Strange Clunking

BillNyeIsHigh

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
May 10, 2018
Messages
101
Location
Charleston, SC, USA
I have a strange clunking going on. First symptom of the issue was a pop and a whir a week ago while driving straight about 45mph. Noise went away after. Was driving home from that location and had to get towed because of a consistent clunk. Was on a big circular off ramp and the jeep was clunking while going around it. Some nice jeeper stopped and we could get it to clunk going forwards and back while he pushed.

I thought the issue was u-joints. I replaced the u-joints in the front axle shafts and the rear drive shaft so far. I was driving in 4wd with only the front drive shaft for the time being and would get a clunk on sharp turns(parking) when I was in gear with the clutch pushed in. If I put the jeep in neutral, it would not make the same clunk.

I now have the rear shaft in and front out, in 2wd. Tonight, while parking, I got almost a grind but more of a clunk, seemingly from the front end. This happened in gear. I also happened to take a corner fast but put it in neutral. It made a similar sound but this seemed to be from under the tub.

I am about to install an sye. Could this be a t-case issue? Or, I think it could maybe be front diff. I need to open it. It is weird that it seems fine when driving straight or on the highway and then I have issues when turning like this. The original sounds were not while turning. It almost feels like something is binding.

Side note: I broke the retainer for the clips on my rear drive shaft so I had to order a used on from Davey. That is why I was in 4wd with only the front shaft. I replaced the diff side u-joint only on the used shaft since I am planning to use it for a short time.
 
You need the front differential checked man . ASAP.
 
Planning to open it up tonight. If the spider gears have been chewed up and need repalced, can I do that with the carrier in the pumpkin still?
I don't know buddy , I'm not that well versed on them, @Rob5589 on here is though.
 
I don't know buddy , I'm not that well versed on them, Rob8859 on here is though.

I've done a bit of research and it looks like it would probably need to come out and ring gear removed. With short ring gears it's maybe possible to do in the housing but I have tall 4.56 which is likely blocking the center pin.
 
I don't know how mechanical you are but be really attentive to how everything comes out... And how it goes back together.

I run the same gears and I had a guy help me do mind the first time and it did not turn out too good... It ended up at a professional shop.

Good luck and on behalf of the forum them sorry you didn't get more feedback sooner.
 
I don't know how mechanical you are but be really attentive to how everything comes out... And how it goes back together.

I run the same gears and I had a guy help me do mind the first time and it did not turn out too good... It ended up at a professional shop.

Good luck and on behalf of the forum them sorry you didn't get more feedback sooner.

Pretty mechanical or else I would not be willing to tackle this. Need to get eyes on the insides first though.

If it is something that requires setting backlash that is when I will defer to a professional.

If I do not find any damage on the front diff I am kind of at a loss. It makes no sense to me why it has behaved the way it has (clunking with clutch in and in gear but not in neutral when I had the front DS in).
 
Pretty mechanical or else I would not be willing to tackle this. Need to get eyes on the insides first though.

If it is something that requires setting backlash that is when I will defer to a professional.

If I do not find any damage on the front diff I am kind of at a loss. It makes no sense to me why it has behaved the way it has (clunking with clutch in and in gear but not in neutral when I had the front DS in).
there are some parts in the transfer case that turn all the time even if you're not in 4-wheel drive... I've heard of the transfer case chain making things pretty noisy.
 
You can't replace the gears without taking the entire thing apart. That's not a job for someone who has never done it before (just ask @AndyG how that goes).

You need to take it to a professional for something like that.
 
You can't replace the gears without taking the entire thing apart. That's not a job for someone who has never done it before (just ask @AndyG how that goes).

You need to take it to a professional for something like that.
Here's one thing that I always consider on a differential...if you have a problem something created the problem and if it wasn't stress it was likely something was out of tolerance when the gearing job was done...

so most likely you're not going to be able to just replace one thing anyway you're going to need to do a pretty thorough job.

I'm not trying to scare you ... And hopefully you found out you don't even have a problem up there.

Also your double cardan up front ...it's always worth looking at in the u joint. you may have already done something with that and if you have hopefully you're good but those things will really act up if they have issues.
 
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If you have an issue only on a hard turn then it is almost always front end. New u-joints on the axle shafts ... did you pull the shafts out to do this? Did the inner splines look all ok? Double check the steering system. Probably not the problem, but easy to do just in case. Perhaps the steering box itself blew a bearing or worn gear. If all ok then the diff is almost a guarantee. If you find any metal in the oil then look real carefully.
 
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Are you noticing the clunking while going over big bumps? I have a clunk going on and have found out its was my sway bar links. It sounds like the situations where you are hearing it are during turns and such, where the sway bar comes into play. It's just a thought. Check out your front sway bar end links.
 
Opened up the diff last night and everything gear wise looked fine. Didn’t appear to be damage. There was a little bit of metal in the bottom of the oil but that oil also has not been changed since I had my regear done.

Therefore, I’m not thinking it’s the diff. When I checked my huns(grab tire 10&4) and shook there was some clicking coming from the steering linkage(wheelto box) but I do not think that is what is causing my issue.

Also, not hearing the sound when going over bumps. It is when turning tight, when I park. I did grab all my control arms, sway bars, and steering components and wiggles them around to see if there was any play in the joints. I didn’t find anything too concerning.
 
Try jack front end and turn hard left and spin tire by hand. Do the same at hard right. Can you feel/hear the clunking when spinning tire by hand? Does it want to not turn? Does it get hard, easy,hard,easy?
 
Try jack front end and turn hard left and spin tire by hand. Do the same at hard right. Can you feel/hear the clunking when spinning tire by hand? Does it want to not turn? Does it get hard, easy,hard,easy?


I did this when I was waiting on the tow truck. Granted I had only one side up off the ground. I do not remember hearing or feeling anything out of place.

Are you thinking it would be u joints?
 
Re reading first post ... if you are getting that clunking sound when you have the clutch pushed in and also in a straight line, it seems like a diff problem. Drive shafts out removes bent shaft or U-joints there. If you can pull both drive shafts at the same time and get it to clunk while getting pushed or pulled, then that should let you hear front or back axle. From there you can deduce how to repair. If the noise is absent then it means the issues is in a drive shaft or further up. I would lean towards the transfer case at this point. Find out if it is axle or not.
 
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