This morning when I put my jeep in drive I got this clunk that seemed to come from my rear. It was happening mostly when I accelerate. My bottom leaf was broken and I noticed to day that the one half had fallen out. Would that the cause of the popping, or a bad ujoint? Or could it be something else?

 

A clunk when accelerating would lead me to think U-joint, so check/inspect those! As far as the leaf, how much of the bottom leaf is gone? I hope it didn't break close to the axle...

 

It was the bottom leaf that was broke it broke right past the centering pin so half of the leaf is still there. When I shut the jeep off I go underneath and tried to see if there was any play in the drive shaft, but it was solid as a rock. That was with the jeep in park, what gear should I try it in.

 

Put the ebrake on or park against something THEN put it in park.

i recommend just removing the rear DS, actually check the ujoints and pack the slip yoke with grease.

 

Its either a loose U-Bolt due to the broke spring, or a bad U-Joint.
We won't go further till you check those two. Then we can move forward and check ring and pinion slop.

 

Ok guys I crawled underneath this morning in the snow to check the drive shaft. While parked on a flat road, I tried shaking it up, down and twisting it. I had no movement up or down. When I twisted the drive shaft it moved just a hair. Also the u bolts are still tight. But now the popping sound I was hearing is gone.

 

You may not have much, if any, play in the ds, but you could still have a bad u-joint. I'm with The Jerm on this one. Actually remove the ds and inspect the joints. IT doesn't take long and it's worth the safety check.