gbkd80

My XJ has been clunking like a **** for the last couple of months in the rear. I replaced the rear swaybar (snapped) and bushings at the beginning of the year for similar noises. Now, I’m noticing like if I’m turning at slow speeds or backing out of my driveway over the little bump at the end, the whole back end sounds like it’s going to crumble.

if I open the rear hatch, all of these noises go away. I had hatch noise a long time ago and replaced the bumpers to take care of that, so I know it’s not the hatch itself. There’s obviously some flex going on somewhere that is more apparent when it’s all structurally closed up or something...

got under it a little while ago to see if anything looks off and all I notice is that I can push up pretty easily on the gas tank and watch the shocks go up very easily. So I think I’ve read that the springs are actually what hold the rear end and the shocks really just absorb but don’t do anywhere near as much as the springs do. Is this true? Has anyone experienced this stuff that could help? I’m not about to dump crazy money into this thing anymore.

downs

Shocks dampen movement. They dont actually support anything. When they go bad your ride typically goes from being controlled to be bouncy like a pogo stick.

The clunk could be as simple as one of the upper shock mounts being loose. Youre just going to have to do some more looking around. Maybe have someone bounce on tbe rear bumper while you look around with a flashlight.

PatHenry

Agree. If the rear end is sagging, the springs are bad. If it's clunking and loose as you're describing, it very well could be bad shocks or the mounting. You can try grabbing the shock and see if you can twist it at all by hand.. look at the bushings too and see if they're cracked and nasty. You can get a fair set of replacement shocks for a low price at RockAuto.com, maybe worth it to just change them out and make sure you use good and solid mounting hardware (the bolts tend to shear off on the upper mount side).

Red1992XJ

Just a few questions - How many miles are on the truck? Have the springs ever been replaced before? What is your ride height in the rear?

If your rear springs are shot, putting new shocks on it may result in their failure if the springs are too far gone. You also may want to check the bushings on the leaf springs as well.

Just consider how much longer you plan on keeping the truck.

Also, being that the noise will only occur when the hatch is closed, you could have other problems going on structurally. Without seeing the truck it can be hard to diagnose, but we all want to help.

gbkd80

I'm going to measure the ride height, I forgot to do that. Do I go center of the wheel hub to the top of the wheel well cover? If I replace the shocks anyway, should i get the kit from Rough Country so I don't have to struggle with the broken spot-welded bolts?

gbkd80

It has 187k or just under. I bought it 2.5 years ago at 173k so I put some good miles on it and it's been solid. But it's a beater for sure. I have put some money into it fixing up the front end components (tie-rod, tie-rod ends, trackbar, stabilizer, end links, bushings) nut I never did the front shocks. And then the rear end started clunking earlier this year and it turned out the rear swaybar cracked in half. So I replaced that and got new end-links and bushings. Seemed fine for a bit but now the clunking is back and yes, with the hatch open it doesn't clunk over the bumps, or at least in my driveway over some holes that I know will cause the pop if it's closed. So my thoughts were that there could only be two things back there now that would do that where the hatch could come into play; springs and shocks. And some type of flex that isn't apparent when the hatch is open.

I hope to keep the truck long enough to keep using it ad a weekend dump-runner, errand jockey... it's not my daily so it's not as critical, but if it's something inexpensive that I can do myself I'm up for it. I mean the front end and rear end parts were rusted so bad I'm sure i got my taste of one of the poorer examples, so I already have my expectations set.

Like i said in the original post, i was able to lay under the truck and push up on the gas tank and the shocks moved considerably. I'm sure they're shot, but I'll have to get the ride height measurement to see if the springs are...

Red1992XJ

I mean, its up to you. It sounds like you also should address the gas tank issue first, hopefully it will just need a new set of J bolts and straps.

As far as the rear springs and shocks, you could probably do them for about $300.00, depending on shipping, etc. Look into the "upcountry" lift kit that people talk about on here. It would run you about $500 once you piece it together and it is all new springs and shocks front and rear. It will probably ride quite a bit better afterwords.

gbkd80

The gas tank is ok, I just meant I used that to lift the back end up by hand. It's secure.

dave1123

I think your getting body twist causing the hatch to bump the sides of the opening. If I park my 2000 XJ, which is a rusted out POS, with one rear wheel up on something higher than the other 3, I have trouble opening the hatch, and then it won't latch unless I move the jeep. Both my rear wheelwells are practically non-existant, the flares are gone, and the frame has been welded at the rear mounts for the springs. This one is ready for replacement with only 146K miles on it. It's really a shame because the powertrain is excellent. In only paid $700 for it, but put about a grand into making it road worthy, just for tires, wheels, brakes, and welding. I couldn't do the welding myself. It serves as a backup vehicle for my newspaper route so it's not that important what it looks like. Amazingly, if I leave it sit for over a week, it fires right up like I just parked it, even in the winter.

This jeep has been ridden hard and put away wet way too often. It had sat all summer without even being washed. This I know because that's how I found it when I bought it! Sitting in the weeds, covered on road crap. Remarkably, it fired right up with a jump pack.

Red1992XJ

My apologies gbkd80, I thought you meant that the gas tank shifted, which could account for a clunk.

It is not uncommon to have some sort of body twist on these older unibody trucks. I would recommend taking a real close look at the rear half of the vehicle and looking for rust or rot that could weaken the structure enough to allow it to flex.

Do this before you sink any more money into it. Maybe if you could even get us a few pictures?

gbkd80

Ok, I heard it creak when I got out of it today so I took this video after pinpointing the noise. Definitely in the spring at least on the drivers side. Video sucks, I'm sorry, I had no one to help - I just got on the ground and used my foot to rock the jeep up and down by the wheel well. Is the shackle supposed to move like that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejZ_...ature=youtu.be

I mean it's pretty clear all the bushings at the very least are beat, that part is obvious.

gbkd80

I'll have to try that; maybe I'll go extreme and back one wheel up halfway on a ramp and see. There is definitely more going on though looking at the video. I'll still have to get some under-body pics around the shocks etc.

Remus Redbone

Sounds to me like you should focus on the rear hatch.

gbkd80

Except that the clunking is clearly coming from under the rear end somewhere... it could be still there over different terrain, I just haven't driven out of the neighborhood with the hatch hanging open.

dave1123

I don't think you'd want to either. The hatch adds a lot of rigidity to the body and if that is the problem, you could twist it up good.