Bad U joint?

Mwilson98

New Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2022
Messages
2
Location
North Carolina
Hello!
Was wondering if anybody could help me trouble shoot my issue. First off, I have a 2017 Wrangler Jk Manual. Here lately I’ve noticed that I have a noise coming from somewhere within the middle of my Jeep to the driver side rear (?). It almost sounds like a clunk/ something loose smacking against something else sound. It only seems to do this when I’m slowing down to stop or going 20 mph or less. The noise is followed by almost a shakey vibration feeling that I can feel in my floor board and in my shifter. Now I realize, it’s a manual, it’s going to have some play, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It doesn’t do this at highway speeds because as you know, everything is pretty held together due to pressure until you let off the throttle and it gets loose and sloppy feeling. Anyway I just seem to be at a complete loss. Any info or tricks to check it out would be great. Thank you!
 
Hello!
Was wondering if anybody could help me trouble shoot my issue. First off, I have a 2017 Wrangler Jk Manual. Here lately I’ve noticed that I have a noise coming from somewhere within the middle of my Jeep to the driver side rear (?). It almost sounds like a clunk/ something loose smacking against something else sound. It only seems to do this when I’m slowing down to stop or going 20 mph or less. The noise is followed by almost a shakey vibration feeling that I can feel in my floor board and in my shifter. Now I realize, it’s a manual, it’s going to have some play, but this is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. It doesn’t do this at highway speeds because as you know, everything is pretty held together due to pressure until you let off the throttle and it gets loose and sloppy feeling. Anyway I just seem to be at a complete loss. Any info or tricks to check it out would be great. Thank you!

Is it lifted and do you have the stock shafts? You can check the ujoints easy by just moving the two sections by hand and seeing if there is movement.

The stock rzeppa joints are also prone to failure.

Could also be a transfer case, axle, diff, wheel bearing, tire, bad transmission/motor mount, etc etc causing the problem though.
 
Is it lifted and do you have the stock shafts? You can check the ujoints easy by just moving the two sections by hand and seeing if there is movement.

The stock rzeppa joints are also prone to failure.

Could also be a transfer case, axle, diff, wheel bearing, tire, bad transmission/motor mount, etc etc causing the problem though.
It does have some kind of lift, but I’m not sure what. I bought it that way.
 
It does have some kind of lift, but I’m not sure what. I bought it that way.

There's a lot of videos out there on Youtube regarding how to check your ujoints and the rzeppa joint for the stock driveshafts. It would be worth doing that first.

Lifting your Jeep puts the rzeppa joint at a harsh angle making them prone to fail. Adams and Tom Woods make excellent JK driveshafts if you find a problem with yours.

Basically the rubber boot likes to tear and then sand/dirt/grime works it's way in there and does the 20 grit shuffle inside the joint while you drive.