Mopar Driveshaft Clunk Repair

[RobR651]

Anyone going to skip this and deal with the clunking until they come up with a real solution (assuming it comes out before end of your warranty)??

I’m pretty sure this is their (Stellantis/ Ram) “solution”. Ford did the same thing with a special grease for a slip yoke clunk on trucks as well.

 

[OnTheReel]

Like some guy commented on the YouTube video, a new driveshaft outfitted with a zerk fitting is probably what needs to be done.

Unfortunately I see no way Ram replaces these driveshafts on a large scale. It took them months to even release this fix. And I’m guessing even the driveshafts out of the range are much the same, just with more grease from the factory? Seems like this can has already been kicked down the road.

This is why I try to stop people from having blind faith in car companies. They don’t always get it right, they don’t always fix it right, and they don’t really care. Love the truck, I’ll grease it yearly if I have to, but this is poor design and a worse fix.

 

[rao26]

Unfortunately I see no way Ram replaces these driveshafts on a large scale. It took them months to even release this fix. And I’m guessing even the driveshafts out of the range are much the same, just with more grease from the factory? Seems like this can has already been kicked down the road.

This is why I try to stop people from having blind faith in car companies. They don’t always get it right, they don’t always fix it right, and they don’t really care. Love the truck, I’ll grease it yearly if I have to, but this poor is design and a worse fix.

I fear you’re right. I’m just gonna regrease mine if the problem returns. I did use grease meant for high heat, dusty and wet conditions, and extended grease intervals so we will see how long it lasts. Clamps come off way easier than in the video and weren’t hard to reuse. I got some backups just in case but didn’t need them. No chance I take my truck in to have this “fix” performed now that I see what it is.

 

[wac45]

Mine started the clunk after only 1500 miles or so. Just had the dealer do this "fix" at 2200 miles so we shall see how it lasts. It certainly is smooth now. My hope is they skimped on putting enough lube in there to begin with and with the proper amount applied this will not reoccur. I prefer to think positive but we shall see. I wish I would have seen the video about the boot issue before I took it in though.

 

[Ghost]

Are any of you guys farmers? I’m sold on John Deere lubricants. If I have this issue, I’m gonna try some John Deere lube TY6341.
My money says it’ll greatly outlast the “recommended” lube.

 

[Ghost]

Like some guy commented on the YouTube video, a new driveshaft outfitted with a zerk fitting is probably what needs to be done.

That would work, as long as a lubrication galley is machined in the female end.

 

[Ghost]

This ain’t rocket science. It’s lubri-science.

So, The splines are obviously binding under a load. They may actually wear enough to clearance themselves over a period of time, eliminating the clunk caused by the pre-load.
Perhaps Stellantis is hoping for this. Any higher miles TRXs still having this issue? I’d still go heavy on the grease.

 

[rao26]

Are any of you guys farmers? I’m sold on John Deere lubricants. If I have this issue, I’m gonna try some John Deere lube TY6341.

My money says it’ll greatly outlast the “recommended” lube.”

Not a farmer but I have a Deere 310sl and I’m with you, Deere grease is gonna outlast the white stuff Ram is using.

 

[Nitro]

What are the qualifying build dates?

Vehicles built on or before Feb 21st, 2022. Here's the TSB:

Official Fix to Driveshaft Clunk Issued Bulletin 03-004-22

Finally have an actual issued bulletin for the driveshaft clunk. The same thing we’ve all been doing anyways, but this time it’s approved warranty work.

www.ram-trx.com

 

[rao26]

Vehicles built on or before Feb 21st, 2022. Here's the TSB:

Official Fix to Driveshaft Clunk Issued Bulletin 03-004-22

Finally have an actual issued bulletin for the driveshaft clunk. The same thing we’ve all been doing anyways, but this time it’s approved warranty work.

www.ram-trx.com

Mine was built one day after so technically I don’t qualify but I did have the issue. When I fixed it myself I did have the fancy white grease in there. My issue didn’t pop up until 10k though so maybe it does work a little better.

 

[OCLYFESTYLE]

So a side effect I believe I’m seeing here from now multiple fb TRX group postings is trans nose cone failures. I don’t think anyone has tied the two issue together but a sticking slip joint shaft will most definitely put abnormal force on that point and cause failure. Maybe something Stellantis might want to consider instead of only offering a temporary fix.

 

[AZDinoPwr]

So a side effect I believe I’m seeing here from now multiple fb TRX group postings is trans nose cone failures. I don’t think anyone has tied the two issue together but a sticking slip joint shaft will most definitely put abnormal force on that point and cause failure. Maybe something Stellantis might want to consider instead of only offering a temporary fix.

Interesting and would not surprise me. I brought this point up almost a year ago that we will see excessive wear and eventually damage to other driveline components.

 

[PotterTRX]

 

[RamRex]

Since the rubber boot should be left on couldn't we just take the clamp off slide the boot up and put grease while the d/s is still on the truck?

 

[Termite]

i just rented a 2021 F150 for a road trip in North And South Dakota. The truck had 25k miles on it and in low speed driving while touring the Badlands and Black Hills, the driveline clank was awful. My TRX with 6600 miles is barely noticeable but the Ford shook the truck with each bang of downshift. Even my wife remarked on it…

 

[Eighty]

Fwiw, the TSB was superseded by Rev A on 8/18. The dates of manufacture to which this applies was backed up to 2/5/22.

 

[rao26]

Since the rubber boot should be left on couldn't we just take the clamp off slide the boot up and put grease while the d/s is still on the truck?

You could, but you wouldn’t be able to grease the entire length of the splines. Reclamping would also be a little more difficult at that angle.

 

[wac45]

Fwiw, the TSB was superseded by Rev A on 8/18. The dates of manufacture to which this applies was backed up to 2/5/22.

Kind of odd they changed that. Mine was built 2-16-22 and they just performed this work under warranty this past week. Mine definitely had the clunk but no longer does. (at least for now)

 

[Dayhawk]

I fear you’re right. I’m just gonna regrease mine if the problem returns. I did use grease meant for high heat, dusty and wet conditions, and extended grease intervals so we will see how long it lasts. Clamps come off way easier than in the video and weren’t hard to reuse. I got some backups just in case but didn’t need them. No chance I take my truck in to have this “fix” performed now that I see what it is.

What size clamps are your backups?

 

[rao26]

What size clamps are your backups?

For the smaller side it’s approx 2”. For the larger side it’s approx 2.5” I believe. You can get those pinch clamps from Napa and they’ll cover those sizes. I thought about a worm drive but worried the extra mass on the one side would mess with the balance. I was able to reuse the clamps I took off. Don’t take them off like in the video. Pop them off with a flathead and they come off in about 2 seconds in good shape.