I recently made a post about vibration/whirring noise coming from my driveline. Well, if you read that post, you saw that I took it to the dealer and they discovered a bad u-joint on the drivers side front axle. They charged me $390 and some change to fix it. The service mgr called me after it was done and said they replaced the joint, they took it for another test drive and he said that he swore he still heard the noise. He then proceeded to tell me that he thinks it may be a bad belt in one of my tires, but regardless, the u-joint was bad. The noise resembles nothing of a bad belt in a tire, it has more of a grinding noise than that, it sounds ax though your driving over a rumble strip on the hwy, only not quite as loud.

Anyways, I requested that he leave the bad parts in the truck so I can look at them. The u-joint was absolutely TOAST!! 2 of the 4 caps looks like they never had grease in them from the factory, as the needle bearings were gaulded/rusted to the inside of the cap. Mind you, there is only 40K on my truck and its NEVER seen anything but pavement since day one! Which brings me to my point...why are we paying Over $40K for these trucks when they start falling apart at 40K miles? And I know im not the only one...ive read numerous posts regarding ball joint replacements, wheel bearing replacements, etc. etc. The only thing I can rely on to get me down the road on this whole truck is the tried and true 5.9.

Some may think this is over the top, but when you spend good money on something, you expect quality, not junk. I will be writing a letter to Chrysler and attaching pictures of the failed part so they can see what kind of product they are putting on the market, call me crazy, but im ******!

In the meantime, I guess I'll have to diagnose my own problems, as the dealer obviously cannot.

end rant/

 

your writing chrysler about ujoints at 40k? lol if you only had my truck. its basically been completely rebuilt at 83k....chrysler has done NOTHING for me as of yet!

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble. You are doing better than some others on this forum... and you're way ahead of my previous (different brand) trucks.

Hopefully this is the last of your trouble for a while.

 

yep and ppl wonder why the big three are lossing out to toyato. when the yato comes out with a diesel good bye dodge and the great cummins and hello better quialty truck

 

I only paid $10,300 for mine. I let someone else take the big deprecative hit.

However, the owner of a low mileage, NEW truck should not have to be footing the bill for something under warranty. That sure seems the be the latest trends. Charge folks to repair items under warranty. Just doesn't make sence.

 

Heard that, when yota comes out with their diesel, i'll definately be looking at them, HARD.

 

Have you TRIED talking to Chrysler about it? Alot of people complain that their trucks are junk, but never seem to open their mouths about it. The dealer wont and cant do anything for you. Maybe if people started to stand up and voice their concerns, something MAY be done about it, not saying for sure, but it never hurts to try...

 

not to sound insensitive, but you will be lucky if someone even reads it. they aren't even worth a stamp. the only thing Chrysler responds to is legal action.

welcome to Chrysler. I drove a $48,000 truck for its first 2500 miles with no brake lights.

 

No insensitivety taken...The more I think about it, I think your prediction will likely be the outcome. Hence the reason this truck will be the last Chrysler product I ever own, when this truck goes, im going back to the foreign auto market.

 

I wouldn't jump ship over u-joints.

Chrysler doesn't care, my most recent dealings with their "corporate owner retention department" which translates to "3rd party arbitration company" went like this:

hello sir, I am calling about your truck, the Ram?
right, who do you work for and what are you calling to offer me?
I am with Impartial Services (or something) we work with Chrysler
again, what are you calling to offer me?
well sir, I am calling to follow up with your most recent service experience
have you not been given notification that I filed legal proceedings a month ago? My attorney, Mike Power has been in contact with Chrysler.
then sir, I am no longer allowed to assist you
as I am well aware, good day

(phone rings 2 minutes later)

sir who did you say your attorney is?
as I just said, MIKE POWER
and you retained him when?
as I just said, a month ago
oh my
(click)

you really do take a gamble when you buy any truck, I feel that owning a good 5.9 should offset minor problems like u-joints, I dealt with numerous minor problems with my '04. nothing is going to be perfect. 3rd gen CTDs have a pretty nice drivetrain compared to the new Tundra if that's what you had in mind. yes they're fast, but read about the engine/transmission/driveshaft and now 4wd issues.

 

yes ive been on the phone with chrysler tons of times over the past 2-3 years. i'll never buy another chrysler product. i'll run this one into the ground which...at this rate...wont be that long.

 

Too bad chrysler has nothing to do with building the front end, its not a Dodge thing, Ford having a similar front axle has the same problems with u joints, wheel bearings and ball joints. The real crime is how much the dealers charge to do simple repairs, talked to a guy last night that was charged $300 labor to change a fuel pump on his chevy pickup, 4 bolts, two lines and 1 electrical connector for a grand total of 1/2 hours worth of work for $300 is totally uncalled for. I'm glad I do all my own work.

 

A little off topic but I want to see these $40k+ trucks. What options do you have to add to get the price that high? My '05 was $34k out the door with every option available except leather. (which I added later for $600 with heaters) Just curious.

 

so far both our trucks have been problem free. both trucks have 45k+. the '05 has seen severe off road use, from chasing for a desert race team to doing the miller's jeep slide in frazier park,ca. i do all my own maint. have not seen problems. what symptoms start showing up? i'm not saying these trucks are perfect by anymeans but i'm a fleet mechanic with lots of fords which you couldn't give me. every manufacturer has its problems, you just have to pick which problems you are going to deal with...........

 

The front U-Joints in these trucks would probably last forever if they just put selectable hubs in them. That being said a bad U-Joint is really pretty minor. Hopefully your grinding isn’t a big issue either.