Have you tried to whack the bolt with a small sledge?
Good reason for adjustable control arms time to upgrade
Good reason for adjustable control arms time to upgrade
Solved: Clunk when loading and unloading drivetrain
- Thread starter Mike_H
- Start date
Got the front lower control arms replaced today. Still have the clunk. I also checked the rear lowers again for torque. Everything is tight. I put my jack under the transmission, no movement on the mount. Put a wrench on all my motor mount bolts... Tight.
I think the next step is to pull the tcase out. Looks like I have a input seal leak anyway. Anyone know if the case makes a clunk if it's low on fluid?
I think the next step is to pull the tcase out. Looks like I have a input seal leak anyway. Anyone know if the case makes a clunk if it's low on fluid?
I have the same thing going on, but I'm 99.999% sure it's my dropped trackbar bracket (bolted on vs. welded).
ITS FIXED!!!!! There was a loose bolt...
I took it to my mechanic. I figured a fresh set of eyes couldn't hurt. They had it fixed in about a half hour. I knew it would be something simple. Still waiting to talk to the guy who fixed it to find out exactly which bolt was loose, but I will find out, and I'll post back.
I took it to my mechanic. I figured a fresh set of eyes couldn't hurt. They had it fixed in about a half hour. I knew it would be something simple. Still waiting to talk to the guy who fixed it to find out exactly which bolt was loose, but I will find out, and I'll post back.
Update...I talked with the shop... Looks like one of my upper control arm bolts was ready to go. They tried to tighten it, and it just broke. They replaced it and all is good. So... It ended up being something that I would not have checked, because I had already checked it. The fresh start on trouble shooting is what solved the issue. I'm glad it was easy, but frustrated that I didn't find it myself.
Nice, glad to hear that! Could have been a nasty failure on the highway to so it's great that you got stubborn about finding it.
—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
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There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
I’m glad you tracked it down. This thread will be helpful for others who are struggling with noises.
One would think by now that I'd learn to make folks go back over everything even though they tell me they have. Glad you found it and now you know not to ever trust where you think the sound is coming from.
PaulCC
TJ Enthusiast
That is great news and thanks for sharing. How many miles on your jeep? And has it been driven a lot during winter where the roads are salted? I started a thread about mine making a clunking sound when going very slow. Don’t know how many times i’ve looked at the control arms but will look closer, especially the upper. Oh, the bolt that broke, at the frame or axle mount?
I get that...Where do you draw the line though? How many times do you check the same bolts?
Maybe, while I'm thinking though it...I can answer it myself. When the clunk started, I assumed it was NOT the rear control arms, because I had already gone through to loosen and retorquef them at ride height to address a different issue. So...I didn't try them again...I probably should have. I also should have taken a page out of my work history, and drawn a paint line on every bolt that I touched, once I started trouble shooting.
The one other thing this makes me want to do...replace all my stupid control arm bolts. Maybe they have stretched from others using impacts on them and not torque wrenches.
Over torque is as bad as under torque. Once you move the fastener in a slip critical connection from elastic deformation into plastic deformation, it's pretty much toast.
Awesome thread! My 2001 had the exact same clunking symptoms. After a few weekends of trouble shooting to no avail I finally just decided to remove each control arm bolt to inspect the bushing and inner sleeve and re-torque them. Drivers side upper arm to frame bolt snapped on removal. New bold installed and clunk be gone!
annihil8ted
TJ Enthusiast
Not to revive an older thread but this is something I am also facing. I need to do some digging but assuming it's a loose or bad bolt, I should be able to see the control arm slap the frame?
More likely that the bushing sleeve is smacking the bolt which is in turn bumping into its bracket holes as the arm is alternating between tension and compression.
I found a loose bolt and a bad flex joint. Lower rear control arms from Rub Express
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