More towards torque converter bolts as a wrist pin knock will change/disappear with plug wire removal.

 

unless the piston skirt is damaged which would leave the piston out of balance, but I do agree with your diagnosis

 

Loose flex plate bolts and broken piston skirts both mimic a bottom end knock that may be a bad rod bearing but loose bolts and broken skirts are a lot more common.

My buddy's TJ (2.5L) while we were trying to diagnose his bottom end knock...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO0aXJh46

...and this is what we found in his oil pan

 

Wow, thanks for that link Cruiser, that is the EXACT sound mine is making.

I love this friggin forum!

 

Gonna have my oil pan off to replace the RMS and exhaust off to replace it next weekend so I can't think of a better time to tighten them.

Thanks again!

 

159k miles, oil pressure is about 60 warmed up. dosent get louder or quiter after warmed up. when putting the red neck stethiscope to the oil pan, i hear the knock more towards the back of hte motor, not much at all in the tranny

 

I would pull the inspection plate first (because it's easy and quick) and check your flex plate bolts and fatigue cracks on the flex plate, itself. Then, I'd pull the pan and check for bits.

Be ready with a pan under there because an undetermined number of minutes after your think you're in the clear for leaking oil, the pick-up screen will dump a gallon of it in your driveway when you're not looking

 

Here's a great write-up with photos.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/ho...ocking-125547/

 

right on, ima try and pull the flex plate tommorow after work and look at all that, the knock sounded pretty close to the one in the video, so hopefully thats the problem, ill let you guys know how it goes!

 

nothin doin, tightened two bolts, didnt need much, and put locktite on them, still knocking, guess ill pull the oil pan here in the next couple days and see if anythings in there. if its a bearing knock, its not awful yet, will drive it more to see if it gets worse

 

you just threw new parts in a old motor not same as rebuilding.

 

wow! You must have some of that new fangled machine equiptment that goes into the hood of a car huh?

 

whats this wrist pin you speak of

 

nope. a wrist pin hold the rod and the cylinder together...

 

The wrist pin holds the piston on the rod....