Very concerning knocking/clunk noise! PLEASE HELP!

[its_ackison]

Hello guys. I have a 2002 jeep Liberty sport 4x4 and i am experiencing some very concerning noises. this is my daily driver and i am converting it to be a travel camper so I do live in it full time and it is very important to me that i dont run into any serious or expensive issues.

my issue currently is that at low speeds between 1-10 mph i get this extremely loud knock, generally 2-3 times rapidly until i gain enough speed and it goes away. but more recently i noticed that it is very selective. it is not a constant sound (unless i am in 4wd and that one is even more scary - almost as if it is a constant grinding) but i realized that the knocking/clunking sound happens when my wheel is slightly turned (usually to the right). i hear the sounds predominantly coming from somewhere under my driver seat (its where i hear it the loudest) it does not give me any issues when my wheels are straight - only when slightly turned.

I will have to continue to drive it the way it is until i can afford to have things fixed but i am seriously hoping that it is an inexpensive fix.

 

[Gyro]

Check the rear cv on the front driveshaft.
Inspect the boot for tears and check for play in the joint.

Gyro

 

[its_ackison]

Check the rear cv on the front driveshaft.
Inspect the boot for tears and check for play in the joint.

Gyro

Thank you Gyro. I crawled underneath the backside and noticed a part with some wiggle and play. I don’t know what the part is called but it attaches to the top of my back axle and both driver and passenger side it is shaped like a wide V. The passenger side is tightly in there but the driver side is loose.

 

[turblediesel]

That's the "boomerang". Yours might be worn out. Mine hasn't gone bad yet so I don't know much about it.

How did the back of your front, 4wd, driveshaft look? Any play there?

 

[its_ackison]

I couldn’t find any other play in parts. Some very slight play in my front drive shaft but recently had the cv joints replaced/repaired on that part.

labor description
“Front drive shaft front joint damaged
R+R cv propeller shaft repair kit”
Part # NOE8196772 - cv propeller shaft repair kit - front

repair cost $250 plus $150 labor.

 

[JasonJ]

I couldn’t find any other play in parts. Some very slight play in my front drive shaft but recently had the cv joints replaced/repaired on that part.

labor description
“Front drive shaft front joint damaged
R+R cv propeller shaft repair kit”
Part # NOE8196772 - cv propeller shaft repair kit - front

repair cost $250 plus $150 labor.

That's a NAPA part number... looks like they marked it up about $50... or it simply costs more in your area... Dorman makes a rebuild kit for about $100, unsure how the quality differs.

For about $400-$450 you could have gotten an entire complete MOPAR front driveshaft.. changed it out yourself in very little time.

But so long as it's fixed now.

The "boomerang", rear upper control arm, can make some horrible clunking and when really bad (like mine), it will feel as if the entire rear axles is rotating as you come to a stop and leave one. Because it is. Big clunk.

 

[Joenavy85]

The "boomerang", rear upper control arm, can make some horrible clunking and when really bad (like mine), it will feel as if the entire rear axles is rotating as you come to a stop and leave one. Because it is. Big clunk.

Yep, that ball joint on the top craps out and it starts clunking around. Mine does it at the 2-3 shift only right now, and only under light acceleration. If I'm on the gas good it doesn't make any noise at all. Part of my suspension work this winter will be replacing the whole boomerang and ball joint, should take care of the noise.

 

[JasonJ]

Yep, that ball joint on the top craps out and it starts clunking around. Mine does it at the 2-3 shift only right now, and only under light acceleration. If I'm on the gas good it doesn't make any noise at all. Part of my suspension work this winter will be replacing the whole boomerang and ball joint, should take care of the noise.

Mine only does it as I come to a stop, that last few inches before you press the brake harder at the end.. the axle stops but the flex of the body and it's momentum carrying it forward causes it to move more than it should, and you get a <clunk>. Then taking off you hear/feel it again as it kinda "unwinds" and unloads itself and goes back to a neutral position under the body.

I'll get to it when I put the OME stuff on after New Year's. I keep trying to get to it, just at least get my parts ordered... but health bills and student loan payments keep coming in and draining my reserves.. so hard to allocate the $900-$1k I need for that.

I say that because I've been talking about doing it for 2 years now.. lol.

 

[its_ackison]

Jason & joe you seem to be having similar to the same issues. though I don’t really know if mine has those issues coming to a stop but I can definitely feel them when taking off. It has been close to a year, maybe a little longer with this noise so I definitely have neglected the repair.
As far as I know, my front drive shaft is working fine. I can still use 4x4 but get that nerve wracking noise so I don’t even bother with it anymore - maybe fixing the upper control arm/boomerang will do the trick

I’m going to do some shopping around and try to find the best/cost efficient way to get this repair done, hopefully in the next week or two.

 

[Whelan]

I replaced my tri-link but still had the issue. Turns out it was not just the tri-link but also the bolt and the mount for the joint that bolts to the differential. The whole middle was worn out enough to allow a lot of play so the bolt is doing all the work instead of the collar.

 

[LostChord]

For about $400-$450 you could have gotten an entire complete MOPAR front driveshaft.. changed it out yourself in very little time.

Google-fu not strong today. Do you happen to have the part number for this?

 

[JasonJ]

Google-fu not strong today. Do you happen to have the part number for this?

Rockauto listed it, among all the other aftermarket options. Check their vendor link in the above sections of the forum and I think there is a coupon code in there too.

I looked it up as my 03 KL... part number 52111596AB for the 42RLE... ok, $457, so I did say about...

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/jeep,2003,liberty,3.7l+v6,1420805,drivetrain,drive+shaft,2308

 

[JasonJ]

Jason & joe you seem to be having similar to the same issues. though I don’t really know if mine has those issues coming to a stop but I can definitely feel them when taking off. It has been close to a year, maybe a little longer with this noise so I definitely have neglected the repair.
As far as I know, my front drive shaft is working fine. I can still use 4x4 but get that nerve wracking noise so I don’t even bother with it anymore - maybe fixing the upper control arm/boomerang will do the trick

I’m going to do some shopping around and try to find the best/cost efficient way to get this repair done, hopefully in the next week or two.

If you're talking about repairing the rear upper control arm, the only "repair" is to replace it. I think that some have been able to press out and replace just the balljoint itself.. but I also am not so sure that consensus says that is the "proper" and permanent way to go about it either.

I replaced my tri-link but still had the issue. Turns out it was not just the tri-link but also the bolt and the mount for the joint that bolts to the differential. The whole middle was worn out enough to allow a lot of play so the bolt is doing all the work instead of the collar.

So, given all the wear at the differential pinch bolt/collar, what was your fix? I would think you could sleeve it so that it grabbed the balljoint shaft more firmly..

 

[LostChord]

Rockauto listed it, among all the other aftermarket options. Check their vendor link in the above sections of the forum and I think there is a coupon code in there too.

I looked it up as my 03 KL... part number 52111596AB for the 42RLE... ok, $457, so I did say about...

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/jeep,2003,liberty,3.7l+v6,1420805,drivetrain,drive+shaft,2308

Thanks!

 

[u2slow]

If you're talking about repairing the rear upper control arm, the only "repair" is to replace it. I think that some have been able to press out and replace just the balljoint itself.. but I also am not so sure that consensus says that is the "proper" and permanent way to go about it either.

I've replaced bushings twice and the balljoint once. By the 2nd time, the holes were stretched out, and had to tack-weld the bushings in place. 2+ years since. In hindsight, the balljoint was still good and didn't need replacing.

The tri-link mount on the diff can probably be had from a wrecking yard.... if stealership proves too pricey or discontinued.

 

[its_ackison]

Yes by repair I mean replace the whole shebang. ball joint, arm and padding. My Jeep comes from a lot of snowy conditions so it has quite a bit of rust. I wouldn’t trust replacing just the ball joint.

 

[duderz7]

I was successful in replacement of both bushings and ball joint in my boomerang, but I didn't have much rust. Having said that, when it's time to do it again I'll replace the whole thing. It's not worth the trouble.