Sinking Creek 4WD Association

I may be replacing my front driveshaft u-joints in the near future, which includes a double cardan joint. I was advised to just pay a mechanic to do it to avoid the hassle of the double cardan joint. Does anybody have any suggestions on a good mechanic around here that won't charge an arm and a leg? I personally like Auto Master Tire and Service. Or does anybody feel comfortable that they can replace the double cardan u-joints and are willing to do it for some cash?

It's not really difficult. It's more involved that a standard ujoint setup, but still manageable. I'd suggest doing it yourself.

I'll do it for beer if you don't want to however.

I'll keep that in mind. Considering I have never replaced a u-joint before, let alone a double cardan joint, I might just get you beer to do it and see how you do it. But I am not even sure the u-joints are bad yet.

What I am gunna do is take the front shaft out and drive it around a little bit to see if the noises I am hearing go away or not. If they go away, then I will proceed with replacing the u-joints. Hopefully I can remove the driveshaft and make my decision tomorrow.

The noises did not go away when I removed the front driveshaft, and I had a friend inspect the u-joints and he said they were fine. So it looks like I am not going to replace the u-joints after all.

Could be rear driveshaft maybe?

It can't be the rear driveshaft because it is fairly new, and I have had these noises even when the rear driveshaft was brand new.

have you checked if your exhaust has broken off of the mounts? For the longest time mine was not attached correct and would rattle against the underside of the body and be really load and obnoxious. Just another thing that it could be.

It could be. I can move the entire exhaust system by hand, though I do not know where it is loose. I only have one exhaust mount and that is near the cat (not the pre cats). I don't know how many mounts there are supposed to be and where they are supposed to be located. I think there is supposed to be one on the tailpipe, but I do not have a tailpipe.

More details about the noise might help.

What kind of noise is it? Squeak, clunk, bang, pop?
Does it happen all the time?
What part of the Jeep does it seem to be coming from?
Is the noise consistent with vehicle speed or engine speed?
Does the noise happen when going over bumps?
Has the noise started since you put your new tire carrier on?
etc...

I have noises all the time in my Jeep, tailgate glass makes some noise over bumps, hi-lift jack rattles sometimes, springs are not retained so they shift sometimes, shock bushings are getting worn and cause some noise, once i didn't have the rear seat latched down all the way!

Good luck chasing down the noise!

It is more of a clunk that occurs when the applied torque changes signifcantly:

In 1st/2nd if I am just idling and I hit the gas moderately
Sometimes when I release the clutch pedal and the engine is not at the proper RPM
If I am revving it high (3k+ RPM) on a hill or something and then depress the clutch pedal

if you can move your exhaust that easily it might be hitting, look under your jeep for a spot that it looks like it has been rubbed/hit a bunch, very well could be your issue from what you described.

redneckrapunzel wrote:if you can move your exhaust that easily it might be hitting, look under your jeep for a spot that it looks like it has been rubbed/hit a bunch, very well could be your issue from what you described.

I took a look today but didn't see anything. I also tried to reproduce the sound by moving my exhaust system, but I didn't hear anything. Looks like I am back to square 1 haha.

Engine and tranny mounts good?

willhf1011 wrote:Engine and tranny mounts good?

That would be my next guess, but I was under the impression that, at least for the tranny mount, you would have to pull the tranny to know for sure.

nope it mounts to the skid plate as far as i know, just 10 bolts its pretty simply