TJ: This doesn't sound good . . . HELP

[Schmo]

I have a 2006 Rubi with a 6 speed manual and 45K miles. After arriving at my parent’s house for the holiday weekend, I started hearing a slight rattling/flutter type of noise in 2nd gear when decelerating if there was a load (not coasting). I got under the Jeep made sure the rear CAs were tight and lubed up the Rear DS and the noise seemed to go away. Then on the way home when I got off the fwy for gas and dropped down into lower gears, the noise came back and was more severe. After gassing up, I got back on the fwy and the noise went away once I got up to speed, but when I hit the Grapevine, I noticed a huge difference in power and needed to keep the engine around 2800 RPM. If I was under about 2500 and put a load on the engine, it sounded louder than usual as if it was reving higher. I started thinking the clutch might be going out. Then when I got to my off ramp, the noise was awful and I really had to get her above 3000 or more in the lower gears for the noise to go away. In neutral, having the clutch in, or when coasting (without a load) everything seems to be like normal, but when there is a load on the engine, under 4th gear, the noise is there, kinda of a rattling, clanking, type of noise, and in higher gears it sounds like the engine is reving more than normal. I’ve had clutches go out in the past, but there was not this type of noise, just slipping more like what I was experiencing when on the freeway. Seeing that the engine seems to be running fine, and everything is smooth when coasting either in neutral or with the clutch in, I’m guessing it has to be either the clutch or the tranny . . . any ideas and/or recommendations? I bought an extended (but not from the factory) warranty when I bought the Jeep, so I’ll be calling them in the morning to see what all they cover and where I can go and be covered. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

[aw12345]

Seems to me the trans needs some surgery.

[Schmo]

Seems to me the trans needs some surgery.

Any idea what could have caused this?

[aw12345]

Most likely a snapring let go and a thrust washer or needle bearing got munched, but that is speculation.
Something got to much play for it to make noise in several gears pretty sure it will be quiet in 5th

[womb raider 940]

The funniest shit I have heard in a while... Was when I kept askin you to make the noise of what the tranny was doing. You sounded like a !!!!ing turkey. Sorry is sum funny shit.

[Schmo]

The funniest shit I have heard in a while... Was when I kept askin you to make the noise of what the tranny was doing. You sounded like a !!!!ing turkey. Sorry is sum funny shit.

That was what it sounded like at first, but when I got off the fwy today when I got off the off ramp by my house, that noise was replaced by one much more disturbing. Hopefully the Fidelity Warranty holds up. I figured I'd need to remove the engine skid . . . do you think the diff sliders, etc need to be taken off too?

[mrchips]

Remove anything aftermarket that will make there life easier, or they will charge extra, as it is not a OE item.
Be care full with the warranty, as some of these read in fine print, for eg:
say you need a tranny,,,,, they can give you a used tranny from a junk yard. It does not specify new in all cases.

[RAT]

Joe,
I don't know what kind of engine skid you have, but before you go through all that trouble, make sure the bolts on that skid haven't come loose. Engine skids will translate a lot of the engine's vibrations to the frame and make a sound like the tranny is falling out of the vehicle. I had a similar noise at idle and at certain speeds. Tightened the bolts and it went bye bye. I Hope that's what it is.

[Schmo]

Well I just spoke with the warranty company and it sounds like I should be covered if it's the tranny, but if it's the clutch, even if a clutch plate broke or something, it will be on me. They suggested that I take it to the local Jeep dealership so I'll be making that call soon. I'll pull the engine skid and see if that makes any difference . . . I have a feeling I won't be getting off that easy though.

[Geebo]

Joe , what a bummer , I had a little hummin going on in my jeep and by the time I was able to have Art look at it to see if he could help figure it out ,it Stopped has has yet to return,,so I just say HUH? and hope it was in my head cause there is no hummin, whistlin ..nothin now..Let me know if ya need any help....a ride or whatever..Geeb

[Schmo]

Well I climbed under the Jeep after work and have a bit of hope. I grabbed the Rear DS and there is a considerable amount of play in the CV Joint by the TC case, I can wiggle it easily by hand. I'm going to remove it now and see if the noise continues in front wheel drive. Funny as that's what I originally thought it might be . . . perhaps all I did by lubing it up at my parents house was cover up the problem for a short while til all the grease flew out. Wish me luck.

[Schmo]

Hope restored

Well I removed the rear DS and drove around the hood in 4WD and everything seems to be fine so hopefully that's all that was wrong and I can just talk to Tom Woods about rebuilding/exchanging the DS. I'm hoping that there are no other issues, but it seems to me (a pencil pusher that just started learning about this stuff so educate me if I'm wrong) that the tranny and clutch are okay as there was no unusual noises after removing the rear DS. I'm not so sure about the TC and rear diff and although I think the DS is most likely the culprit, I'm wondering if it going out may have damaged anything else. The output from the transfer case felt okay and didn't seem to have any noticable play in it . . . nor did the yoke from the pinyon. I noticed that my locker pumps were hanging on by about a half a thread so I'll definitely be spending some time on under my Jeep on my nice rubber mats (thanks again Josh, huge difference) making sure everything is snug. Anything I should pay special attention to?

[kirkandsylvia]

I don't want to rain on you parade, but when you said that you felt a power loss going up the Grape Vine and needed to keep the RPM up above 2800, it kinda sounds like maybe you have a CAT- converter cloggin up on you which would also might create a rattling sound from the vibration. Not that it's not possible, but I cant see a CV causing a power failure like that. I would stay with what is the cheapest to check first. I would be interested to hear the outcome of it though.

[alittleoff]

Bad DS Bad

I had the same noises that seemed to be coming from the trans- t/c. I took it to Bucky at O.R. in Bloomington. He drove it maybe a couple hundred feet, took off the rear DS.... bad double cardon joint. I was ready to put a new trans in it, his expertise and honesty saved me thousands of $$$$.

Steve

[OU812]

This happened to Sean(2blk2drs) and I driving up the 33o to big bear. It started as a light rotational metal on metal noise. 10 miles later we were convinced that the trans or TC was toast because it was only under load. We even stopped and checked the u-joints and they were fine. We figured out it was the double cardon when we jacked up the rear end and put a little power to the wheels. I could see the drive shaft flopping all over the place. We drive home (100 miles) on the front drive shaft. One trip to Oceanside Driveline and $100 bucks and he was back on the road.