Hey all - have a problem that seems to be getting worse, and wondered your thoughts on it. I have an 07 Rubi with 5.38s, stock rear driveshaft, but Adams front - Auto trans. I have a tranny cooler, and changed out the fluid not too long ago (3k miles or so I would guess).

When I am not under hard acceleration (i.e. in stop and go traffic), I am getting a clunk and almost a feeling of push-back from the jeep when shifting from 1st to 2nd. It will sometimes do that from 2nd to 3rd, but not as noticeable. Today I pulled the front driveshaft and same issue. In testing, I have found that it is more noticeable in 4-lo, too. I don't see any visible issues w/ the rear DS, and the issue "feels" like it is coming more from the T-Case/Tranny area than the rear anyway.

So, I am looking for thoughts, suggestions, help - where should I start troubleshooting? Any standard things to look for in the tranny or t-case?

Also, in case this gets beyond me (work is tough presently, and I have an offroad trip coming up next month I want this ready for...), any recommended shops in the Phoenix or Mesa, AZ areas?


Thanks for the help!

-randy

 

When you are parked and shutoff can you move the driveshaft? Try to rotate it in both directions and see if there is any play in either the driveshaft or through the axles.

 

for the rear, no - it's tight (assuming it's because of the load from the drivetrain) - for the front, yes - there is play in it. Since I have the DS off in front, I can tell you there is about 1/4-3/8" movement on the diff, and about 1/4-3/8" movement on the T-case flange (again - w/ the DS off). The Diff is pretty quiet, but the T-Case makes somewhat of a banging sound as it hits on either side when rotating it. Does that help at all?


Thanks!

 

That's both normal, the transfercase is a chain driven t case so that's the "banging" sound you're hearing.
As for checking the rear, you want to do it with the vehicle in neutral, to take the load off.

 

I am traveling for a couple of days, but will check Friday when I get back - thanks for the help!

 

OK - I have it on flat ground, and in neutral - there is a little play in the DS, but I would say 1/4" max - grabbing it and shaking it moves the tranny up and down a bit (it's on rubber spacers), but not excessive in any way.

Any thoughts?

-randy

 

Thought I would follow up to this, and also have a couple of questions...

I ended up taking the jeep to a tranny shop - they kept it 3 days, but didn't think it was the tranny or t-case. To their credit, they did not charge me for the diagnosis, which was awesome. I got it back and decided to pull the rear driveshaft for testing. After removing it, no clunk. OK... one more data point. A friend had referred me to another shop, and so I put the DS back in, and had my son follow me to the shop... except... still no clunking now! I tried everything I could to get it to clunk, but to no avail...

However...

In removing the rear DS, I angled the shaft too much, and one of the CV boots tore. OK - I went through this with the front - bought the rebuilt kit for it (front), but it was wasted within 6 months, so ended up with an Adams front... So this time, I decided to just do the back as well - I was headed there anyway...

Side note: The guys at Adams offroad are awesome! Ordered my shaft late monday, it was at my door on Wed!! I told them I was leaving the next week, and so they rushed it - really nice guys there!

OK - so I get the new shaft, and am presently installing it, but I have a couple of questions:

1. On the transmission side, when I pulled the yoke off I got some fluid that dripped out - not a ton, but about a teaspoon or so. Is this normal?

2. The shaft coming out of the tranny (that the flange mounts on) moves in and out about 3/8 of an inch or so - is that normal? I don't like that I could not find what was making the clunking before, and wondered if this might be it?


Thanks for the help - I appreciate it!

-randy


Thanks for the