Clunking/Popping On Left Front Going Into 1st Gear

[tjmorton]

Check transfer case linkage bushings near the shift lever. You can get under the jeep and move things around a little by hand to see if you're getting any pops or clunks from there. If this is the issue, it seems like a minor thing when you're underneath but since it's mounted to the tub you can feel it in the seat and under your feet. The cable shifter fix is heralded as the best option but for $15 you can replace the bushings and see if the noise comes back. I smear some grease on all the bushings and the issue went away for about a week so that's how I diagnosed it when I had this issue.

Also if your lift has adjustable arms, make sure the lock nuts on the control arm length adjustments are on as tight as they can go. Even if those nuts don't feel loose they can be just loose enough to let the arm flex and it feels like something popping. If you don't have adjustable arms check your control arm bushings and tighten the bolts mounting the control arms. Check front axle u joints.

Try the simple, cheap stuff first. It can drive you crazy assuming it's all the terrible things that cost the most money but a lot of times it's a quick easy fix.

Thanks for the feedback afitzray97. I hadn't even considered the shift linkage bushings, I'll check that out today. I do have adjustable control arms all the way around. I checked all the arms a few days ago but just by hand, I'll break out the wrenches today and check them again.

I was also thinking it could be the axle mounted control arm bushes up front. I got lazy when putting in the arms and decided not to replace those bushings. They definitely had some wear but seemed to have some life left. I'll take a closer look at those as well. Would not surprise me one bit if my laziness the 1st time around bites me in the ars. Lol.

I've already got new u joints for the front axle, even if they aren't the issue I figure their due replacement after 116k miles.

 

[tjmorton]

So, I took afitzray97's advice and spent more than an hour putting a wrench on every nut and bolt on the suspension and steering front to back Tuesday evening.

The only thing I found was the bolts for the adjustment sleeve on the rear track bar were just loose enough that the track bar had a little bit of flex where it meet the sleeve. I tightened those down to get the play out of the trackbar and..... drum roll...... NO MORE NOISE! I've driven the Jeep for the past 2 days just to be sure and i've not heard the popping/clunking since.

After lifting the Jeep and installing the rear trackbar relocation bracket there was very little room between the trackbar and the gas tank shield. I'm guessing that little bit of flex was just enough for the track bar to slap against the gas tank shield when taking off and starting and stopping in traffic. No idea why the noise sounded like it was coming from the left front but I don't really care at this point.

I appreciate everyone's input while I sorted this thing out. Hopefully my experience helps someone else in the future.

 

[rustygastank]

Well I’ll put my findings here too, my clunk was coming from the transmission mount. Whenever I would accelerate from a dead stop the tranny would bind on its own power going to the driveshaft and shake the whole transmission and shifter than smooth out under normal driving conditions.

I picked up a new polyurethane mount from Amazon and mounted it up. Problem fixed, the new mount is a lot more rigid and and definitely sends vibrations through the floor board. But this is not my daily so it’s doesn’t bother me.
You can see in the photo how torn the old mount is.
Anyway thanks for everyone’s suggestions on this.
Funny @tjmorton that we had similar problems but way different solutions

 

[tjmorton]

Well I’ll put my findings here too, my clunk was coming from the transmission mount. Whenever I would accelerate from a dead stop the tranny would bind on its own power going to the driveshaft and shake the whole transmission and shifter than smooth out under normal driving conditions.

I picked up a new polyurethane mount from Amazon and mounted it up. Problem fixed, the new mount is a lot more rigid and and definitely sends vibrations through the floor board. But this is not my daily so it’s doesn’t bother me.
You can see in the photo how torn the old mount is.
Anyway thanks for everyone’s suggestions on this.
Funny @tjmorton that we had similar problems but way different solutions
View attachment 274502

Thanks for posting the solution to your issue @rustygastank , I've got a new transmission mount on my TJ to do list and have been going back and forth between rubber and poly, your input helps with that decision. Happy wheeling.