1990 jeep cherokee with the 4.0L I6. whenever I give it gas, of any amount-either to the floor or babying it, it's got a clicking sound. only clicks when it's in gear, when it's in park or neutral, it runs fine. sometimes it's louder than other times. its a very fast repetitive clicking. anybody have any ideas what might be causing it and how to fix it? any help would be great! thanks!

 

Im having a similar problem in my 96

 

Where on the Jeep is the clicking coming from????????

 

I would guess u-joint.

 

I wouldn't guess anything. Based on the OP the cause could be almost ANYthing that rotates. U-joint is among the first things to check though. But there are 7 or 8 to check.

 

does it run choppy? if so, you're describing a cracked flexplate.

likely issue is ujoints, though.

 

it may be your lifters

 

How do you know when a joint is bad is there any physical appearance?

 

block rear wheels up, climb under with trans in neutral, and try and move the shaft by hand. if there is any movement at the lower ujoint, it needs to be replaced. then, grab the yoke on the back of the trans, and try and move it. if there is any movement at the upper ujoint, it needs to be replaced.


defining ujoint movement as any "slop" between the joint and any of the 4 caps per joint, of course.

 

Ok cool thanks

 

sweet! thanks guys, I'll check the u-joints this weekend. and the clicking sound is coming from just about the gas pedal, it's loudest on the inside. and, what else is there to check besides the u-joints?

 

Front diveshaft. For that you just crawl under and do the same thing.




If it's by the gas pedal, probably have loose torque converter bolts. Gotta remove the inspection plate off thee front of the trans bell housing to figure that out

 

Does this clicking cycle with engine rpms, with movement/speed of the vehicle, or just constant but louder and softer from time to time?

 

the clicking gets louder and softer from time to time but is always clicking. I drove again today with everything turned down and off, and it was loud when i was gettin it up to speed (while still babying it) and when I got up to speed and let off a little, it got a little softer, but not much. and today I after I got home from work, I checked the oil and is was about 1/2 quart low, so I topped it off and it made no difference. somebody rode with me today and mentioned, is it possible i'm having a valve problem? he said it'd be doing the clicking in gear or in park and you'd be able to hear it outside the vehicle when idling. but is it still a possibility?

 

and I tried the u-joint thing. I can rotate both of them a little by hand. so, would that be normal? by movement do you mean up and down or side to side movement? or, if I can rotate it a little by hand, is that bad?