Backlash when creeping

[JW Jeep]

When Barely moving just creeping in traffic without stopping completely. sort of like your in parade mode. you let off gas then barely touch it. It bangs like back lash ? Like ther is play in drive train somewhere ? I have a 2022 overland with 6000 miles completely stock . this really feels like crap and very anoying to say the least. i was in YellowStone and was in this barely creeping for a couple of miles when I noticed it. It’s also like a slight hesitation between foot pedal and throttle and then the backlash clunk ?

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[Lunentucker]

You're under warranty. Get it checked out. Have a tech ride with you if you need to for them to understand the issue.

 

[Stlrfan152]

This is my second gladiator and both have done this. Im just ignoring it this time.

 

[KQL]

I’ve got a manual transmission, but can relate to what you’re describing. Under some situations, when clutching in under a little power I could swear my transmission is loose and wobbling/clanking under me.

 

[hjdca]

I’ve got a manual transmission, but can relate to what you’re describing. Under some situations, when clutching in under a little power I could swear my transmission is loose and wobbling/clanking under me.

Yeah, this is normal. The clicking when going on and off the gas with the clutch out 4WD low is normal drive train slop. You can hear it on the Wranglers and Gladiators. While on the trails, I can always spot a Stick shift Jeep when I hear this. lol..

Note: BTW, with the maual transmission, to avoid bucking at super slow speed with the clutch out, tap quickly and lightly on the gas pedal. This will allow you to go even slower without bucking with the clutch out. Works great in traffic.

 

[carsmarshall1]

https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/jt-jl-clutch-and-flywheel-explained-by-act.68758/
This is a good thread on this.

 

[Hootbro]

Mine does it also. First 10K miles you could feather it at low speeds and make in clunk pretty good. Rubicon and Mojave owners have reported it more often and attribute part of it due to the float of the E-Locker assembly. I have heard it explained as something also with the spider gears and attributed as "normal" even though it is annoying. I went so for as to remove the diff cover and check pinion backlash and it was right middle of spec. Made a dealership appointment and even drove the service advisor around their parking lot and they also said "normal".

I am currently at 17K miles and change. Around 13K-14K miles, it had started to noticeable decrease and now is pretty hard to get it to make the noise. Really cannot explain that.

 

[JW Jeep]

This is an automatic transmission 8 speed. It’s looking like it’s may be common ? I even notice it sometimes now in drive ? Sure does feel like excess slop some where though ?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This is an automatic transmission 8 speed. It’s looking like it’s may be common ? I even notice it sometimes now in drive ? Sure does feel like excess slop some where though ?

Neither of my JT Overland with automatics have done this. Been in plenty of stop and go traffic, Atlanta traffic, etc. and I only ever notice any sound shifting from P to R or from R to D or D to R, never when it's in D crawling at slow speeds,

A stick, I could understand based on how those are made, but neither my 2020 or my 2022 have made any racket or backlash when in heavy crawling traffic or stop and go.
I never noticed a problem in 4L moving my trailer and pulling a car the other day either (granted, that was very short term, just a few minutes, stop and go)

 

[Hootbro]

This is an automatic transmission 8 speed. It’s looking like it’s may be common ? I even notice it sometimes now in drive ? Sure does feel like excess slop some where though ?

More than a few people to include me have chased this to only find out it is what it is.

I went so far as to jack it up and on stands with all 4 wheels off the ground and with the transfer case in neutral and rotated the rear drive shaft and felt the clunk coming from the rear end. That is what drove me to remove the rear diff cover and check pinion and ring gear backlash with nothing out of spec.

Not telling you to not do the same and not worry about it, but to date, I have not seen anybody find anything actionable in their findings.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

There's not only ring and pinion backlash, but there's carrier to side gear backlash in there. So once the play is out of the ring/pinion pair, there's play to remove from the carrier gears inside the carrier.
The carrier rotates the carrier gears against the axle/side gears. There's a bit of play or lash on each pair. If the lube is hot it's going to be a bit worse.

Depending on the design of an LSD, there can be more play as clutch packs wear.

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