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Mike___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 06/01/2003 11:50 AM |
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I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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DML___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 06/03/2003 3:14 PM |
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Would love to know the outcome on this. I have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler that sounds like it could possibly have the same problem. On fast acceleration it feels like the rear end is bouncing across a rub-board! Also, sometimes when you are creeping along in a turn (at a drive-thru for instance) there is a popping sound from the rear end. The dealership thought the transmission needed to be serviced. Did this-same problem. Haven't taken it back yet.
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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Allison___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 07/08/2003 3:23 PM |
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Well I have a 97 Cheep Cherokee Sport. I have the same rear end clunking noise. My mechanic informed me that it's a "Jeep thing". In addition I have an electrical short that we can't LOCATE!!
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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MIKE____
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 03/15/2004 12:15 PM |
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
Pull the driveshaft, grease the splines with a good syn grease, see if your clunk goes away.
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Steve___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 03/24/2004 3:58 PM |
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I have a 93 Cherokee Sport. I had a noise from the rear end on mine only after driving it for at least 10-15 miles. It would make almost a popping sound when taking a turn or when backing up. After replacing brakes and adjusting parking brake it still continued. I finally changed the diff. fluid and added a limited slip additive. It has been almost a year and haven't heard a sound from the rear end. Hope this helps.
Steve
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Mike at 3/15/2004 12:14:36 PM
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
Pull the driveshaft, grease the splines with a good syn grease, see if your clunk goes away.
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unknown___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 04/20/2004 8:46 AM |
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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Rony_Gonzales___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 06/10/2004 8:51 AM |
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I have 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I drove through pothole-filled Atlantic Avenue (Brooklyn, NY) yesterday... and now I hear a clunking noise in the rear, sounds like it could be coming from either the brake drums or the differential. Sounds awful close to the problem described below... any hints, anyone??
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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joe___
Bone Stock
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| 06/23/2004 1:39 PM |
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The problem here is that you have an automatic. Honestly, Jeeps were never made to be anything but manual. There's your problem. go buy a new Wrangler - this time, make it a manual. Use your old one for parts.
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Rony Gonzales at 6/10/2004 8:51:27 AM
I have 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee that I drove through pothole-filled Atlantic Avenue (Brooklyn, NY) yesterday... and now I hear a clunking noise in the rear, sounds like it could be coming from either the brake drums or the differential. Sounds awful close to the problem described below... any hints, anyone??
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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Dave_B___
Bone Stock
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| 07/05/2004 5:38 AM |
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| I have a '93 Wrangler Manual and I have had the problem since I got the motor, some 5 years ago. When the transmission is cold, it's ok, when it heats up, the poblem occurs. Only once has a garage been partly successful in solving the problem. He said the diff was ever so slightly loose, so he tightened it up and put some fluid into it (can't remember exactly what it was). The problem went away for a while and I thought it was wonderful not to have the noise anymore. Unfortunately, a few months later, the clunking came back.
I shall now go back to my garage and take this info with me. Hopefully I will be clunk-free very shortly! |
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Dave_B___
Bone Stock
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| 07/05/2004 5:46 AM |
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| Apologies, it was the Universal Joint he tightened up. |
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unknown___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 07/09/2004 7:25 AM |
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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unknown___
Bone Stock
Posts:0
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| 08/31/2004 8:12 PM |
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Mike at 6/1/2003 11:49:38 AM
I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler 4 cylinder automatic transmission with 60k miles. It's never been off road and only been in 4 wheel drive when driving conditions warrant. I have followed the extreme service schedule in my book faithfully, often having various fluids changed even sooner than recommended. My problems began around 30k miles (conveniently when my warranty was to expire). After driving the Jeep for a while (usually12-18 miles), If I came to a complete stop or even just a slight rolling, when I went to accelerate, I would get a clunking noise which sounded like it came from the rear end. Often it would sound like I was driving over grooved pavement. Initially, it would not do it all the time - sometimes only once or twice every other day. I brought it to the dealer a couple of times, and of course magically they could find nothing wrong. At 43k miles, the transmission suddenly failed. After arguing with the Chrysler zone manager as to who should pay for this, another transmission was installed. About two weeks after got the Jeep back, I noticed the clunking sound again. Fearing that the noise was somehow related to the transmission, I brought it back to the dealer on two more occasions, and both times claimed that they could not duplicate the noise. Their basic response to me was to continue driving it until the noise became more frequent or something broke (Not the response I would expect from a five star dealer). I did continue to drive it, and yes the noise did continue to get more frequent. I took it to another Jeep dealer and yes they did experience the noise. See Next Posting for the rest of the saga.
As I mentioned earlier, I brought my Jeep Wrangler to a second dealer, who did manage to experience the clunking noise from the rear. They claimed that the problem was coming from the master cylinder and the proportioning valve. They claimed that when they put the Jeep up on the lift, that the rear brakes were so locked up that the only way they could get them to release was to open the pressure on the master cylinder. I thought this kind of odd, because at 50k miles, I had the complete brake system checked, and the rear brake drums and shoes were in near perfect condition. Anyhow, they said this would fix the problem, so I authorized the work. I picked it up on a Saturday, with the service department being closed of course, and drove it home. Guess what? Still the same problem. I called the service department on Monday and spoke to the service manager, who claimed that the noise that I was hearing was coming from the limited slip differential discs sticking together. He claimed that they checked the fluid and said that there was no special additive in the oil that was required, and that they put some in. He said to drive it for a hundred miles or so and it would go away. Over 200 miles later I still have the noise. I called the dealer again, and he suggested that they change the fluid and add more special additive and try that. Since I just paid these guys a boatload of money to "fix" this noise problem that obviously they did not was unwilling to let them have a go at it again. See part three of this saga. .
After my experience at dealer number two, I was beginning to get the feeling that the dealers technical expertise wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. I decided to drain and refill the rear differential myself, making sure that I added the special additive. Well I did that, and still the same clunking noise. I ended up having an independent mechanic take it for a ride, and he believes that the problem is still either in the rear brakes or the universal joints. He said my clunking noise is more of a hollow sound, and not typical of a rear differential problem. He wasn’t ruling it out though, either. He said the only way to solve this is to start ruling out the simple stuff through exclusion. If I had a bad universal joint, those are fairly easy to replace, so that’s what we did. Guess what? Still have the noise. So the next step is to completely rule out the braking system as a cause. So right now we are in the process of replacing both drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, and hardware for the brakes. This may or may not solve the problem, but at the very least it would rule out the brakes as a cause of the clunking, since the entire braking system would have been replaced by now. If this doesn’t work, then we have to start looking at the differential itself. There is one other possibility that I happened to chance upon. In the Car Care section of Popular Mechanics July 2003 issue, there is a “clunker” question from someone with a 1999 Suburban. The answer given doesn’t seem to fit the question, but you can read it and decide for yourself. I will let you know the success or failure of the brake job.
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