So i got this 2001 XJ sport in Sept 2023. I have been able to do some work on it since then. Im sure some of you have my posts about codes n such. Well our landlord decided to sell the house we were living in so we had to move.

I loaded up the XJ for a trip to the new place and it was making a horrible grinding sound like rocks rolling around in a metal box. So i took most of the stuff out but it still did this at slightest incline.

With nothing loaded in it i managed the 30 min drive to the new place.

At this place, our garbage has to be brought to a dumpster at the other end of the property we moved to, ( a little less than a 1/4 mile) so i put it in the XJ . Mind you it was 3 bags of household garbage, very light, and then 2 bags with a bunch of used cat litter that were kind of heavy. (i have 5 cats) So, there are 2 hills on this road. It made that awful sound again on the hills, and when i got back to the house, i noticed a rotten egg-ish unpleasant smell. So im guess the transfer case or transmission. This new place is significantly more rent even though its a less nice place. Honestly financially, i just cant afford to keep up with this thing so i will likely be selling it.

That said, what do you guys think it is? Am i on the right track? I want to be upfront with whoever may want to buy it.
Thanks all!

 

There is nothing cheap about maintaining a vehicle 20+ years old....
Could be a cracked flex plate
Could be U-Joints
Could be Transfer Case (if yours is a 4x4)
Could be bad gears in differential
Could be transmission

Now, when it makes the noise, is there any difference in how it drives?
Where does the noise "sounds" like it is coming from?
Does the sound happen only when you accelerate of when your not?
Does it happen when your are driving straight or turning?
Rotten egg smell? When was the last time the catalytic converter replaced?
Did you hook up a OBD2 reader to find any fault codes?

Diagnose your issue is the first step of repair.

 

"rotten egg smell"

Did you happen to look under it to see if hypoid lube is leaking out of either of the differentials? .
As pointed out above no one is going to be able to help unless you do some diagnosis.
Probably ought to sell it as is and move on

 

I have been working on this on and off since i got it in 2023. I never said nor expected it to be cheap to maintain. My financial position has shifted and thats why i dont think i can maintain it any longer.
That said...

Could be a cracked flex plate --- possibly
Could be U-Joints, --- i replaced the front axle shafts with TEn factory cro-moly axles with the joints (spicer) already on them, hubs/bearings, as well as the drag link, and Tie rods.

Could be Transfer Case (if yours is a 4x4)--- Yes i said it could be that....It is a 4X4, but the linkage is disconnected as it is rusted to hell and i dont use it, so was going to replace the linkage down the line.

Could be bad gears in differential--- Could be. I had the entire rear end replaced last year due to a bad pinion bearing. However it was replaced with a junkyard rear done through a local shop as i didnt have the means to do that big a job myself. I had to do the rear bearings on it cuz they were completely shot and started leaking. So its VERY possible that rear end was shot from the get go.

Could be transmission ---yes i had said that it could be. It was having shifting issues...wouldnt kick into 4th intermittenly, but other than that had no issues.

Now, when it makes the noise, is there any difference in how it drives? --- Not that i noticed, and it only does it going up hill

Where does the noise "sounds" like it is coming from? Its hard to say, but it i think its more towards the rear when i think about it, though initially i thought it was coming from right under the driver seat..

Does the sound happen only when you accelerate of when your not? -- pretty sure its only when im accelarating because its only on inclines where i am accelarating to get to the top of the incline.

Does it happen when your are driving straight or turning?--- driving straight, but only on an incline/uphill. On flat ground it doesnt do it at all.

Rotten egg smell? When was the last time the catalytic converter replaced? Got the Jeep Sept 2023, i have not replaced it but have no idea when or even if it ever was replaced. However the smell only happened today right after this noise happened. I have driven it on flat ground and its fine and has no smell. Though thinking about it, it did resemble the rotten smell of the rear end gear oil.

Did you hook up a OBD2 reader to find any fault codes? Today when this happened, no, its now snowing and we will have crap weather for a bit. But, I have been hooking up the OBD2 constantly on this thing lol. It had a few codes,, i cant remember them off hand right now and since i just moved i have no idea where the paper i wrote them on is. i figured id hook it up again soon anyways before this happened. However i do recall it mostly being emissions... o2 sensor circuit, EVAP circut, something with the electric fan, and one transmission one that i believe was the neutral safety switch. I have a new one just haven't had time to replace it.

Previously to when i moved and tried to load it up and drive, it was driving perfectly fine, no smells, no noise. Was using it to go to work every day (about a 34 minute drive each way at that time from my old place) Didnt have any issues at all.

I just was curious what folks though it could be cuz regardless, i likely wont be able to fix it and it this point, since my rent practically doubled with this move, its not worth the time/effort/cost for me personally to fix it. I just want to be able to tell a perspective buyer the issues and what it could be at the very least. I want to be as transparent as possible.

 

Nothing leaking no....the first thing i did when i stopped by the dumpster was look underneath. Everything looked normal. This literally JUST happened about 30 min before i posted. I dont know how to diagnose this which is why i was asking...to know what i should look at so i COULD diagnose it. isnt that the point of asking a question? But, yea, thats exactly what i am doing. Selling as is. I just wanted some input so when i put it up for sale i can at the very least say what it COULD be. That is all. I have put so much into this XJ, but with my new living situation my portion of the rent is nearly double which pretty much kills any cash that would have been able to go to the XJ. im not a dick, i just want to be as transparent as i can be when selling it.

 

Check the flex plate by removing the inspection cover and try to see any signs of wear or cracks....might even try and throw a wrench on the bolts to see if they are tight.
If that all looks good, bang the bottom of your catalytic converter with a rubber mallet...If it sounds like it is pieces on the inside it is bad. That and and a bad upstream O2 sensor can produce the smell, especially under engine load.
if that all looks good, if the front driveshaft is attached, remove it and try to repeat the incline noise by driving. If there is no noise, it probably is the transfer case. If there is noise then it isolates to transmission and rear drive line.
and just as a following bit, drain and refill your transmission, make sure you have a strainer to catch any bits and pieces.

This should give you some direction what to mention to the next owner. Though I would think at this point no body would buy it as a daily driver and already have plans for a full rebuild for a weekend off road vehicle.
Hope this helps
Hope your world starts to settle down around you
Good health

 

Thank you SO much for this info!

 

Put it up for sale AS-IS

You are in over your head.

no offense

 

None taken! ....Im not in over my head, im in over my bank account lol. But yea, it is for sale as is, i just wanted to get an idea of what could be going on to pass the info to any interested buyers.

 

Several valid points, have been offered here. I have one more for you. Take the front drive shaft out and driver it around the property. I had a knocking noise with my 01 sport that I could not define, it ended up being the cardon joint on the front drive shaft.

 

Cawl under it and smack the cat a few times, see if you hear a rattle. The bricks in the cat can come loose and make a horrible racket as they bang around in it with each exhaust pulse

 

Here's another thought. You said the transfer case linkage has been disconnected for a long time. You may want to crawl under there and make sure the transfer case is firmly in 2wd, that it hasn't somehow been partially knocked into some other position. That could make all sorts of interesting noises

 

Also
reading the saga of this thing and it's history...and the fact that it only makes the " knocking"sound on steep inclines, I would look really hard for places where the exhaust system may be hitting the frame or somehow hitting a driveshaft (when I looked at the post you made when you first got the thing it sounded like the exhaust system was a mess)
. Also look hard at the engine mounts..
Either of those things would be a much cheaper fix than the internal drivetrain stuff that you're assuming is the problem.

(And to put some of the symptoms re "steep inclines" in context . I always thought Long island was kinda flat. Turns out the high point has an elevation of 400'... eliminates some of those mountain driving problems)

 

ya know, i didnt even think of that! Its been snowing and raining the past couple of days but once it drys up a bit i'll get under there and see if the exhaust is hitting a driveshaft. it is still pretty much a mess under there. I will also make sure the transfer case is fully in 2WD. I will also give the CAT a nice bang to see if anything seems loose in there! I have checked the Motor mounts very recently and they did look good, but cant hurt to check en again!. Thanks man!

 

Sounds and smells like Catalytic , but then again it can be costly but not as much as transmission.