Newbie from Townsen MA, 2006 Rubicon w/longarm kit & 33” tire

[Stu]

Hello there TJ Forum,

My name is Stu, been an avid jeep fan for over 10 years now. I spotted for a good friend wheeling in North Idaho for a few years since I didn’t have a rig. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a used 2006 Rubicon TJ this last week. Looking forward to taking my twin 9 year old boys out for some fun wheeling in the New England area. I’m a manufacturing engineer who has done a bit of wrenching, I work on all of my rigs, toys, boats etc. Have a shop full of good toys from Sleds, dirt bikes, boat, watercraft etc, and am an avid bow hunter (from my time in Idaho elk hunting in the Frank Church mountains).

Couple of quick questions as I am coming up the learning curve on all things TJ.

1. Read up on the Rubicon locker threads. I am having trouble getting the lockers to engage, won’t even blink. Am in 4L, 6 speed in neutral, go forward & reverse without anything happening. I know 4H & 4L are working, but those dash lights are not on either (was in snow behind my house). Checked fuses (Off-road) & Front & Rear Diff relays (swapped out with HBL & still nothing). Wondering if compressors are locked up & am looking for some direction on how to trouble shoot electrically & mechanically (and how to repair or/rebuild if necessary). Not sure why those specific dash lights are not working, all other dash lights seem to work fine.

2. When driving and back off the throttle when in +3 gear there is a gear grinding sound coming from front right or middle of the rig. Doesn’t matter if clutch is in or not. Is always when jeep is going from being powered forward to either coasting or slowing down from engine torque. Rig has a Rough Country longarm kit with either a 4 or a 6” lift on 33” tires. Not sure if it’s a drive line or axle u-joint or something in the clutch or transfer case? Has 63,000 miles and appears to be in decent condition. Noise is a lot louder when the Meyer plow is hanging off the front while driving (I know, plows are hard on everything, I plan to only use on my 1/4 mile long driveway). Any ideas on what it could be & how to verify, then repair it myself.

Appreciate the feedback & input. Looking forward to driving this TJ on weekends, doing some off roading and enjoying it in all seasons.

Cheers
Stu

 

[Mike_H]

The switch for your transfer case position might be bad... would cause the lights not to turn on in the dash, and for it to not engage the lockers...I think

 

[Bird]

Welcome to the forum.

First thing i would recommend for your nice low mileage Rubicon is to treat the frame with Fluid film as winters up there can be brutal.

I've seen on this Forum where it is recommended to make S turns to help activate the lockers, it's what i do.

Not sure about the lights but you came to the right place for helpful info.

 

[Stu]

The switch for your transfer case position might be bad... would cause the lights not to turn on in the dash, and for it to not engage the lockers...I think

Thanks, I’ll dive into that and see what I can find. If that’s the cause will be an easy & cheap fix!

 

[Stu]

Welcome to the forum.

First thing i would recommend for your nice low mileage Rubicon is to treat the frame with Fluid film as winters up there can be brutal.

I've seen on this Forum where it is recommended to make S turns to help activate the lockers, it's what i do.

Not sure about the lights but you came to the right place for helpful info.

Yes, I plan on doing that on the full undercarriage & body. Do you have any recommendations on product? Thanks for the input.

 

[Kathy]

Welcome from WI Love that color.

 

[Mike_H]

I've seen on this Forum where it is recommended to make S turns to help activate the lockers, it's what i do.

Turning in an "s" will get the lockers to engage once they've been activated (the light is blinking on the dash) if the light isn't coming on at all, something isn't right.

@Stu look in this thread

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...ice-manuals-fsm-technical-documentation.4618/

For your factory service manual. It should give you all the different blink codes for the locker switch. Of the top of my head, there is a slow blink, fast blink, steady on, and off. Of course, getting them to illuminate at all is the first step.

 

[Chris]

Yes, I plan on doing that on the full undercarriage & body. Do you have any recommendations on product? Thanks for the input.

I always recommend Fluid Film:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B93ZXGS/?tag=wranglerorg-20

This stuff works wonders. Coat the underside several times a year and you'll never have to worry about rust!

As for the locker issue, I would check the switch in your transfer case as @Ranger_b0b suggested. That's where I would start, and report back with what you find.

If you don't have one already, download a free FSM here:
Jeep Wrangler TJ Factory Service Manuals (FSM) & Technical Documentation

That will make your life so much easier.

As for that grinding noise, is your Rubicon an automatic or manual? If it's an automatic, I had the same grinding noise on mine and it mainly happened when applying throttle or letting off the throttle, not cruising speed.

Turns out that on the automatic Rubicons, the 4" lift caused the front driveshaft to contact a front portion of the transfer case skid plate. Of course it only made full contact when I gave it throttle or let off the throttle, since during that time the engine would shift forward or backward with the acceleration or sudden deceleration. That was causing the front driveshaft to rub on the front of the transfer case skid plate. I hate to get my grinder and take a little metal off the transfer case skid, at least until I get a Savvy tummy tuck skid plate.

Maybe you're issue is the same? Get under there and look at the front driveshaft for areas where it might be contacting the skid plate. This should be very obvious if you look for worn metal areas.

 

[Stu]

I always recommend Fluid Film:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B93ZXGS/?tag=wranglerorg-20

This stuff works wonders. Coat the underside several times a year and you'll never have to worry about rust!

As for the locker issue, I would check the switch in your transfer case as @Ranger_b0b suggested. That's where I would start, and report back with what you find.

If you don't have one already, download a free FSM here:
Jeep Wrangler TJ Factory Service Manuals (FSM) & Technical Documentation

That will make your life so much easier.

As for that grinding noise, is your Rubicon an automatic or manual? If it's an automatic, I had the same grinding noise on mine and it mainly happened when applying throttle or letting off the throttle, not cruising speed.

Turns out that on the automatic Rubicons, the 4" lift caused the front driveshaft to contact a front portion of the transfer case skid plate. Of course it only made full contact when I gave it throttle or let off the throttle, since during that time the engine would shift forward or backward with the acceleration or sudden deceleration. That was causing the front driveshaft to rub on the front of the transfer case skid plate. I hate to get my grinder and take a little metal off the transfer case skid, at least until I get a Savvy tummy tuck skid plate.

Maybe you're issue is the same? Get under there and look at the front driveshaft for areas where it might be contacting the skid plate. This should be very obvious if you look for worn metal areas.

Thank you Chris. Will get the Fluid Film on order. Rubicon is a 6 speed manual with the 4L 6 cylinder engine. Was on creeper today poking around & didn’t see anything but will check again with mirrors & lights to look in all areas. Was 5F today so is hard to stay out long. Will try to get to the transfer case sensor as well. Downloaded the tech manual & the parts manual as well, thanks for the input!

 

[Chris]

Hmmm, well when there's grinding, that usually implies metal-on-metal contact, which usually means that if you look hard enough you'll see some bare metal. Could be something as simple as a u-joint, but I got under my TJ when I first heard that noise and I didn't see anything at all. It took some real investigative work before I finally uncovered it. It was a small area, maybe the size of a quarter or smaller.

 

[Stu]

Thank you Chris. Will get the Fluid Film on order. Rubicon is a 6 speed manual with the 4L 6 cylinder engine. Was on creeper today poking around & didn’t see anything but will check again with mirrors & lights to look in all areas. Was 5F today so is hard to stay out long. Will try to get to the transfer case sensor as well. Downloaded the tech manual & the parts manual as well, thanks for the input!

Now that I think of it, the front drive shaft rubber coupler was cut where the shafts slide together, that could be there the rubbing is coming from, will look closer in AM.

 

[Chris]

Now that I think of it, the front drive shaft rubber coupler was cut where the shafts slide together, that could be there the rubbing is coming from, will look closer in AM.

Cool, let us know what you find!

 

[Stu]

Ok, did some more poking around today. Pulled the 2H/4H/4L lever several times back & forth. Started the rig, switched into 4L, the 4wd dash light came on, pushed the Axle lock button down and got the rear lock blinking, pushed again and got the front lock blinking. Backed up slowly with s turns and both went solid! I could hear some electrical popping noise coming through the aftermarket speakers, both lock lights would blink from time to time. Was able to wheel around the snow up & down some small hills for 25 minutes (it is 5F outside), had to relock the axles several times. Then all of the sudden the 4wd dash light went off along with both of the lock lights. Could definitely tell that there was no lock in either axle. Pulled the transfer case lever several times but couldn’t get the dash light to come back on. I’m suspecting there must be an electrical short or intermittent sensor failure? Before I started the rig there was a left front head light not working, after starting the engine it started working again with the dash 4wd lights. Any ideas? Not sure which transfer sensor is for the lever position, any ideas?

I also looked for around 45 minutes for evidence of mechanical rubbing but still have not found anything yet that seems to be a smoking gun. Could some of the axle gears start to make grinding noises? I’ve still got something going on and will keep poking around until something comes up.

Making some headway, thanks again for everyone’s input!

 

[Mike_H]

The sensor for the transfer case is not on the lever, it's underneath the vehicle, actually on the transfer case. If you are getting popping and lights acting funny, I'd suspect a loose wire somewhere, maybe a bad ground. Since it's multiple systems on the vehicle, I'd start at the battery. Make sure your negative cable is in good shape, and that it has a good connection to the engine.

 

[Stu]

The sensor for the transfer case is not on the lever, it's underneath the vehicle, actually on the transfer case. If you are getting popping and lights acting funny, I'd suspect a loose wire somewhere, maybe a bad ground. Since it's multiple systems on the vehicle, I'd start at the battery. Make sure your negative cable is in good shape, and that it has a good connection to the engine.

Will do! Thx!!