Brubro67

You may be on to something! I am still having the same noise, no rhyme or reason. After reading your post, I moved that cover around, and there is a significant amount of movement. The noise has subsided dramatically, at least for the time being. I am planning on working on it this weekend & see if securing it will resolve the issue.

Disconnected everything, cleaned all contacts & no change. Adjusted alignment several times, bent contacts slightly towards center to guarantee good contact, no change. Door closed sensor is still sporadically not sensing closed door. The closed door sensor is in the lock mechanism, correct? Anyone else experience thiis issue? This new door lock is 1 1/2 years old, oem. Anything else possibly causing nthis? If door closes hard, sensor seems to work better. Cant believe a second one is bad already.

Finally had a chance to replace the steering pump. After removing the old one and reinstalling the pulley and reservoir on the new pump, I was a little dismayed to find that the new pump bearing had some play in it too, in and out, a fraction of an inch. The old pump had a bit more play, but my hopes were not great at that point that the noise would stop. I rechecked every other pulley and they were all rock solid. So, after another complete flush, tightening everything down to specs, purging air and topping off the system, I took it for a test drive. No more crickets! So, for the benefit of the community here, there is a tiny bit of play in the power steering bearing, in and out, maybe a 64th of an inch. I bought this pulley installer/remover off the big river: OEMTOOLS 27031 Pulley Puller/Installer for $22.99. That tool worked flawlessly. Make sure to grease up the threads before using (as stated in the instructions), and you should not have any problems. Seems as if for all of the different variants of these tools, there is a certain percentage of people who bash it in reviews, say it didn't work, the tool broke etc. I suspect none of them grease the threads, install the device properly, PB blast the old pulley if it looks rough, etc. IE, there are a lot of dumb-asses out there. I could not be happier on how well that puller/installer worked and the price was right. The biggest hassle was removing the three mounting bolts, accessible via the four holes in the pulley face. You don't have much room to work with. I used a deep well socket (13mm) on a 3/8" ratchet and used a standard socket on a 3" extension to loosen by hand after they were loose enough. I'm sure the service manual tells you to take off the belt, fan and shroud completely, but you can do it by just taking the serpentine belt off the compressor pulley and accessing the two top bolts from the top of the engine and the lowest one from the bottom. From the top of the engine looking down, the top bolt on the left/passenger side is the hardest to access. You just have to feel for it, kind of blind. Take the fender well out to access the low and high pressure lines, and the rest is academic. With access being so limited, I was a bit worried about getting the three bolts started, but that was a breeze. Again, accessing that upper left bolt was the most difficult, but it did not result in any profanity, busted knuckles etc. Important! Make sure to measure several times and in several places where the pulley is on the shaft. I measured from the inside face of the pulley to the back of the power steering pump and wrote it down. On my pump, it was 3 31/32". You have to install the new pulley in the same place as the original, otherwise it won't line up with the serpentine belt. I'm sure that as long as you are within 1/32" it will be fine. I put it dead on with the installer. The pump that I bought came with all of the o-rings. I would recommend buying a pump that comes with replacements. The cheaper ones do not, and IMO, it would be foolish to re-use the old ones and a hassle to hunt down replacements. I think the pump I bought was about $15 more than the cheaper ones that did not come with o-rings. This pump also has a lifetime warranty, so those extra few bucks are a no-brainer to me. There are two o-rings on the reservoir nipple and one on the high pressure line that goes into the pump. Thanks to all for the advice!

Forgot to mention that if I slam the door hard, it works for a while.

I am on my second door lock on the driver side. Both times, same thing. Interior lights keep coming on and doors unlock when everything is closed. it happens randomly for no reason. System thinks the door is ajar. Since I'm on the second one, what are the odds? Anyone have this issue or know the fix? Replacement door lock was oem. Are the contacts bad?

All right, now we're talking! Who's in for one? ?

Get on your CNC and make yourself (and me) one!

Ordered a new Cardone PS pump and pulley remover/installer off the big river. This new Cardone part supposedly has a lifetime warranty. Will install Friday barring any work issues. I also read about the in-line PS system filter/screen. Anyone know exactly where it is located on a 3rd Gen to save me some research time? Thanks!

No problem there, that's what they are made for. Not trying to disparage those with light bars, etc, just those that drive with them on as a matter of habit with complete disregard for others.

I guess you could try & see what effect it makes, applying the tape to various areas. SilverMoose added projector lenses to his existing enclosures I'm almost positive. That would be an affordable alternative to buying new projector assemblies.

Understood, thanks. New pumps go for about $70, not OEM of course. With 1 yr warranty, worth a shot I guess. Can't imagine paying $585.90 for new OEM one.

If the pulley bearing is the only issue, ie, no foaming or other signs of failed pump, is flushing to be done in the abundance of caution? IE, if only the bearing is bad, can it contaminate the system? I will do it regardless; just curious. Also, does anyone have any recommendations for pulley pullers/installers? Ultimately, is there something particular I need to look for, for our Ram vehicles? There is some chatter that some pullers are specific to vehicle types. Most of the pullers say they are generally universal, with "Chrysler" mentioned. Just want to make sure that I get what I need before beginning the job. Thanks!

Just to be sure, did any 06 Ram Cummins 4wd crew cab duallys come with the ZF power steering (ps) pump? I found several PS pumps but they all say that it is not compatible with the ZF pump. The one in my Ram looks like the basic ones that I am looking at on line, not ZF. I am not finding much on ZF pumps, especially in relation to my Ram. Anyone have more insight with this?

Thanks. I am going to put in a new pump assembly. Not worth the hassle & time. Have very little time as it is. Get it done & move on. Just flushed whole system a week ago, but will do again to guarantee clean fluid for new pump ? Thabks for the assistance. I'll hopefully post next that all is quiet!

I see people all the time who run with a light bar on, around the front bumper. Also illegal and dangerous. They are just stupidly bright & blinding to everyone else. Guess what people, you're not "cool" ?

I swapped out all of my interior and exterior lights on the Ram to LEDs including projectors, high beams, dash, climate, cab, fender, etc. I bought new headlight and taillight assemblies since the headlight assembly on my truck was shot due to age. I'll post some pics. They look really good IMO and definitely update the look. I also installed switchback lights for the front turn signal/markers. They are phenomenal. Stumbled across that when I was doing the LED research for the truck. Definitely improves the look and they are just so much brighter. I like the LEDs in the dash but they are much brighter than stock. They dim, but overall, it is a little out of balance with the other integral bulbs that cannot be easily swapped out. My next LED project is looking into swapping out these integral bulbs with LEDs so that everything will be in balance. You can buy the individual solder-in LEDs of course, just have to be careful, check polarity, etc. Did the same for my other two vehicles including switchbacks for the turn signals, LEDs in the projectors, backup, interior, etc. Of course, there is some adjustments with the projectors that most people don't bother to do. Not to mention all the boneheads that put LEDs into their reflector headlights effectively blinding everyone but themselves. ...Not a safe way to drive around.

On Friday, I finally had a chance to look into the pulleys. The power steering pulley has a little play. I suspect thats the culprit. So, do I replace the entire unit since it has 166k miles or just the pulley? I'm leaning towards replacing the entire unit unless there is general consensus that there is lots of life left in the unit; ie, 166k miles is just broken in for them.

Thanks all for the input. After topping off the power steering fluid after full exchange, the noise continued that day here and there. Then entire drive to work this AM (~30 min) it was absolutely quiet. But, it returned on way back home. I will check all the pulleys some time soon when I have a chance. Really busy and very little time to work on truck this week. Scout camping with the boy this weekend, so I doubt I will have a chance before Sunday PM, but I will try to check it out then. Belt is new, replaced about 10K miles ago, just before transmission rebuild, when I had to replace the transmission heat exchange, which caused the failure. Also replaced the fan clutch. At that time, all bearings & pulleys were fine. Doesn't mean that something didn't go since, so all of that is on the list. Replaced the u-joints about two years ago with ones with zerks, all seem fine. Noise is definitely load related IMO. It will start, stop, then come back a few seconds later with throttle manipulation when it is in the mood. The randomness leads me to think bearing, although I have never heard a bearing sound like that. It definitely has a "reedy" quality to it, and it does not change pitch with RPM. It also only occurs between 1200 - 2100 RPM, primarily in 2nd gear, but sometimes for a second after shifting in 3rd. It never occurs in 1st or overdrive, no matter what load or RPM. I am quite tuned into it now, and can say this with a high certainty. I will post up the pulley & pinion results once completed. Thank you all!

Been busy but here is either a development or coincidence: When I checked the power steering fluid, mentioned by Mopar1973Man, it was about half way between full and add. So, I topped it off. Since then, it seems to be doing the cricket buzz less frequently. I will do a full fluid exchange this weekend and see if it makes a difference. The fluid does not look fresh, so it needs to be done anyways. Has anyone heard of the hydro-boost making noises before other than what I consider the standard "hiss" which stops when the brake is applied?

That's my thinking too, but need to check them for play anyways.

Will do. Worth a shot. Thanks! Doesn't sound like a pulley, but worth a try. Bad pulley is usually more of a squeaky, sometimes clanky noise.

Turbo is fine. No play, rock solid. I'll check idler pulley, but I don't see slop when engine is running. Will check though. Strange; it is a wav file, works on both my computers. Anyone else having this problem? Can I email it to you or something? I can't imagine that it is the transmission, not coming from that area at all. It definitely sounds electronic. Plus, it started before complete tranny rebuild by a very competent shop and didn't change at all afterwards. It just slowly got more frequent in occurrence. Road noise could be issue, but I am pretty aware of it and it just seems to be an issue under roughly 45 mph. I can usually create it by putting engine under medium load, but it is sort of hit or miss. It did it on the first attempt to record, and a few times after but recorder didn't capture properly; too much wind noise. Then the truck just refused to do it on several more runs. it is baffling. If it was tranny, turbo, pulley, I can't imagine it would be that random, but what do I know. All I can say is that this is the MO. Drove it around an entire weekend and it hardly did it at all. Monday morning, sort of non-stop until it got to speed. No power issues, everything runs perfectly, all ultragauges, codes and alerts show everything is normal. Sounds sort of like bad relay or other electrical component starting to fail, but I know there aren't relays on this vehicle.

I have read repeatedly that you HAD to have two working, programmed fobs to program another fob. Fantastic that it worked!

Did you ever figure this out? Interesting idea

Power steering fluid is at level. Dampener is in place. Understand that all of this is reference to my view point, IE, the driver. So, I understand that although it appears to me that it is coming from the driver's side, that may be a matter of perspective. Wife thinks it is coming from drivers side too though, when in passenger seat. It is one of those noises that is very hard to pinpoint. Here are two wav files. On "1" I was able to generate and capture the buzz. That happened to be my first attempt. I tried several times after to get a better audio recording, and the truck won't replicate. This is my nightmare. You can hear that it is tied to throttle response. I didn't mention that it never happens in 3rd of overdrive. It is always 1st and 2nd. Once you are up to speed, if it happens (I can't recall), it is very rare. It does not matter if it is warmed up or not. There is no difference that I can tell with engine temp. I completely rebuilt the tranny a little while ago with upgraded components such as billet torque converter, etc. It was a mild upgrade, simply for reliability for hauling, not performance. I don't need a race truck. This made no difference or change with the noise, although the frequency of it occurring did seem to have increased slowly over time. ...Or, I am more cognizant of it. Cricket 1.wav Cricket na.wav I just listended to the files here. You can hear it but not as obvious as on my phone. Maybe use headphones?