The infamous clunk

[MakeAutosGasAgain]

I got banned from a FB TRX group for saying this . I feel bad for the people that get sucked into their bullshit over there.

You're not kidding. Someone on there tried picking a fight with me just b/c I was curious how their design is different. It's like a cult.

 

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I’ve had the driveline replaced once, and the clunk came back. After that they did the lube job. My guess is as temperatures warm up it will return. Honestly the easiest “fix” is the lube job every oil change.

 

[dubwingate]

I've had two TRX's and neither had a true "clunk". In my first truck I could feel what seemed like a "settling" or slight grab when coming to a full stop or from stop to start of acceleration. My sense is there could be some relationship with this "clunk" to how aggressively the truck is accelerated or "launched" and how aggressively you brake or come to a stop. Just my intuition that there is some type of connection the aggressiveness to starting and stopping and the clunk developing...thoughts??

 

[ksmopars]

So, driving with the wife the other day and came to a stop and we both felt the clunk. I have to admit, my 2023 with only 6k miles on it, i heard everyone feeling/hearing it around the 5k mark I thought I was going to be able to dodge this bullet. One of the CORE reasons I sold my Jeep SRT was because the clunk was so bad I just stopped driving it and sold it.

I am hoping a fix will eventually come, the dealership will need it "for a few days" to find out what is going on with it.

Any thoughts before I hand the keys over to a dealership to "diagnose" this issue?

Thank you for your thoughts.

There is TSB to separate the rear drive shaft, add special molly lube and re-assembly. Have done this plenty of times

 

[wac45]

I've had two TRX's and neither had a true "clunk". In my first truck I could feel what seemed like a "settling" or slight grab when coming to a full stop or from stop to start of acceleration. My sense is there could be some relationship with this "clunk" to how aggressively the truck is accelerated or "launched" and how aggressively you brake or come to a stop. Just my intuition that there is some type of connection the aggressiveness to starting and stopping and the clunk developing...thoughts??

They fixed my clunk twice, once with the lube kit and once with a new driveshaft. My driving is all city driving and is not aggressive in the least so I don't think that is the main factor. I suspect it is the number of start/stops over a period of time, and as others have mentioned the warmer weather seems to have an impact. If someone could prove, and warranty, that their driveshaft permanently eliminated the clunk I would be all in on that but I'm not aware that anyone has done that. In the meantime, periodic lubing seems to be the solution.

 

[dubwingate]

They fixed my clunk twice, once with the lube kit and once with a new driveshaft. My driving is all city driving and is not aggressive in the least so I don't think that is the main factor. I suspect it is the number of start/stops over a period of time, and as others have mentioned the warmer weather seems to have an impact. If someone could prove, and warranty, that their driveshaft permanently eliminated the clunk I would be all in on that but I'm not aware that anyone has done that. In the meantime, periodic lubing seems to be the solution.

right....
So what exactly is causing the "clunk" sound? What component or connection? Has it ever been definitively determined? After 3-4 years are we still just guessing and throwing lube at it?

 

[Eighty]

right....
So what exactly is causing the "clunk" sound? What component or connection? Has it ever been definitively determined? After 3-4 years are we still just guessing and throwing lube at it?

Well, you know what they say...

When in doubt, lube your shaft and dive in

 

[skygoneblue]

So, driving with the wife the other day and came to a stop and we both felt the clunk. I have to admit, my 2023 with only 6k miles on it, i heard everyone feeling/hearing it around the 5k mark I thought I was going to be able to dodge this bullet. One of the CORE reasons I sold my Jeep SRT was because the clunk was so bad I just stopped driving it and sold it.

I am hoping a fix will eventually come, the dealership will need it "for a few days" to find out what is going on with it.

Any thoughts before I hand the keys over to a dealership to "diagnose" this issue?

Thank you for your thoughts.

My dealership lubricated the spline as a warranty repair. It's a pretty common issue, no need for them to diagnose for days. Take this in with you and they'll take care of it.

 

[dubwingate]

Well, you know what they say...

When in doubt, lube your shaft and dive in

yeah...yeah...i get it. but seriously. how is this not figured out.....

 

[wac45]

right....
So what exactly is causing the "clunk" sound? What component or connection? Has it ever been definitively determined? After 3-4 years are we still just guessing and throwing lube at it?

I think RAM knows what the actual cause is, hard to believe that they don't. My guess is the cost for a proper repair is not something that Ram wants to deal with and since it is not a safety issue they can just skirt the issue entirely.

There are a number of threads on this issue, do a search and you will find several theories on the actual cause.

 

[deanarmbrust]

I've had two TRX's and neither had a true "clunk". In my first truck I could feel what seemed like a "settling" or slight grab when coming to a full stop or from stop to start of acceleration. My sense is there could be some relationship with this "clunk" to how aggressively the truck is accelerated or "launched" and how aggressively you brake or come to a stop. Just my intuition that there is some type of connection the aggressiveness to starting and stopping and the clunk developing...thoughts??

I have the exact same thing. It feels like the brakes grab slightly right before the actual stop. Is this the driveshaft clunk that actually causes this? If so, I must already have the clunk as well with only 1,200 miles!

 

[Marz]

A staff member at dealership here in the ATL area took my truck on a 10 mile “test drive” after a repair. I saw it on my tracker app and called my salesman who investigated. The worker got fired but I lost trust permanently

I'm here in ATL also, which dealership was it, so I know to avoid? I've been to 2 here and 1 in FL about the clunk, and each time they kept it for days and told me that they were unable to "replicate the problem" therefore weren't going to fix something they can't find, regardless if I told them exactly what the issue was and how many other people are dealing with it. I have one last appt on Monday for an oil change and basically demand that they lubricate the drive shaft and I'll start doing it myself from there on.

 

[Marz]

My dealership lubricated the spline as a warranty repair. It's a pretty common issue, no need for them to diagnose for days. Take this in with you and they'll take care of it.

amazing, thank you for this

 

[AZDinoPwr]

For all the new folks to the forum, if you use the search feature you will find multiple other threads on this issue with thousands of previous posts. It has all been investigated at length, including input from RamCares, videos of the issue happening from under the truck, the testing of various grease formulations by members, etc. I would recommend reading some more before trying to redo everything that has already been done.

We know it’s the slip yoke binding. We know greasing the slip yoke temporarily fixes it. We know it is accelerated in hot climates. Stellantis admits that it isn’t suppose to happen but doesn’t have a permanent fix. So far no one has conclusively demonstrated any permanent fix, including new driveshafts. As summer starts I’m sure threads like this will flare up again a lot.

 

[AmosMoses]

For all the new folks to the forum, if you use the search feature you will find multiple other threads on this issue with thousands of previous posts. It has all been investigated at length, including input from RamCares, videos of the issue happening from under the truck, the testing of various grease formulations by members, etc. I would recommend reading some more before trying to redo everything that has already been done.

We know it’s the slip yoke binding. We know greasing the slip yoke temporarily fixes it. We know it is accelerated in hot climates. Stellantis admits that it isn’t suppose to happen but doesn’t have a permanent fix. So far no one has conclusively demonstrated any permanent fix, including new driveshafts. As summer starts I’m sure threads like this will flare up again a lot.

I haven't perused the 5thgen forums much but do they have the same issue or is it TRX specific?

 

[AZDinoPwr]

I haven't perused the 5thgen forums much but do they have the same issue or is it TRX specific?

They do but less pronounced because of the suspension geometry

 

[Quietpeen]

I haven't perused the 5thgen forums much but do they have the same issue or is it TRX specific?

it is definitely not TRX specific and not even 5th gen specific. My 2016 Ram had it.

 

[IdahoKTM]

it is definitely not TRX specific and not even 5th gen specific. My 2016 Ram had it.

My 2008 Tundra had it. Similar to the TRX clunk, it only happened to my truck in the summer. Even the beloved Tacoma has the clunk. The fix? Yep, just like the TRX, grease the slip yoke splines every 5-6,000 miles.

Small "Clunk" when accellerating from dead...

www.tundratalk.net

 

[KJY_62SC]

Mine has been at the dealer roughly 4 times for it. Got the kit done and it came back a few K miles later. Last time they said it needed a software update and that did absolutely nothing. I'm out of warranty now and I was told this isn't part of the powertrain warranty. Was told TSB's aren't covered if you are out of warranty but dealer would look to help me out. I honestly hate the clunk and kills the driving experience for me. It's like having a cooler in the bed that slides around. @RamCares is zero help.

 

[Marz]

it is definitely not TRX specific and not even 5th gen specific. My 2016 Ram had it.

my '22 3500 did it as well, figured it was the rigid tow package suspension. As long as the bottom isn't going to fall out, I guess I'll deal with it symptomatically...