Rattle Rattle

[JMyerz]

I'm posting for a friend, and my old jeep

When he drives next to a wall from about 5-10mph you can hear a rattle of sorts and its deffinatley drive train induced. Its a small rattle and it sounds like some smal rocks in a can almost.

Everything appears tights and/or moves freely where need be. The Jeep drives very well too.

It has ARBs, 4.10s, Tera 2Lo 3" Suspension. RE Arms, Tera Belly Up, MORE 1" Motor Mount Lift and uhhh more stuff that I can't remember.

I know it's a shot in the dark but any clues? I've jacked up the front end and checked everything having to do with the front axle and everything looks fine.

Thanks

Justin

[blkTJ]

not sure what would make that noise. I've heard of people having problems with carrier bolts backing out. maybe he should service the diffs just to eliminate that as a possibility.

[Dukes69]

When the cat. starts to go bad, it will rattle. Its the internal baffles coming apart. My TJ is rattling too.

[JMyerz]

Thanks for the tips, I'll pull the diff cover off and hope for the best. I find it hard to believe the cats are going south, only 38k on the Jeep.

[blkTJ]

Originally posted by JMyerz
Thanks for the tips, I'll pull the diff cover off and hope for the best. I find it hard to believe the cats are going south, only 38k on the Jeep.

i agree. i've got 90k on my Jeep coming from the midwest and the cat is just fine.

[Dukes69]

well . . . small rocks in a can is what they sound like. Take it for what its worth.

[blkTJ]

hey chris, take it easy!!! I'm not denying what you said, just saying i haven't heard it yet.

[Dukes69]

Originally posted by blkTJ
hey chris, take it easy!!! I'm not denying what you said, just saying i haven't heard it yet.

[jmbrowning]

Hmm. Diagnosing these problems can be quite a brain teaser. The rattle only seems to occur at 5-10 mph. This is how I might approach it.

1) Confirm it is drivetrain related. Chock front wheels and lift rear on jackstands. In 2 Hi, carefully give it some gas to get the rear driveshaft going and see if rattle is reproducible and located in rear. Try something similar with front and rear wheels up and 4 Hi to check front.

2) I don't know how to check the cat except to gently tap it to see if anything is rattling around in there.

[king4wd]

Check the cat. Mine went as well. I didn't notice rattling until it was to late. The innards blocked the muffler leading to a non-running condition, some baffling troubleshhoting and an expensive trip to the dealer. Jeeps and Dodge trucks have a poor reputation for the converters going like that.
Hope you find and fix your troubles soon

[loop choke]

This might sound stupid but Mine was rattling. I searched high and low. It was the same sound you are describing. It ended up being my liscense plate frame.

I am not trying to insult anyone's technical knowledge but sometimes the simplist answer is the right one.

Just my$.02.

Jason

[king4wd]

Originally posted by loop choke
It ended up being my liscense plate frame.

I am not trying to insult anyone's technical knowledge but sometimes the simplist answer is the right one.

Just my$.02.

Jason

Thats a good thought! Seeing that reminded me of another rattle I had: it was faint and only audible at low speed. It was that plastic OEM hub cap. I had cracked them all against rocks while wheeling, but in one of them a little piece had broken loose and was rattling around in there. Jason is right: check the cheap and simple stuff first

[loop choke]

OK. I noticed a new noise last night. It happens when I go over any bumps at slow speed. It is coming from the front end. My Rubi only has 1700 miles on it. It should not be clanking like this. The only thing I can figure is it is the quick disconnects that I put on there. I will wait and see though because the lift is going on this friday. It may go away when that happens.

Any thoughts?

Jason

[Black & Tan TJ]

Yes those quick disco's will make noise. At least mine do, (RE quick disco's). Not the best for me but OK for now. I also have a new rattling sound from a old issue that keeps comming back. The rear shock on passenger side keeps comming off the bushing then rattles againist the body. Any ideas for a permanet fix? I seen some after market mounts to fix this, anyone using them?

Thanks, B&T TJ

[jmbrowning]

Originally posted by loop choke
OK. I noticed a new noise last night. It happens when I go over any bumps at slow speed. It is coming from the front end. My Rubi only has 1700 miles on it. It should not be clanking like this. The only thing I can figure is it is the quick disconnects that I put on there. I will wait and see though because the lift is going on this friday. It may go away when that happens.

Any thoughts?

Jason

Homemade disconnects make that noise for sure. It wasn't all that noisy compared to my Tuffy overhead console which makes me feel like that I am in concrete mixer.

I found that the homemade disco popping sound was easily fixed with a liberal application of deneiro. The Currie Anti-Rock definitely gets rid of the clank!