Rear end making new noise!

[bucketokarma]

When we got home last night, a new noise showed up in my rear end. It sounds like my rear axle is ratcheting when I'm in first, and clanking when I'm in reverse, but only when starting off, the sound goes away after the first few feet. It's freaking me out, and I can't get it to do it all the time which makes it difficult to show somebody else what I'm talking about... Can any of you tell me what is going on?

[XJLI]

it was inevitable. better get on that 8.8 swap sooner.

[Bigbike]

did you check all the bolts/wires and shit from when we dropped the tank? Try that first, then change the gear oil and see if theres metal shaving in it/ check the gears.

[customcreationsllc]

Check your U-joints and tranny mount first then go from there.

[bucketokarma]

I don't know what to look for with the tranny mounts and U-joints. As for the gears; that's my biggest fear, and I'm almost too scared to check (Like people are afraid to get tested for AIDS).... DAMN, for every one thing that goes right, 2 things seem to wrong, WTF. Like I said, I can't duplicate the sound sometimes, if it were my gears, wouldn't the noise be more consistent?

[customcreationsllc]

jack up the axle shake the drive shaft at the U-joint there shouldn't be any play in the joint. For the trany mount put a pry bar under it and pry it up it should be pretty stiff. If the rubber is separated it is bad.

I don't know what you are hearing but a bad trany mount allows the trany to shift when you torque it up and the drive shaft angle will be off causing a quick clunking noise a bad U-joint will basically sound the same at higher speeds you apply less torque so it usually isn't that bad.

It might only be a couple bucks to fix it.
If is the diff you can probably find stock used parts cheap.

Let us know what you find.

[CumminsJeep]

i would check the U joint.