rotras1@hotmail.com

I see no one has responded to this thread since.....,ohhhhh.....2011. It's 2017 now.

So has anyone figured out their issue yet??

I drive a '98 with a 4.5" Rubicon Superflex.

I've got the same issue going on with mine. Travelling at low speeds on the asphalt when going over small bumps/cracks in the street and when going slow (e.g. 10mph) and over washboards at low speed (e.g. 10mph), - I hear that muffled clankity/rattly thing from the passenger front. And it has gotten more pronounced in the last 2 weeks after having driven about 50 miles on washboard roads. Not driving like crazy either.

I've checked everything I can think of to check and have read thread after thread to help make sure I haven't missed anything. Apparently I have missed something. What is THAT THING???

Brake caliper was a bit loose and I went to tighten a bolt and it was stripped (I thought)! Turns out whoever worked on it last put a bolt that was too short and wasn't reaching the threads in the knuckle. Thought I solved the problem, but no.

I've got new:
control arm bushings
ball joints x 4
shocks
new front bumper (happens still after new bumper installed)

- still happens with front drive shaft out of vehicle
- happened with the front right shock out of vehicle
- still happens with sway bar removed from vehicle
- doesn't seem to happen when going over speed bumps and larger bumps as far as I can tell. Maybe just can't hear/feel it.


Everything else under there seems tight.

I've looked for cracked welds, loose bolts, loose stuff in the engine bay, loose body parts, etc etc etc.

Any more ideas????

Teejay_xj

Had the same issue. Ended up being the sway bar bushings and the sway bar links. AutoZone had them in stock, swapped them out and they are good to go. Chased this issue for a few weeks replacing everything but these. As soon as I did, it solved it. Now I have zero clunk and completely new suspension. Hope this follow up helps even though it is old. Remember, all bolts need to be tightened to spec whether or not you can move the joints by hand. try that before buying new parts left and right. If this doesn't solve your issue check:

-Inner and outer tie rods
-track bar (bolts need to be properly tight)
-Drag link
-steering dampener (make sure the bolts are tight)
-check all bolts for the shocks in engine bay and under the car.
-upper and lower ball joints
-u-joints in axle and driveshaft (give them a shake. If they wobble and feel like they're loose, change those out. you might have some missing bearings inside the caps.)

Anything else, just google it and if a symptom of it going bad is "clunking" then you may as well dig deeper into that too.

Charlie Foxtrot

Almost got a divorce over this noise...two summers ago I was laid up after shoulder surgery & the OL borrowed my 98 GC. A few days later this mystery clunk arrived. So one-armed (or single handed - you pick) I swapped out BJs, TREs, shox, lower control arms, and a steering gearbox before I noticed a sway bar link popping in & out making the dreaded clunk. Check the links, they are cheap and easy.

Drewpie14

I've got a 2000 cherokee with 394000 miles. Stock engine and trans