss maybe, but hard to say exactly.

 

Ahh so the computer that controls the fan has failed... So how do i go about fixing this?

 

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=199137
Here is a link to a thread about this code.

 

Had a viscous clutch stick on a Chevy Caprice a few years back. When they fail, it doesn't matter whether its hot or cold, they lock up, solid. Exactly like your TC locking up. Sounded like the largest vacuum cleaner in the world and the hood would start to vibrate. But, it sounds like you have solved your problem

 

When me and a neighbor installed the serp belt he broke the connector plug for the fan and didnt tell me, the plug was still snug but wasn't making a good connection all the time. i used some dielectric grease and taped the connector shut for now, and havnt heard the noise since. So for anyone out there searching, this was my fix..