Hi All,

I need some help here. I was driving my XJ on the freeway yesterday and noticed a spinng/rattling sound coming from my car, almost like a baseball card that was clipped to a bicycle. I believe it's coming from the back of the engine/tranny area. The car runs great, compression is good, there is no sputter or misfire. It seems to get louder when I'm in 5th gear as I accelerate. I can feel a slight vibration from the gear shifter. I did do a clutch job on it about 2 years ago. Could it be my Throwout Bearing? I have a hard time getting in & out of gear sometimes and have to force it out of gear. It usually helps to wiggle the gear shifter a bit and then put it into gear. Help!

 

I've been reading alot of the Forums and it seems like it could be a number of things, Transfer Case, U-joint, wheel hub etc. Listening to it while I was driving today, the spinning rattle sounds like it's coming from the dash but is louder at the gear shifter. I tried shaking the drive shaft but it seems to be stiff. Was I supposed to raise the car and then shake the drive shaft? Help!

 

check your motor/transmission mounts

 

Thank you for you reply. I shook the tranny as well. It didn't seem loose. If it is the motor mounts, what type of problem am I looking for. I changed 2 of the 3 the motor mounts about 2 years ago. They weren't the polyurethane type, but were a softer rubber which I don't think would last very long. Also I can hear the clicking rattle sound in every gear now, just not as loud as it is when Im in 5th gear at 55 mph.

 

does the sound get louder or change when you push in the clutch? i had a dakota do something similar to the noise your describing, it was the release/throw-out bearing.

 

I would suspect that your clutch may be going bad. Do you feel a vibration in the clutch pedal when you depress it? The fact that it goes into gear hard tells me that it is not disengaging completely. I would start there.

 

I can't feel it in the clutch. Can't hear it in neutral. I really can't hear it in 1st gear my exhaust system is kinda loud, but I can start to hear it in 2nd and then gets louder as I shift into 3rd, 4th & 5th. I can feel it in the gear shift in 3rd 4th & 5th. When I push in the Clutch the sound goes away.

 

I had a 78 Trans-am that did the same thing. It was the spedometer cable and gear on the trainy. Depending on your year though it should be electric. Just my 2 cents...

 

Check your slip yoke, you may just need to grease it.

 

if it was your release bearing, you would hear it when in neutral, and disappear when you engage the clutch.

if you hear a rattle when driving, it could be your double cardan u-joints, maybe the centering ball.

i've also had my speedo cable make a rattling noise also.

do you have a hi-lift mounted somewhere? could be just the base rattling.

 

Thanks again, I will check the Slip Yoke and U-Joint. It does look dry in that area. How nessecary is a Transfer Case lowering Kit? I recently put a 3" Rough Country lift in it.

 

More than likely its the the clutch but... It very well could also be the flywheel bolts loosening , very common on XJ's

 

Ok all here's the latest. I changed out both u joints. But before I installed, the drive shaft, I decided to start my rig up and put it in 5th gear. The rattle is still there. I guess I'll have to pull the tranny and check the throwout bearing next. Is there anything else I could check before I pull the tranny?

 

Hello all, here is the latest update. I pulled my tranny today. I didn't take me long at all. I inspected the throw out bearing. It was very loose. I shook it a bit and it sounded a lot like what I was hearing when I was driving. How snug is it supposed to be once installed into the bell housing? Another thing I noticed, is the transmission shaft supposed to have a lil bit of play in it? It moved no more than a 16th of an inch back and forth but not front to back. All the other components looked to be in tip top shape. (clutch plate, pressure plate, pilot bearing)