Clunking/rattle

[brenden84]

hey guys. i have a clunking noise coming from the underside of my bronco. it gets faster as i increase speed but i know its not the engine because when i rev it at a stop it doesnt make the noise. i stuck my head out the window today and i heard a slight rattle along with the clunk. i can feel the clunk in the gas pedal and throughout the car but its not severe. any ideas? its not the engine...tranny?

thanks- brenden

 

[Justshootme84]

Check the u-joints in the rear driveshaft, and for any loose bolts on the exhaust and heat shields.

 

[mansquirt86]

I just had a problem very much the same as yours. After enough investigation i found it to be that damn double cardan joint on the rear driveshaft. Specifically the center yoke socket. Id say start there, if you have a cardan that is.

 

[brenden84]

thanks guys, i'll check it out.

peace- brenden

 

[brenden84]

hey guys. i think i found the problem, my rear drive shaft moves very slightly on the transfer case end. its right in that joint, whats it called? cardian? im assuming thats where the noise is coming from, how would i go about fixin that, is it critical i get it fixed soon and how much ball park would it cost? thanks- brenden

 

[Justshootme84]

The double -cardan joint is like a constant-velocity (CV) joint in that it's 2 u-joints coupled together. About $200 for a driveline shop to fix it. Sounds like alot, but way cheaper than a new rearend!!!

 

[brenden84]

how urgent is it to get the cardan joint fixed or replaced. will it hurt to drive on it for a while longer? i have prom comin up and money is tight right now.

thanks- brenden

 

[indoz]

Jsm84, isn't $200 a bit over the top to repair this? If it is the same universal joint that I have on my 82 F100, one can renew the four needle bearings in it $5/each?. and pump grease.

 

[Justshootme84]

The $200 includes the labor involved in removing & pressing the joint. It can be done, but the 2 joints I used when repairing mine were nearly $100. I've heard of shops charging as much as $350 for the repair. It's detailed in the Haynes manual.

Brenden84, I would say you can go for a little while, but don't put it off too long and hurt the rear axle. You don't want to break down on prom night out in the middle of the woods, do you???

 

[brenden84]

hahaha, would that really be a bad thing? im prolly takin my dads jeep liberty instead of the beast but we'll see. thanks for the advice. o, im wondering how i can add oil. i need new valve cover gaskets, oil is burning off my engine so my oil level is goin down. theres a yellow cap on my valve cover but its got a ****** old rubber tube running to it from the air filter casing, i dont think it actually does anything. is this where the shops add oil? can i just add it with a funnel through the dipstick tube? thanks, brenden

 

[Justshootme84]

Jeep Liberty??? NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! J/K, my friend has one that I get to ride in on long trips, makes about 20 mpg and rides great.

The oil filler cap is on the front end of the driver's-side valve cover, same side as the dipstick. The hose to the air cleaner is just a vent for crankcase pressure. Valve cover gaskets are about the easiest repair I've ever done on my Bronco. Get those fixxed!!!

This is an old pic, prior to the shaker kit, but may give you an incentive. I got me some chrome valve covers, and the breather cap is where I put the oil in.

 

[brenden84]

hey jsm,

thanks a lot for the advice. the pic helped out a lot. u have a new ac system? looks like a new freon tank thing, o and i like the blue cover for the brake fluid. so are new valve cover gaskets something i can do on my own or should i take it in. i dont have many tools at all at my disposal.

so i can just unscrew the yellow cap on the valve cover and just poor oil into the engine that way?

one more question, just curious, whats all the blue tubing u have running around in your engine?

thanks a lot

peace- brenden

 

[Justshootme84]

Where do I begin? You can easily change valve cover gaskets, if you need help just e-mail me. You don't have to get new chrome covers, I did that because the old ones were rusted out.

Yes, just unscrew the yellow cap and pour the oil in the opening in the valve cover. I still use a funnel, but it's much easier than filling thru the dipstick.

I have converted from R-12 to R-134a on my AC system, but all of the components are stock and original. They look so shiny new due to cleaning with "Scrubbing Bubbles" bathroom cleaner.

The blue tubing is simply blue wire looms that I bought at a car&truck show. You cna order those in any color from J.C.Whitney, Summit. or directly from Taylor Co. You might also find thos at the local parts store.

FYI, that pic is 3 yrs old, so I have more stuff added on. Things like the brake fluid cover I just painted to match my paint job. You see all of the rust on the brake booster, wiper motor, hood hinges, etc. and I spray painted little items like that, too. I am an engine freak, so every thing I can refresh, I've restored, replaced or repainted. It's alot cheaper than new chrome parts!!!

 

[brenden84]

hey guys-

i had an accident yesterday, not too bad. i was changing lanes and a lady that was speeding was passing on the left and my front bumper took off most of the right side of her car. it was awesome. the cop didnt give me a ticket since she was speeding and im workin it out. i'll try to get a picture up on here of what my bumper looks like. anyway, i havnt had a chance to fix my drive shaft yet, theres a squeaking now along with the clunking, should i oil the joint to minimize the squeaking temporarily maybe till i can get it fixed?

thanks - brenden

 

[Txquadhunter]

The longer you run that joint bad it could cost you more $$ later. In the center on the 2 u-joints in the CV is a ball that slips into joint (cup) it'll wollow the joint out more. If you can catch it in time you can just change the u-joints and be done with it. But if gone to long and the ball/cup is wollowed out it'll cost the $200 or so to completely rebuild that joint.

I built a new driveshaft for my 79 Bronco to do away with the CV joint since it was my weak link playing off road. But if your Bronco is lifted it'll need the joint to keep a good shaft angel. Since I replaced it with a everyday u-joint setup, I haven't had a rear u-joint/shaft failure.

 

[Guest]

hey, this is brenden84

on my bronco isnt lifted and its been making the noise for a while now. im gonna try to take it in this weekend, i still need to get new valve cover gaskets asap cause im leaking oil all over my engine. could i be missing that ball all together?

thanks -brenden

 

[Txquadhunter]

I highly doubt it, The ball is pressed on. Just the slop from the joints and the cup dry will eat that piece up.

 

[Ice Man 860]

woahh... ok heres a realy odd question 4 u. do u ever power break it? or do roll backs? or any thing that would realy realy light the tires up? any form of a hole shot can cause a funky lill problem. i had a weird noise coming from the driveshaft last summer. and it became a realy nasty squeek kinda noise. any ways to make a realy realy long story short. i took it 2 a shop and they discovered that i blew some bushing in the drive shaft appart. now ive never heard of it before, but apparently theres a small plastic bushing thats part of the slipshaft assy and if u pull a realy nasty hole shot u run the risk of shattering it. no im not sure if the guy just riped me off and made a b/s story up. b/c he said it was realy rare and had only seen it one or 2 times in "20 something years" but it could be your problem. just some food for thought.

 

[brenden84]

thanks for the input, i'll get it fixed asap but i dont have the $$ right now.

other than going through oil like crazy is there anything bad about leaking oil onto your engine and having it burn off because of bad valve cover gaskets? dont get me wrong, im getting it fixed but im just not sure how soon i'll be able to afford it.

thanks, brenden