Jeep Service...ugh

[Uparms]

loose spare tire???

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[PAULIEWANKENOBI]

I checked it, but I'll have them look too

 

[Teserak]

I hear you

my gladiator it’s been in the dealership for 7 days already they haven’t even bother to call me & explain what’s going on . Frustrating & disappointing.

 

[PAULIEWANKENOBI]

Must be how they do things, same story with me. I've had to physically go there to get any info.

 

[Badunit]

Reminds me of a story my wife told me about when she was a kid. Her dad's pickup was making a clunking sound on acceleration and braking. He and the local garage tried everything to fix it but couldn't find the problem. One day long after he had given up on it she was riding in the bed and heard it. The truck had a piece of plywood on the floor (bed protection before we had liners and linings) and she heard it under the plywood. It was a bolt laying on the bed under the plywood that would slide to the front and go clunk when braking then to the back and go clunk when accelerating. Easy fix.

You described your sound as "something rolling around in the bed" but only when hitting bumps at low speeds. Have you had anyone ride in the bed and listen for it? At a minimum you might be able to narrow it down.

We used to do things like stand on the running boards and lean over to listen (50's era pickups), run alongside listening, sit by the bump (or whatever might cause the sound) and listen as it goes over it. Dash rattles often required someone (usually me) to get inverted in order to reach up and push and pull on stuff behind the dash while the other person drove. More recently I have used a GoPro to see a body mount clunking. I don't trust anyone else to diagnose clunks, rattles, and squeaks. Nine times out of ten it is "no problem found".

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Reminds me of a story my wife told me about when she was a kid. Her dad's pickup was making a clunking sound on acceleration and braking. He and the local garage tried everything to fix it but couldn't find the problem. One day long after he had given up on it she was riding in the bed and heard it. The truck had a piece of plywood on the floor (bed protection before we had liners and linings) and she heard it under the plywood. It was a bolt laying on the bed under the plywood that would slide to the front and go clunk when braking then to the back and go clunk when accelerating. Easy fix.

You described your sound as "something rolling around in the bed" but only when hitting bumps at low speeds. Have you had anyone ride in the bed and listen for it? At a minimum you might be able to narrow it down.

We used to do things like stand on the running boards and lean over to listen (50's era pickups), run alongside listening, sit by the bump (or whatever might cause the sound) and listen as it goes over it. Dash rattles often required someone (usually me) to get inverted in order to reach up and push and pull on stuff behind the dash while the other person drove. More recently I have used a GoPro to see a body mount clunking. I don't trust anyone else to diagnose clunks, rattles, and squeaks. Nine times out of ten it is "no problem found".

Similar when I was in college (for automotive). A friend drove a Chevy Luv. He was actually pretty good, decent student and knew his stuff. One day at lunch he asked if I'd ride with him and listen to the rattle sound in his truck. He had it in a shop - they pulled door panels, looked high and low and found nothing. My friend had looked all around, emptied the glove box and everything else he could think of.
He drove us about 10 minutes and I said - hold on, as I reached way up deep into the underside of the seat I was sitting on...........
An empty pop can had actually gotten up in the springs. Looking under the seats or feeling on the floor didn't reveal it, but when it sounded like the rattle was right below my butt.
A decent student mechanic, and a shop had both tried to find it.
I totally agree, sometimes it takes someone sitting in a very different place, other seats, rear seat, bed of the truck, whatever, to find such things.

 

[PAULIEWANKENOBI]

I had my buddy ride in back and front windows down and up, looked under seats...nothin...the sound can be heard inside, but is louder when windows down outside.

 

[chorky]

I had a weird sound that somewhat matches your description. I noticed it mostly on cold mornings below 20 degrees. I also had a right front clunk on suspension rebound going slowly over potholes.

Nobody ever found the issue. But when I got it lifted, both of those noises went away. I would check every suspension component. The manager also told me that the shocks and sway link bushings (rubicon for me with the fox shocks) were known to prematurely fail. They never replaced anything before I got it lifted but the lift 'resolved' it. I always thought something was just loose enough to make noticeable noise over specific types of bumps.

 

[Volt0]

Wheel weights

 

[JacobD177]

I had the same issue. Turned out to be a shock bushing. At 18k. I just rolled 23k and about to go in for another. Jeep handled it without an issue. I’m not a fan of the quality of the Fox shocks…at all.

 

[Volt0]

@PAULIEWANKENOBI you may need to help with the troubleshooting. If you can pin down a scenario, or set of scenarios, that’ll should give the techs enough info replicate the issue and then they can hone in from there. Unfortunately, if it’s difficult to replicate, it could be one of those things that has to get worse before it can get better. Alternatively, it could be as benign as as extra bolt/nut/rock rolling around in the frame.

just some ideas:

• if it’s something rolling around , then maybe an acceleration needs to happen first ( theory : loose 10mm socket left behind )
• Happen during breaking?
• Worse when turning left or right
• Does the noise seem to occur with the same frequency as some other moving part? Driveshaft speed, wheel speed, …
• Do anything out of the ordinary days before the noise started appearing? Gravel, off-road, snow/slush, …

 

[PAULIEWANKENOBI]

@Volt0 the service manager and 3 technicians were able to hear it. They were able to reproduce the sound. They apparently don't know where or how to fix it. They basically heard it and said idk.

 

[legacy_etu]

@Volt0 the service manager and 3 technicians were able to hear it. They were able to reproduce the sound. They apparently don't know where or how to fix it. They basically heard it and said idk.

Try mounting a GoPro under the Jeep and seeing if you can see anything Is what I’d suggest.
also, how about the hardtop, did you check the bolts?

 

[Badunit]

@Volt0 the service manager ... basically heard it and said idk.

Yeah, that's very helpful of them. Geez. But if it is going to take a lot of time locating the source, it might be more cost effective to locate it yourself vs having a shop do it (repeating the advice that has already been posted).

It is difficult to determine the source of noises from across the internet but we can keep trying. I'm kinda stumped on what would make a "clunking sound" that reminds you of "something rolling around in the bed", "kind of rotational", when going over bumps slowly when turning. The service guy described it as a "crunching" sound, not a clunk.

• Is this a sound that lasts longer than a quick clunk, like something that is making a noise followed by a clunk?
• Is it making one sound on the upside of the bump and a clunk on the downside?
• Does it happen only when turning or does it happen when going straight, too? Does it happen in either direction of turn?
• Only over bumps?
• If you were to keep turning in the same direction (not straightening out or turning the other way) and going over multiple bumps does it continue to make the same noise over each bump or is it only on the first bump?
• Have you had your friend ride in the bed? That might help isolate the noise to one side or the other or underneath or someplace else.

 

[obrianmcc]

... ask them to retorque the suspension and steering

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