JeepTrick68

I bought a 2001 sport with a 3" lift & 31" tires. It started making a clicking noise everytime I pull out from a stop. Any idea what it could be? I did a search but couldn't find anything.

XJmike0122

Can you give any more info? Is the noise coming from the front or back?

JeepTrick68

Definately front. Clicks fast when pulling out and seems to fade as i pick up speed. Only thing I have done was change ball joints on right side. Made this noise before that tho. Track bar, drag link, etc feel solid. No play. Transmission maybe? This is in 2 wheel drive

Ianf406

Clicking noise... hmmm

1.Rock in the tire
2.Nail in the tire
3.Tack in the tire

On a serious note- can you be more descriptive? Does it ever happen when giving gas in neutral or only when your moving? Is it loud? Slow? Fast? Can you jack up your front axle, spin the tire and replicate the problem? Do you feel anything?

Ianf406

I guess its also worth checking out your exhaust manifold. When my old one was cracked in 4 places it made a ticking noise at low throttle. I guess clicking and ticking are kind of close?

JackJare9455

start with a rev from neutral/park... do you hear the noise then? if not you can generally eliminate the engine/accessories as a problem.

Like posted above... jack up the front to see if manually rotating the tires makes the same noise... perhaps have a buddy walk beside you to see if he can track down the noise while your low speeding through a parking lot..

a fade at higher speeds could be that you are simply drowning out the noise

Motiv8er

had that happen to me once.... my lug nuts on my front left tire were loose... I actually drove down the street really slow, with my driver door open, hanging my head out low to hear where the sound was coming from... (was a real site to see I'm sure..)

I also found out my wheel hubs are bad, but the clicking stopped when I tightened up my lug nuts.... YMMV

JackJare9455

lol to save the visual embarresment, i suggested having the buddy do a walk along... i would suggest wearing a seatbelt with your method!

JeepTrick68

Only happens when i start driving. It's a relatively loud noise. Kinda sounds like a bad CV joint on a front wheel drive car. That's the closest thing I can compare it to.

Bustedback

I've never had any noise when pulling out. Just a bit of a mess.

bubbarules1958

lol

freegdr

If you ride the brakes does it still click ?

freegdr

Trick heres be a better aim.

Bustedback

Just making it rain

shadowman

After you try the stuff suggested in previous posts, pull the front driveshaft and drive the vehicle. If its gone, rebuild the front driveshaft making sure to replace the inner bearing and seal of the doublecardan joint. My 99 did the same thing and after doing all the diagnostics listed above(FSM), I found the shaft was the culprit. It looked good and was full of grease, but after cleaning it out with carb cleaner, it was missing a couple of needles. Not hard to do, just have to disassemble the joints(perfect time to replace those joints).