Adam00

Hello all
i am new to this forum.
Alittle back history on me
I live in Connecticut I have owned 3 Jeep Cherokees over the last 25 years
I own a 2000 jeep Cherokee sport 4x4

my question for you is I have been tracking this clicking noise for months now almost sounds like something is hitting something( rotational sounding) sound is heard clearly from driver side front/middle of car
here is the tuff part it makes the noise only under load and accelerating/moving
it can be heard clearly from 5 to 25 mph

in park idling no click
in park reving no click
neutral no click
in drive holding brake no click

Only happens when the vehicle is actually moving

what I have tried so far is the following
used stethoscope to try and narrow things down
I get a little chatter in the flex plate area
alittle chatter oil pan area
exhaust and headers sound loud kinda hard to tell

I have jacked the front end and spun the tires checking front axel the drives side axel
has alittle play in the U joint but doesnt make noise spinning the tire
drove the vehicle with 4x4 on same sound no difference

Put all four tires up on jack stands and Press the accelerator in 2 wheel then 4 wheel I could NOT get the sound to happen ??????

sum it up it’s only while actually moving low speed
while in drive accelerating once Iam doing 40 50 it’s still there just harder to hear

flex plate ?
U joint ?
My front drive shaft has more play in it then I believe it should ?

appreciate any help here you guys are the pros

thank you

adam

Cherryokee

This is a tough one. I hate this kind of mystery. You must be getting annoyed by now.

I hope these ideas can help you find the clicky thing. Although not always on target, my knee-jerk response to your annoyance:
* check the belt and corresponding spinny parts - is belt tension good and are the pulleys tight/true? fan or belt wobble can cause sounds like a clicking noise which may become uglier noises.
* how about mounts - always worthy of inspection - use a pry bar to flex each one at a time. a little displacement of a weak/stressed mount can undo clearances and make spinning parts touch fixed objects.
* driveline components, such as u-joints and/or wheel bearings can make such noises (the click-rate obviously will rise and fall with speed).
* let the mother-in-law out of the back seat - that clicking sound might be her saying "tsk-tsk" in disapproval of your driving ha-ha.

Adam00

lol

I appreciate the reply
Iam gonna try and look at the U joint of the front drive shaft there is play in it

this sound is crazy

had a mechanic say top end rockers???
but I couldn’t re create the noise when I had the car up on jacks

Thanks Adam

Cherryokee

I just remembered there was another godawful sound made by my cherokee long ago. A flex plate bolt had backed-out of it's hole several months after a transmission service. My response to the noise was immediate, which saved me from bigger troubles. The bolt was still in the hole but loosened ~3 turns so the head would hit something else when rotating and flex-deflection happened under-load. I replaced the loosened bolt and torqued all to spec, adding loctite thread-locker. Case closed.

Adam00

Ahhh I was hoping that was my issue the flex plate
I had a loose bolt but wasn’t the noise
who knows maybe mine is cracked more towards the center ??

Adam00

My clicking sounds in toon with the engine and really appears loud from 10 to 25mph and could be heard with drivers side window down clearly
harder to hear out the passenger

Cherryokee

another thought...cracked exhaust manifold or failing manifold gasket...under higher exhaust pressures it can make more of a clicking sound

when the manifold failed on my 4.0, a small crack between #2 and #3 that opened completely in 2 days time, it initially made a sound similar to rapid clicks when under acceleration, until the crack opened further then it sounded like an endlessly long loud fart

Cherryokee

Rockers? That kind of thing would show-up in engine performance and/or fuel consumption. Sounds like guesswork on their part. We know the sounds of our 4.0 rockers, music to my ears anyway. I know the tune by heart and can tell from the melody if my "4.0 symphony" has dropped a note.

My brain is mush but ideas keep coming. Check your spark plugs. Pull one at a time, be mindful of how tight/loose they are/were when unscrewing, inspect, clean and gap the old or replace new and seat to proper torque.

Adam00

I was pretty surprised when he said rockers
I still don’t get the feeling it’s rockers
i appreciate the advice I will check the plugs
and manifold

I really want to figure it out the fact I couldn’t hear it on jacks but only rolling makes my head scratch

Cherryokee

The symptom you described makes me think it's a noise made while under acceleration loads. Is that a correct assumption? Need more data...

Adam00

That’s correct
I start the jeep and it sounds good sounds normal for an xj
if I rev it no sound
rev in neutral no sound
Put in drive and start accelerating and moving and the noise click click starts up at 10 mph
have to have foot on gas and accelerate to hear it

Cherryokee

So, a cold or warm engine doesn't matter? Can you do a mild "brake stand" so you don't have to drive to make the noise? This procedural action is a product of the rationale where "If it jams then force it. If it breaks then it needed replacement anyway.".

Open the hood wide and get in the seat, peer at the top of your engine through the crack between hood and cowling. Start engine, set parking brake firmly or put a foot firmly on the brake pedal and shift to D, gently apply part-throttle and listen for clicks while observing for engine deflection/movement (looking for motor mount flex/separation). Apply more throttle but only if-needed to accomplish limit testing - we don't want to cause more harm. If you see engine deflection and/or hear the offending sound, then does the engine deflection correspond with clicking sounds? Do it gently a couple times to determine any correspondence and or engine position when clicking occurs.

If it did as described then you are now on the path to a solution. Note that there are three mounts, two for the engine and one for the trans tail shaft. Use a pinch bar and shoe-horn each mount until identified. Once found then put a wedge in it somehow to mechanically force the same deflection (or close to it) observed during the brake stand. Start engine with shifter in P to confirm finding and get your ears working to pin-point the source of the clicking noise, raise and lower throttle at the linkage as-needed.

Adam00

Thank you
I have tried the brake and pedal concept but never really heard anything
I am going to try it again taking your approach at it

see what kind of results I find

yes warm or cold it makes
the clicking

thanks
Adam

Adam00

Here is my sound
Let me Know what ya think

thanks
Adam

Adam00

So Iam wondering if it could be my injectors or fuel rail
I listened there last night and there is certainly some noise
I no injectors make ticking noises as it opens and closes to spray fuel but some were loud some were not ?
The hunt continues

I took the belt off and drove the xj quickly down the street and back no change in noise

my other thought could it be timing chain slap?