I have a 96 Cherokee with 4.0 auto. trans. ,when I put it in gear it makes a clunk noise.Also when going down the highway when I let off the gas or hit the gas either the transmission or rear end is not tight and there is a slight
lag ,same thing at take off from a stop.It shifts fine when Im going down the road ,is all this caused by wacked out backlash. Thanks

 

ive got it to... never figured it out

 

I saw a thread the other day, not sure if on this forum. Was a write-up for lubing the slip yoke at the TC to eliminate clunking. I chased a clunk on mine for a while, it turns out to be the tailpipe hitting on the Gas tank skid and the shackle bolt. Yours sounds like something else though, check U-Joints, rear differential. Which Axel do you have C8.25 (flat bottom) or D35 (round)? The D35 in my ZJ was always slopy feeling like that with a slight clunk, my fix for that was XJ with C8.25.

 

Could be excessive backlash between the ring and pinion in the rearend too. Mine does it every once in a while and I'm pretty sure thats what it is because if I crawl under it and try to turn the ds back and forth it has a decent amount of play. It doesn't happen that often (I think because I have a 5-spd) and I'm really not too concerned about it cause its just a turdy five anyways.

 

check the rear U-joints and end play on the yoke

 

Thanks for the info.,I have the 8.25 and there is some play in the drive shaft when turned by hand. Going to take it to a shop and have the u-joints looked at ,they didnt move when DS was turned .

 

1.) Bad U-joints
2.) Slop in the rear ring and pinion gears.

 

X2

 

im having a similar problem with my jeep. its a d35 c clip and a 5spd. in first gear you get a lot a lot of clunking from the back and some wheel hop. when in 1st or 2nd and at low speed you get the same thing. its worse when you just completely get off the gas without putting the clutch in. it can be prevented by more gradually letting out the clutch. i got a video of the drive shaft play with my phone. this is with the ebrake on, in first gear.


thanks. john.

for fixing ring and pinion problems, whats the options for fixing?

 

having this exact problem with my 01 cherokee i have the chrysler 8.25 figure i would revive this old thread instead of starting a new one

 

Mine does it too but to a lesser degree (just feel the lag from backlash, not clunk noise) and I know its not u-joints. If it was anything other than a turdy five I would have it looked at and fixed, but why bother.

 

well when i bought it with 85000k on it it did it but now im around 120000k and its about the same just bothers me lol

 

What would cause drive line slack? Bad ring gear and pinion/bearing? When I take off from a stop it feels like the drive shaft lags behind the transmission and I get this "clunk" along with a semi-hard jerk.

I don't think it's the tranny because it shifts out fine.

 

I get multiple clunks, one behind the other upon takeoff. Thats the only time it happens. About 4 clunks everytime if i start off hard. It doesn't do it when i start off easy/slow or when shifting. Never figured it out. Im pretty sure i could figure it out if i hung underneath the jeep while someone drove it. Haha! Lol.

 

You might have broken or very worn gear teeth.