1. Home
  2. Jeep and Willys (new and old)
  3. Cherokee with horrible clanging noises.

Cherokee with horrible clanging noises.

My 95 cherokee 4.0 HO 4 speed auto has started making some truly awful banging noises. sounds like a mechanic is trapped underneath and is randomly hitting things with his hammer to attract attention!. (I checked-no there really isnt anyone there.) motor runs fine. starts fine. only when idling under no load i.e. neutral/park when hot does the banging clattering start. when starting from cold is ok until warms up. as soon as I go into drive or reverse it shuts up. I'm thinking that either the flywheel or the torque converter has come loose. when cold there is enough drag on the transmission to hold it against the bolts, but when the fluid warms it thins and gives less resistance and so things start bangin away. I'm thinking that when drive is engaged it is enough to hold things against the bolts. Note: all this is with the vehicle stationary. on the move it is absolutely fine until I back off the gas and it starts banging away on the over run.

ok, enough of the symptoms, heres what I'm planning to do and where some advice is needed. I was going to pull the tranny, so I looked in the book to see whats done and heres whats made me think.

1-disconnect negative cable of battery.

2-raise the vehicle and support it securely

3-drain the transmission fluid then re-install the pan

4-remove the torque converter cover

5-mark the relationship of the torque converter to the driveplate with white paint

6-remove the torque converter to driveplate bolts.

and so on etc.

If I am reading this correctly, does this mean that I should be able to gain access to the bolts without actually removing the transmission? The book has no pictures or diagrams to help on this area. I've had an admittedly brief look underneath and couldnt figure it out (but I didnt spend any real time under as the weather is not pleasant at the moment.)

Anyone any ideas or opinions or links to any relevant pictures?

TIA

Reply to
Alan
Loading thread data ...

Alan did pass the time by typing:

Check your motor and tranny mounts

formatting link
to see if you fan is eating the radiator shroud. Then check your exhaust pipe mount by the tranny and if the pipe is banging into the rear axle.

The key word you use is "random" mechanical failures in the drivetrain generally produce bangs that are directly related to engine RPM. Random bangs can be caused by the engine rocking against busted motor mounts or missing bushings.

Flywheels don't come loose without taking lots of other things with them. And since you can start the Jeep it's not broke. The torque converter is nearly indestructible. That's not to say that something isn't wrong in the tranny, but I'd check a few more places before pulling it.

Reply to
DougW

Fan clutch

Reply to
Simon Juncal

The bolts on the flex plate are known to come loose. That causes a rod knock type noise. The flex plate is bolted to the crank and the torque converter is bolted to that. the latter bolts come loose and can be checked/tightened by removing a plate in front of the bellhousing just behind the oil pan. The tranny stays in the jeep.

JoBo

Reply to
Jo Bo

True but if the bolts have worn the holes in the flex plate to oval shape, then the flex plate will have to be changed. You might get some additional use out of it by installing new bolts. If you decide to do so, they are most likely "special" bolts and will have to be purchased at the dealer.

Earle

checked/tightened

*** Free account sponsored by SecureIX.com *** *** Encrypt your Internet usage with a free VPN account from
formatting link
***
Reply to
Earle Horton

This is looking/sounding promising. it is just the sort of sound I'm getting. I checked the mounts as DougW suggested-thanks for that, never occurred to me-but they were ok. if this plate is what I can imagine then removing the plate would mean when you look into the hole you are looking towards the rear of the car. Do you really have enough room to get a wrench in there and tighten things up?

Alan

Reply to
Alan

Bolt Reference Pix: 55

formatting link

Reply to
billy ray

That is how they are put together and taken apart. You may have to purchase an offset box end wrench of the proper size, but there should be just enough room to tighten those bolts.

Earle

*** Free account sponsored by SecureIX.com *** *** Encrypt your Internet usage with a free VPN account from
formatting link
***
Reply to
Earle Horton

I had a chance today to ave a look under (but not to work on it) and I've seen the plate referred to. Looks like I can get it off no problem, but theres very little room between that and the oil pan. was wondering (i.e. hoping) if the bolts go through the back of the flywheel into the torque converter. Does anyone have a link to any pictures or assembly diagrams of this area they could post? I'm trying to get an idea in advance of what I will find when I remove the plate, orientation/position of bolts, shape/size of components etc.

TIA

Alan

Reply to
Alan

I thought I would share the results of some research I've been doing.

this link:

formatting link
Is I think pretty much on the money in terms of diagnosis/symptoms.

This link :

formatting link
Gives some good pictures of the plate to be removed, as well as the flex plate and a good shot of the torque converter bolts.

Hope this helps someone else as well as me.

Alan

Reply to
Alan

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.