I have a 99 tj with stock suspension aside from coil spacers and i went up an rti ramp the other day and now when ever my jeep flexes i hear a clicking sound like something's binding, anyone have any idea what it is?

Is the click related to the drive line - only happens when you are in gear and
moving - or is it related to flexing the suspension - going over bumps?

Sound detection and elimination has mostly to do with what you did to get it and
what part of the jeep is being articulated to get the noise.

If it is a drive line noise you should be able to put the axles on four stands and
roll the drive line by hand and hear noise - a common problem after ramping a jeep
really hard for the first time is articulating the drive line to max angles or past
to max+ angles - could cause the u-joints to to past due and make a click. Tcase
mounts, brake cables, and exhaust hangers are also suspect depending where and how
the noise materializes.

More likely though you have something like a brake cable or exhaust hanger that got
moved so you get a ticking.

Chock the jeep and get on a roller and roll under the jeep (use heavy gloves) and
grab every part of the suspension and wiggle it as hard as you can - if you get clicks
then you have a suspect noise origin point.

If you can isolate the noise to one side/front/back etc it helps the hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by azjeeper:
If you can isolate the noise to one side/front/back etc it helps the hunt.

That must be the static or city version. The other way is to get your buddies to walk along side and listen! (It does work)

Good ears - where ever the are helps - I have tried the low-low crawl with
a buddy driving and used one of my really good crawlers to creep along
side - I also used the long hose trick with my stethoscope - I put about
six feet of hose one a medical stethoscope and ran the hose under the
jeep and taped it -pointed in the suspect direction - until I isolated
the problem. Found my tcase problem by taping the end to the case and
could hear the bearing in the output shaft going. But most of my clicks
pops, snaps, and crackles got found with either the wiggle/pull on everything
test, or the chocked axle rolling slowly test.

The only running gear item the ever failed the wiggle test was the HD RE
front track bar - for that I stuck two 2x8 board together and used them
as a lever to move the front end up and down quickly. A jack was too slow.

Also - last thing fixed - first thing suspect ...

I pretty much found that until I fixed all my mounting points
and put good high quality bolts/nuts/locknut's in that I had to
check ALL my bolts every month or so - My control arm bolts for
the short arm lift were very prone to coming out - I ended up
drilling and wiring them after they came out a few times.

I started to use a micrometer to check the diameter and length
of every bolt (thread gauge also) and I would buy a replacement
bolt one size larger (diameter) and get better washers and
metal locking nuts.

I got a wiring jib for my drill and wired critical bolts
like the ones in the track bars and the rod ends. My PROTHANE
bushings always made noise so I greased them on a regular basis
to keep the squeaks down.

I removed all the un-used metal from my brake cables - they were
rattling on the upper arms and the track bar bracket. I put spring
loaded pull aways on my front brake lines so they would not bang
into the frame. Put JKS shock pushing mounts in to keep the shock
from pulling off and causing a loud rattle - the upper bushing on
the stock bar pins always pulled out - the JKS things are called
bar pin eliminators - did the front also but probable did not need
them. If you stretched your frame on a ramp you might have must
pulled the bushing off on the top.

I always checked for rocks in the pan and around the front fender lips
that could make some strange noises - Most of that stopped with the
flat RE belly plate - everything just slides out - compared to the stock
unit that has depressions that can catch rocks.

Cable tie everything in site - I used them by the dozens on just about all
wires/lines/etc.

Had to put a rubber hose cover on the high lift jack to keep the ends from
rattling - pulled the wire in on the winch and put a piece of hose on it to
keep the end from bouncing on the roller.

When I replaced the rear spring pad (RE Heavy duty) it had a bolt/plate at
the bottom that held the spring in a fixed position (bottom) so it did not
pull out and rattle when the jeep was flexed - and afterwards.

Worked the exhaust hangers - put new ones in - and put a smaller cherry bomb
muffler in so the exhaust system would not rattle - also had to put a new
header on - my 98 cracked like the most stock ones - it made alot of noise
in the engine box and also make the box much hotter.

Padded the tuffy security box on all sides and put a couple of pieces of rug
padding on the bottom so the tools and stuff would not make noise.