SG Mason

Last night I purchased a 1998 XJ Sport. I didn't get much time in it, but for the $400 purchase price I couldn't go wrong.

As the title says it has a ticking noise coming from the area of the transfer case/transmission. I own a 1992 Dodge Stealth with a 3.0L DOHC so I am familiar with what a sticky lifter sounds like and this is not that. In the short time I was in it before purchasing I noticed the noise was only present when in gear, but the truck was in 4WD Hi and I didn't know that was a no no with Command-Trac till I got home and did some reading. When in park or neutral there was zero noise.

What I am looking for is a few suggestions on where to start searching for the noise. In my research I have found two possible simple causes, a cracked flex plate, or low fluid in the TC. That is where I will start my hunt, but I am open to other suggestions.

Please do not say it is a lifter tick, I did the long screwdriver listen while the truck was running and in gear and there was no tick from the engine. I wasn't willing to crawl under the truck and hold a screw driver to the TC or trans while it was in gear, especially with someone I had only met 10 minutes earlier operating the brake and throttle

I am going to pick up the truck this afternoon and will be able to start getting more information in the next 24 hours to share so I can find the source of the noise and fix it before I get stranded somewhere

PS other that the trip home the truck will not be driven till the noise is found and fixed, I am picky like that.

RTorrez1

It might be a lifter tick.. Just messing with you. But you are on the right track by starting with the fluid level and checking the flex plate. Make sure that all the bolt are tight and look for any cracks. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to see a crack, but it can be done. Let us know what you find. those 2 thing are not the problem we can try to figure out what can also cause it.
BTW, It the tick constant or does it go away after warm up?

SG Mason

I only drove it around the block where I bought it so it never got a chance to warm up. It was a hot humid day here yesterday, pushing around 80°F.

The ticking was more less a constant volume and changed in tempo with the RPM, but I never got over 20mph. As soon as I heard the ticking from the TC/tranny area I was going to walk away from the sale. He was asking $1000 for it and when I heard the noise I told him I wasn't interested at that price with possible drive line problems and the body work it was going to need. He said make an offer, I said $300. He kept trying to get me to come up to $700, and as I was walking back to the car he said $400 so I took it.
It has 4 new tires, new exhaust, new shocks, and a decent radio in it so if it is a dead horse I can part it out and get my money back plus a bit.

RTorrez1

One question. Are you sure that the noise is coming from the trans area and not from the lower end of the engine? If it's coming from the engine check what kind of oil filter is on it. A crappy filter such as Fram or any other off brand can cause a ticking. If it is a crappy filter that can be the problem since it never really warmed up. When I first picked up my 98 it had a Fram filter on it and it would cause it to tick until it warmed up. I put a Mopar filter on it and the noise stoped. Plus it increased my oil pressure too. The reason the filter can cause this is because of the worthless anti-drain back valve and the low quality material used in the filter. The recommended filters for the 4.0 are Mopar, Napa Gold or a Wix brand. With a little luck that will be the only reason for the noise.

SG Mason

I haven't even checked any of the fluids yet I am embarased to say. I am just leaving now to go pick it up now. I knew it needs gas and I will check the oil and tranny fluid. One of the first things I do with a used car is change all fluids and filters for peace of mind and a fresh start.

RTorrez1

That is one of the first things I like to check and smell it too, to see if it smells burnt.
That is one of the smartest things to do when you buy any used vehicle.
Either way you got a good deal for $400 if it runs and is in fair condition. Even if it doesn't run you can part it out for a whole lot more or fix it and still have a good vehicle.

SG Mason

Normally I do check the fluids, but I was getting ready to walk away from this one so I hadn't done that yet when he dropped his price.

I just got back home with her and I am starting to change my mind about the engine being the source. When I first started back home there was no noise what so ever. I was in 2WD Hi so I was thinking transfer case, then about 15 mile into the trip the ticking started, but only when it came out of 4th In 4th it was silent, any other gear, PRN123, it ticked so I was back to thinking tranny. It had a CEL on so I stopped and had the code read and only got a P0138 second sensor. No other codes. It is a little late here now for crawling under a vehicle so Tomorrow I will break out the voltmeter and test the rear harness.

With the truck fully warmed up and idling in park I got down on my hands and knees and listened from just behind the drivers side front wheel and the sound does seem to be coming from the motor now and I am actually fearing a spun bearing. Thing is to me it wouldn't make sense that the noise would go away in 4th but be present in all other gears. It is not RPM related, but gear related instead 2000 rpm in 3rd=ticking, 2000rpm in 4th= quiet

Tomorrow I am going to idle it till the noise comes back, if it isn't there to start, then pull plug wires one at a time to see if the noise goes away or changes. My threory is that if it is the motor there will be a significant change in the ticking with the bad cylinder shut down. If it is the tranny there should be no change in the sound. Feel free to correct my on my theory if I am wrong in my thinking.

On the weekend I am going to drain and filter the oil to look for metal shavings, and change the transfer case fluid if there are no shavings. If I have the time I will do a coolant flush as well and be looking for oil in the coolant.

UPDATE
Just finished doing a visual check on all the fluids other than the TC. Coolant, nice clean and green. Oil, not horrible but I would say just a touch passed needing a change. It is not thin or black, but it is about the same color and consistency of a car with 4000 miles. I normally change after 3000 miles or as close as possible if I am away for a longer period of time and put on more miles than expected. Transmission fluid, I didn't do a proper fluid check just an inspection of color and smell. Results, failed It is more brown that pink and I have smelt charcoal that didn't smell as burnt So it looks like a transmission rebuild or replacement may be in order. Luckily not far from me I have a great transmission shop. I know back in the mid to late 80s they were pretty well know across North America. Or I could just cheap out and go to a junkyard and pull one

I moved the Jeep over to the side of the driveway after my real first inspection. It ticked right away on startup, but once I put it in reverse it went away and didn't come back when I went to drive and park again

Radi

Have you looked at the flexplate & bolts through the inspection cover?

SG Mason

Not yet that was on today's to do list along with checking the TC fluid level and health. I am just waiting to the rain to let up before I start rolling around in the driveway.

It was just starting to get dark by the time I got home with it last night so all I really was able to do is check the dipsticks and rust inspection. I also figured out the radio and did the mandatory used car loose change hunt. The radio was never properly installed front PS and rear DS speakers are the only 2 hooked up so I will probably look into that today if it keeps raining hard. If only 2 of 4 speakers are connected there is a good chance that the wiring back there isn't up to par and it is something I can fix while sitting inside the truck.

While doing the loose change search I found a receipt for 2 bottles of Lucas Oil transmission stop slip. I can`t say with 100% certainty that it was use on this transmission, but I strongly suspect it.

Now for the actual purchase price of my Jeep

Price: $400.00
Loose change found: $1.22
Total cost so far: $398.78

RTorrez1

See, You are already making money on your deal...LOL!

SG Mason

Well it hasn't started costing me yet, but it is coming. I am still waiting for the rain to let up so I can crawl under and check the flex plate and TC fluid level. If it doesn't let up soon I am going to head over to where I am working on my Stealth and grab my creeper. I don't mind working in the rain on simple things like those, but the water runs down the driveway and it is a little chilly up here today

I called the local transmissions specialist today to get a rough quote on an overhaul, but the guy that does Jeep transmissions is out till tomorrow.

When I drain the oil on the weekend I might drop the pan and check for bearing problems. A pan gasket is cheap enough and that simple check could save me the cost of overhauling the transmission and ending up still needing major engine work.

Stupid rain, go away you can come back once I have my XJ running properly and we can have fun

SG Mason

Well I went and got my creeper so I could get under the Jeep and take off the inspection plate, but I still didn't get it done. It appears that all my tools are with my Stealth except the ratchet set that I brought home with the creeper, so I had no wrenches to get into the small spaces

I have been searching for easy ways to check for rod knock and a spun bearing. One of the methods I found was to kill individual cylinders by pulling the plug wires at the distributor one at a time and listening for the noise to lessen or go away. I found out a few things from this test, first you will get a nasty shock from the plug wire while the engine is running. Second, multiple layers of blue nitrile gloves will not protect or soften the zap you will get. Third, I need new plug wires, and finally there was no change in the knocking other than the engine stumbling due to a cylinder being down.

While I was under the car realizing that i didn't have the tools to take of fthe inspection plate I noticed that there was a large oily wet spot on the passenger side under carriage, right near the engine transmission junction. All of the under coating was washed away and it was clean factory primer.

I couldn't detect any smell other than undercoating, but I am pretty sure oil wouldn't eat through undercoating, so the only other thing I could think of is transmission fluid. It is a great penetrating fluid when mix with acetone and does have a lot of detergent in it so it may be able to eat through the under coating. There are no puddles of fluid under the Jeep, so I am thinking that just maybe a line popped on them and they drove it on a near empty transmission and damaged it that way. Then fixed the line added the two bottles of Lucus Stop Slip and put it up for sale hoping it would make do till it was gone.

I am busy tomorrow and Friday so I wont be doing anything to the truck till Saturday now. I am still planning to drop the pan and physically check the rods and crank. I figure the money spent here to eliminate the engine is money well spent. If everything is good, the oil and filter were going to be changed any how, and I get a new pan gasket to boot. If I find play in a rod or sparkly oil I don't waste time pulling and replacing the transmission.

SG Mason

Well I didn't get to work on the Jeep today and wont get to work on it tomorrow either even though the weather is perfect. In the excitement of getting a new toy I forgot that I told my brother I would pet sit for him this weekend

I wont get back home till late Sunday night so now it looks like Monday will be internal inspection day. On a positive note, I did get everything I need to do the pan drop and inspection plate removal, including the use of a pair of ramps to get the front end high enough in the air to have more room to move around.

I will check back in on Monday when I have actually taken a look inside the motor and behind the inspection plate.

DFlintstone

Next time loosen the wires on the dizy first, so when it's running you can easily lift them off. I guess it's a good idea to just go a few seconds since fuel is ricing the oil in the cylinder. (you can do the same test by unplugging injectors Btw.)

Take a look here. Oil from hardened oil filter adapter O rings will blow back all over. >OIL FILTER ADAPRER O RINGS http://www.myjeepxj.com/cherokee-rep...filter-adapter And a link with torx.. https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/oi...o-ring-127359/

SG Mason

I had loosened them already, but they are old and dry, just putting your fingers near them you see the arcs jumping. plugs and wires are an affordable item for the improvement in performance. I never thought about the injectors because I am too use to working on my other car and the rear 3 injectors are covered by the plenum.

I don't think the oil I was seeing was from the filter area, but when I am under there dropping the pan and pulling the inspection plate I will take a close look to make sure. If it turns out to be leaking in that area I will replace the o ring, thanks.