smac

hey guys. I recently had rattling banging noises under my 99 XJ. I noticed my exhaust was touching my tranny cross member. and my xcase was barley above the factory skid plate.

I figured since both seemed low it must be the tranny mount. (at the time I coudln't find any details, but tonight I found a post here saying the tcase should be 1/2" above the skid?)

2 nights of fun (had to grind 2 of the skid plate bolts off) I replaced it with an anchor brand one. and lowered the jack to the exact same results as before I started.... exhuast touching.

tonight I found quite a few people *****ing about this mount. the old one that came out actually looked in good shape. nothing broken apart.

is the new anchor mount a fail, and I should go get a factory one? what a waste of time and money... I actually tried the dealer first but they didn't have one.

or could it be something else?

pictures of old mount. new one same height.

does anyone have photos of the xcase gap on a good mount? I couldn't find any

I'd hate to replace it again and have the same issue.

windlover

Check your motor mounts, especially the left one.

fb97xj1

^ What he said. Motor mounts and transmission mounts go hand in hand. The weight shifts and parts start touching things they shouldnt. Very naughty.

smac

I don't see how the motor mounts would do it. the exhaust is basically inline with the tranny mount. so even if you lifted or lowered the engine several inches it would not change, as it's at the pivot point.

TrailerTrash

Look at the trans mount from the side. I'd bet money its collapsed. if the engine mounts give out then the trans mount is taking more weight and it can give out.

the other possibility is that the exhaust is sagging from that point back and pulling that section down against the crossmember.

Dumajones

That exhaust mount right by the trans mount needs to have little to no play. If it is wobbled out, the exhaust will be hitting the crossmember. Your exhaust looks super close to the crossmember. My exhaust is a good 1"1/2 away from the crossmember.


Also like others have said check the motor mounts.

smac

the mount is collasped. it's only a few days old. and has a 10 min road drive on it. which has now made it worse. the xcase and exhaust are now weighted on the skid plate and cross member. so no driving it again.

I guess the anchor brand mount is a POS. it basicy collapsed as I lowered the jack. and is now lower then the 18 year old factory one was.

the motor mounts look ok. but they are mostly blocked with metal. no cracking that I can see. I can move the motor a little bit but the car also moves with it.

I will have to get the dealer to order me one and try again.

Dumajones

hmmmm,, lame. Time to get a mount that will never do that.

Take a look at here.
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f72/po...mounts-239367/

Bugout4x4

The Transfer case has a hinge point there but the exhaust does not. It is attached to the motor much further forward from that point and when the engine goes down in the front so does the exhaust overall.

cruiser54

He/she doesn't want to hear that.

Bugout4x4

I learned that from you. My exhaust was knocking and it turned out to be the front left motor mount. Here's a question for you Sir. What are your thoughts on solid front mounts? No go? Should have at least some bushings like aftermarket mounts?

I don't mind engine vibrations and have run solid mounts on lots of rigs in the past, but wasn't sure if there might be some known issue with dynamics or fatigue in other places on these?

Martlor13

The anchor mount is garbage. There is a beautiful right up on here somewhere explaining why. Plus I have first hand experience has well haha..i had it in for less then a week before replacing it again.

cruiser54

You want some kind of cushioning. Meanlemons.com has some motor mounts also.

windlover

After replacing my motor mounts twice, I went with the Brown Dogs.

Bugout4x4

Yeah, I didn't want to be retightening my bellhousing bolts all the time either. This was the next option. Thank you for the input. I really don't like how much rubber is around the through shaft/sleeve on the OEM mounts. There seems to be more travel than needed which makes them fail faster, especially in the dry desert heat where they rot in a year. I like the bushing idea and will take the time to go that route.