dodgediesel98

Hi everyone! I have my 98 2500 4x4 5 spd w/ the 12 valver and i am geting a very lound bang/clunk out of the rear suspension when going over large bumps. I also have a thud out of the drivetrain or rear end when taking off. I all of this has just recently started and is progressivly getting worse, i believe it is also realted to my highway speed vibration. I have newer rancho 9000x shocks that are about 7months old. My rear springs have the aux. spring with the camper and tow package. I have measured the distance between the bump stop and aux. spring and it is only 3/4 of an in. My 2001 has the camper package and the distance between the aux. spring and stop on the 01 is something like 3in. Does anyone know if there were diff. springs used between 98-2001 or is something seriously wrong with the 98? I have checked for broken springs but all seems well. hard the tell if any are craked or it is just the rust lines. anyone with this same problem? I am maybe leaning toward worn out bushings but doesn't seem like that would make up the difference in measurement. If anyone can take a measurement from thier 98 camper package spring or has any idea's please help! this is really getting annoying going across bridges and sounding like the rear end is gonna break off the truck.

Bill D.

KATOOM

First I would check all the rear shock mounts. I hear they come loose and cause a clunking sound when going over bumps. Possibly a worn bushing but I would think you could see the difference when comparing both sides. Does it do it when there is some weight in the bed? As for the clunk when taking off, is it the same exact noise as going over bumps? Because your driving vibration could be related to the same clunk as when you take off. Check the drive shaft for any u-joint play and especially check the part of the driveshaft that slides into the transfer case. If the slip is worn it causes a bind and release when taking off from stops. Possibly causing a vibration too. Hope this helps.

Mopar1973man

As for the springs... The helper might be hitting the stops over bumps and the front tips might be hit on the take off...

This was very common on my 1972 3/4 Ton Dodge P/U it had over 200,000+ and the spring would bang over a bump or tips would hit on a power take off... Very annoying...

Firefighter22

I had the same prob with my 2001 2500 4x4. As I inspected the u joints it was the culprit. Good luck. The only hanger bearing I could find was from dodge and a pricey one at that. I would suggest replacing all of them and putting on some heavy duty ones with greaserts. I haven't had any more problems since i did that at about 70,000.