Darn jeep

1990 Cherokee 4.0

well I ve got a minor clunking somewhere under there that seems to vary with speed.
now I have to figure out what it is. my working theories are wheel bearing, or one of the three hundred odd universals under there. perhaps a brake shoe or the transfer case. this is my first 4wd, so I have no idea about transfer cases… there is also some kind of weird double universal under there, I can t remember the name off the top of my head.

I don t really have a question … just complaining I guess. any thoughts are welcome tho…

That double U-joint is a constant velocity U-joint.

Tester

…at least my steering damper(yoke) on my steering column of my truck just broke when I tried to move it to get the jeep into the garage. walking is under rated…

Haha ol’ wes is up to it again! Heres a wild wild guess, if the sound is that minor. Do you have a mechanical speedometer cable? Might need to be lubed up. Ask my cadillac how I know.

well, I got old blue back to its normal state of disrepair. the old tackle box full of parts came in handy again. tomorrow maybe I can get to the jeep.

don t think its the speedo cable , but I ll add it to the inspection list…

I had a pick=up truck in that was supposed to need a new Tranny.
I was stumped at the noise and was pretty sure the owner was right, and it was the tranny.
Working alone it sure sounded like the tranny making the noise.

I happened to have it sitting outside on the large concrete barnyard when a friend stopped by. I asked if he’d hop in and just drive it slow past me…back and forth…as I lay on the ground and try to pinpoint the area the noise was coming from.

As he passed on about the third time, I thought that i saw something fly past my view. I had him shut it off and I crawled under to find a broken gas tank strap resting on the drive shaft.
Every time the counter weight would come around, it would grab that strap and pull until the strap snapped back. That was the noise I was hearing.

Yosemite

Hoping it is a thing other than transaxle etc. If you shift into neutral does the sound continue?

I ve been trying to figure that out barky. no luck yet. my ears aren t much good anymore. 20 yrs in a steel shop and a bout of lyme disease ruined my hearing.

I m gonna try to get it in the air a little and start checking stuff tomorrow. supposed to rain tho.

I ll post more when I get into it a bit. I m hoping its just a regular universal. actually I m hoping I can figure out the prob. that’s step 1. it seems to roll ok in neutral and not drag, but I m not sure yet. thanks.

Many ear infections and years of using impact tools are slowly taking a toll on my hearing

I use hearing protection, but it can’t prevent hearing loss entirely

no, putting it in neutral does not make the sound go away. most obvious at low speeds, with steady throttle to no throttle, perhaps even when accelerating, but I can t hear it over the engine noise

cluck cluck cluck cluck …

ok, so I see no wheel bearing probs, and I see no universal probs. the universal at the rear may still be suspect, but it not very far gone if it is that.

the speedo cable is loose, but I don t think its the prob. I ll tie it up anyway, just in case.

I m worried its in the transfer case, but have no specific reason to suspect it, other than about an 1/8 in of play when I turn the shaft, where the rear drive shaft enters it.

couple other things, there seems to be a bit of delay before engagement when shifting from drive to reverse, but not sure if that s normal or not in the jeep. also, occasionally, when coming to a stop, it seems to downshift late into first, when I m almost completely stopped. but that may not be what I think it is, it could be a u joint shifting I guess.

kinda lost…

another question, can a transfer case be easily transferred from the junkyard to my jeep, if necessary? after looking at my manual I can see that I don t want to open it up.