CJ3A Volkswagon TDI

Very nice jeep. TDI was a good choice.

 

I made some adjustments to the MC rod. It seems to have made it better. the breaks work well. Not much effort to stop it....the pedal just moves more than I like. I will plat with it some more, but its safe and operational.

 

Yes, I know I need trim rings.... haha! My fun budget is tapped out. Sadly they will have to wait a bit.

 

2001 VW alh TDI. (diesel Jetta engine)

 

He meant the scrap load.

 

Oh i see haha! Sorry im a little slow!

 

I am getting a strange noise that I need to figure out. I cant tell if its drivetrain or a rattle or something loose. It only happens in 3rd gear above 40 mph on bumpy roads.... smooth roads or slower speeds or a different gear and I dont hear it. It does not seem to be rpm related. I kinda think it may be transfer case but its very intermittent and random. Ive spent about an hour looking at everything and tightening bolts. I even took the PTO cover off and got a mirror everything looks fine. the trans/t-case are 135f after a good drive in 85f degree weather. Any ideas. I would describe the noise as a small child banging a hammer randomly on the underside of the tub to the rhythm of the bumps in the road haha!

I put the jeep on jack stands and tried to isolate my noise. I can only get the noise with the idling in 3rd gear. Its a loud rattle. It goes away under load. I cant tell if its the clutch or the parking brake assembly. From the passenger side it really seems like its coming from the parking brake drum area. from the drivers side it sound more towards the front clutch area. I put the trans in 3rd and the t-case in neutral and the noise goes away so that makes me think its not the clutch or transmission. I tried all different speeds and RPMs with the dana18 in neutral.....no noise. Engage the rear drive and the noise comes back. I suppose it could still be the clutch if the drive line lash is causing the noise. I suppose I could pull the inspection cover and try to look listen. I have no vibration with the clutch in or out at idle or when revving it up. Im stumped.

 

I have random noise. Mine is the out of round parking brake drum that adds a slight tapping noise. Mine happens at low speeds and not all the time. It’s very irritating, but has caused me no problems. I will fix it if something explodes!

 

I am debating taking that approach. Its a rattly clanky sound that comes and goes..... it seriously drives me nuts! Since I cant figure it out I suppose I could drive it until it goes away or gets worse. Is there a sure way to eliminate the clutch as a suspect? I really dont feel like having that explode. Parking brake or t-case swap would be easiest. I dont want it to damage anything on the engine side.

 

I wouldn't think it's the clutch. Once that's engaged, it doesn't really know if it's under a load or not. It only knows rpm changes.

How are your rear u-joints?
Are you sure the rear driveshaft is phased correctly?
Do you have excessive slop in the splined section of the driveshaft?

I'm sure you've triple-checked this, but the exhaust isn't rattling against anything? The vibration of the diesel might make weird resonance that will make things rattle like you aren't used to.

 

I forgot your other rig is diesel too, right? Maybe you are used to it.

 

My trouble-shooting logic would be:

1. Look for small children with hammers.
2. What Ryan said, likely something after the t-case (U-joints, yoke alignment, slip joint)

If it was engine rpm related, should happen in every gear (or no gear). Since it is only 3rd, likely the driveshaft speed in that gear. You could test it by putting it in 4L, see if it still happens in 3rd gear (as the driveshaft speed would be different).

 

Haha yes! My neighborhood is full of kids with hammers!


Well, I feel stupid..... I spent hours on the creeper with a flashlight... I tightened bolts. adjusted things, removed the driveshaft. Hit things with hammers...... scratched my head.. and solved nothing. I backed the shoes off the e-brake drum because I thought that had something to do with it. Then I took it for a ride. Still heard the noise! I put my hand on the floor and felt banging as load changed or bumps came. So I knew it wasnt driveline related and that something was physically touching the tub. Then I found it! At least its not catastrophic! At least it will be an easy fix. My motor mounts must have settled because that was close but not touching before I started driving the jeep. A few minutes with the grinder and I will hopefully be back on the road. There still could be other issues but this was definitely making noise and thumps on bumps.

 

I've had that before. That makes a racket!! Glad you found it!

 

Fortunately I can't hear the racket in my Jeep because the rattles drown it out.

 

Nice! Easy and simple. Fixed in 10 minutes. Perfect!

 

Finally got around to making a drive video....

 

Awesome.
Just awesome.

 

Love it!