I have a 1991 xj. And it is my daily driver. 4.0l 5 speed manual tranny. Great car. But I have a question. When I am driving I hear no sounds. Even bumps and stuff nothing. But when I applied the breaks, I hear a double clunk-clunk comming from the left rear. I have checked the breaks and they are ok, no signs or being loos or anything. I've checked the u bolts holding thecdiff to the leaF springs, all tight and the leafsprings bushings seem to be ok. Hope someone has another idea or something I can check to solve this clunk sound when brakes are applied. Thank you.
CF Veteran
Don't rule out the brakes just because they seem tight by hand. They may not be the source, but hand inspecting sometimes is not sufficient, because it does not recreate the weight and pressures experienced by the suspension and brakes under normal conditions.
Some more things to check include:
1. Look at the the shackle and see if there are any signs that it has been contacting the crossmember that sits right behind it as it rotates rearward.
2. Inspect the front leaf spring mount. Particularly the spring eye as it curls up into the mounting bracket. Sometimes the leaf spring breaks on the eye (fractures) and because it is a bit up inside the box where the front of the spring is bolted in, it can be hard to see. I drove on mine for some time this way without realizing it, my symptom was a strange clunk during braking that I could not locate.
3. Although you hear it on one side, you should also consider the rear drive shaft slip yoke. If it is not lubricated, the drive shaft will clunk as it expands/contracts during axle movement, and brake application cause the axle to move.
Some more things to check include:
1. Look at the the shackle and see if there are any signs that it has been contacting the crossmember that sits right behind it as it rotates rearward.
2. Inspect the front leaf spring mount. Particularly the spring eye as it curls up into the mounting bracket. Sometimes the leaf spring breaks on the eye (fractures) and because it is a bit up inside the box where the front of the spring is bolted in, it can be hard to see. I drove on mine for some time this way without realizing it, my symptom was a strange clunk during braking that I could not locate.
3. Although you hear it on one side, you should also consider the rear drive shaft slip yoke. If it is not lubricated, the drive shaft will clunk as it expands/contracts during axle movement, and brake application cause the axle to move.
Thanks for the reply. Very good ideas. I will look closEly at the leaf springs like you suggested and also the brakes. Maybe on a break shoe I can see a shinny spot where it is hitting something. Thanks for the suggestions.
Well your suggestion was right on. It was my left leafsprings. It was broken between the front mount and the u bolt at the diff. I think 2 leafs were broken and the 3rd was cracked. Put in a spring from my local junk yard and all is good again. Thanks again for the great suggestions.