No, it was my fault and my insurance accepted liability already. We were taking off from a stop light and all of a sudden the car in front of me stopped, I didn't in time. I was only traveling maybe 10 mph.

So the symptoms are that there is a vibration at idle and at low speeds. It does not stop if I am In neutral or even if I put the TC into neutral. I believe something has shifted, just not sure what. Maybe motor mounts? Not too sure the best way to see them. I assume under, but I couldn't really locate them while I was under there. (Jeep was still hot and didn't have it jacked up) I won't be able to look tonight, but I have a buddy coming over tomorrow to help diagnose.

Thanks again for any more info or details on where to look!

 

The one bolt doesn't look like there was any wear marks, but the other two look like there may have been. So would there be any harm in me loosening the bolts and pulling the trans back just a little bit to see if it fixes it anyway? Also, retightening the bolts, I don't have a torque wrench, just go as tight as I can, or try and source one before trying?

Thanks again for any help!

 

Nope, no harm in moving the mount to see what happens. I didn't use a torque wrench on mine either, just kinda go until they're nice and snug. I would shy away from an impact because I'd hate to tear one free from the rubber isolator. I think they're pressed into the base of the isolator, but it's been a while.

 

Wait, before I attempt this, I am trying to move the transmission itself back towards the rear just a little bit, right? Not just the trans mount? Again, sorry for all the questions, and thanks for the help!

 

The mount is bolted to both the transmission as well as the crossmember. I loosened the nuts at the crossmember and shifted the transmission (and thus mount) further towards the rear. Keep it snug towards the rear and then snug up the bolts. If it feels unnatural when you start it up and move it through the RPM range (which is where I immediately noticed my issue) then you can try to loosen up those nuts again, start the jeep, work the RPM's a little, kill it, then see where the bolts are lined up in the holes on the crossmember. I knew mine needed to move to the back, but that should also get you to a place where the mounts are not in a bind, more of a natural "at rest" state, if that makes sense.

 

IT'S FIXED!!! I can't believe it. Now, after moving the trans and mount backward, it definitely does not look like the trans itself moved... But the vibration is gone and shifts feel normal again. If the trans itself didn't move, I wonder what could have moved that moving the trans back fixed it?! Also, I am going to run and rent a torque wrench just to be sure everything is snugged correctly. I am going to look, but if anyone knows the torque specs off the top of their heads, that would be awesome.

Man, thanks again for all the help! What a relief!

 

Old thread here - but doing this same thing and wondering about the torque specs as well

 

I don't have any torque specs but the bolts are isolated in rubber so if you get too crazy, you'll tear the rubber. If I'm remembering right, they're 16 mm (may even be further up in the thread) but you get your 1/2" ratchet and just snug them down. You'll feel them get tight. Put a little oomph into it but certainly don't get your entire body weight behind it and pull.

 

Did just that - as far as I can tell, I've centered the top bar to the bottom bar and there shouldn't be any rubbing anymore, but I definitely am still getting some vibration when sitting at stoplights. It's odd though, it depends on the exact RPM the engine's idling at. Even fully warmed up, sometimes when I come to a stop, the vibration isn't there and all is smooth - sometimes it isn't there but after about 5 seconds, the engine seems to lower it's idle a bit and the resonance comes back. Sometimes it goes back up.

Wondering if I torqued too tight, and it's not allowing for any play? or if the mount needs to be preloaded a bit?

The mount was replaced about 1K ago by a dealership that noticed metal-to-metal on the old mount, so it's almost brand new. I did notice the below though, that the crossmember isn't exactly in the same place it was. Could that have an effect? It's like this on both sides.

Like I said - there doesn't seem to be any indication anymore of the mount rubbing, but honestly I can't fully tell.

 

Mine weren't centered when I was "done". The mount was slid clear to the back and I had to move it clear to the front. I don't think over-torquing is going to be the issue, the rubber needs that torque to do the job.

Regarding your transfer case crossmember- I've taken to jacking it clear up and then tightening it down once it's there, I don't think it's possible to mess it up.