A Few Minor Problems, Hopefully

Hey everyone, I've had our 07 JKU for almost three years now and every once in a while the radio will randomly turn off for a few seconds and then come back on. I am by no means good with electrical equipment. It's the original factory radio (cd player unit), no after market speakers, amps, etc... Anyone else have this problem?

Also, I have been getting somewhat of a clunking noise from the rear of the jeep. I've checked the control arm bolts, sway bar links and the shock mounts. Everything is torqued accordingly and not loose. Oh and the rear track bar is torqued and the bracket doesn't appear to have any damage. I read elsewhere that to check if it is in the actual rear axle to twist the rear drive shaft back and forth. If it moves more than a quarter inch it could be inside the housing. My driveshaft doesn't move more than a quarter inch in either direction. I checked for any side movement in the rear tires to see if it was the bearings too. Again, nothing.

I did notice that when we applied the parking brake it makes a little pooping noise when the jeep is still, but not as loud. As soon as I back the jeep out of the driveway and then put it into drive, it will make the popping noise. It only does it when I back up and then go forward. I've backed up and made a complete stop and then put it in drive, still does it.

Any suggestions or if anyone had this problem, am I overlooking something? Thanks in advance.

TwistedJK said:

Hey everyone, I've had our 07 JKU for almost three years now and every once in a while the radio will randomly turn off for a few seconds and then come back on. I am by no means good with electrical equipment. It's the original factory radio (cd player unit), no after market speakers, amps, etc... Anyone else have this problem?

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Sounds like you might have something as simple as a loose harness. You'll have to pull apart your dash to verify as much.

Also, I have been getting somewhat of a clunking noise from the rear of the jeep. I've checked the control arm bolts, sway bar links and the shock mounts. Everything is torqued accordingly and not loose. Oh and the rear track bar is torqued and the bracket doesn't appear to have any damage. I read elsewhere that to check if it is in the actual rear axle to twist the rear drive shaft back and forth. If it moves more than a quarter inch it could be inside the housing. My driveshaft doesn't move more than a quarter inch in either direction. I checked for any side movement in the rear tires to see if it was the bearings too. Again, nothing.

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Under what conditions does the clunking occur? Can you make it happen when you're at a standstill?

How do your u-joints look? Sounds like the old chevy clunk.

It will only clunk if it's been sitting for a while, back up and then move a few feet forward in drive. I'll have to check the u-joints tonight.

TwistedJK said:

It will only clunk if it's been sitting for a while, back up and then move a few feet forward in drive. I'll have to check the u-joints tonight.

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Are you still stock or running a lift kit? If the later, what's the make and how tall are you? Do you have aftermarket control arms?

TwistedJK said:

It will only clunk if it's been sitting for a while, back up and then move a few feet forward in drive. I'll have to check the u-joints tonight.

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I had a similar sound on a different vehicle, but the emergency brake is similar. The parking brake uses a set of shoes like drum brakes, but inside the back rotor. I'd only get the noise after it had been parked for a couple days with the parking brake engaged. Mine deteriorated so bad that one side disintegrated while driving. That sounded like the rear end let go. After a tow to the shop the mechanic found the problem. I took it home and changed the shoes out myself.

On the stereo, I'd have to agree with others that it is probably a loose harness. Just a guess...good luck!

Thanks everyone. I'm going to check them out Sunday after the whole jeep beach event is over. As soon as I check all the above mentioned I'll let you all know.

wayoflife said:

Are you still stock or running a lift kit? If the later, what's the make and how tall are you? Do you have aftermarket control arms?

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I'm sorry Eddie, I didn't see your post. It has stock control arms, and just a Rock Krawler 1.75" spacer lift with their quick disconnects. The jeep is weighed down quite a bit as it has a warn elite front bumper with a mile marker 9,500 winch ( I know, I know, I shoudve put in a warn), smittybilt SRC rocker guards, and a body armor rear bumper with tire carrier. Tires are stock Moab wheels with 285/75/17 Iroks, which each wheel and tire weighs almost 80lbs. Hope this helps. I know it's hard to diagnose a vehicle that you've never seen that's on the other side of the country lol.

I did fix the radio problem, harness was loose, so thanks for that guys.

I've been following this thread with some interest, as I've had an identical problem with my 08 JKU, for almost 4yrs. Sometimes I'll go weeks/months without hearing it, and sometimes ill hear it multiple times within days. It can even be a double popping sound. I've researched it, and found countless theories. Many seem to be things which will escalate quickly... Well in 4yrs it's never gotten worse or led to other problems. I even have tried noting weather conditions, to see if that was a factor. I've taken it to both my mechanic and a jeep dealership and neither can locate it, they couldn't even reproduce it (it's too sporadic). While I cant offer any solutions, I can say that everytime I've had it looked at (which involves lifting it), the popping goes away for a few days or weeks. The mechanic and dealership both said that may be due to their lifting it up, which can allow joints, links, etc to adjust back into their proper position - if a misaligned "something" is the cause, that could be why it temporarily goes away. I know that's not much help, but maybe getting it off the ground might be worth a shot. For what it's worth, I last had it in for unrelated issues in Dec, and the sound has not occurred since.
Good luck :icon_crazy:

TomJK said:

I've been following this thread with some interest, as I've had an identical problem with my 08 JKU, for almost 4yrs. Sometimes I'll go weeks/months without hearing it, and sometimes ill hear it multiple times within days. It can even be a double popping sound. I've researched it, and found countless theories. Many seem to be things which will escalate quickly... Well in 4yrs it's never gotten worse or led to other problems. I even have tried noting weather conditions, to see if that was a factor. I've taken it to both my mechanic and a jeep dealership and neither can locate it, they couldn't even reproduce it (it's too sporadic). While I cant offer any solutions, I can say that everytime I've had it looked at (which involves lifting it), the popping goes away for a few days or weeks. The mechanic and dealership both said that may be due to their lifting it up, which can allow joints, links, etc to adjust back into their proper position - if a misaligned "something" is the cause, that could be why it temporarily goes away. I know that's not much help, but maybe getting it off the ground might be worth a shot. For what it's worth, I last had it in for unrelated issues in Dec, and the sound has not occurred since.
Good luck :icon_crazy:

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I'll lift it up this afternoon. It could be a combination of things down here. I was wondering if some sand, salt or humidity had something to do with it. I'm thinking the parking brake may be the culprit here. I would've checked it out by now but our condo complex doesn't allow anyone to work on their vehicles here, so I'll have to bring it to my parents garage tonight and check it out.

So I've finally gotten around to checking out the rear. Rechecked all suspension bolts and the parking brake. I'm at a loss. I engaged the parking brake last night and when I backed out yesterday morning it didn't clunk. Drove it last night and backed out of the driveway and it did it again. I'm going to tinker with it later this afternoon again. I'm getting frustrated and need to take a break. Installed my my new wayalife banner should make me feel better lol.

Finally figured the clunking out!!! It turns out on the passenger side rear caliper the lower bolt that holds the caliper to the caliper bracket had backed out. It's the bolt that goes into the sliding pin. Apparently it was loose when I checked it but never noticed. While installing extended brake lines today, I noticed the bolt has apparently backed all the way out. Grabbed a replacement set today and reinstalled it (along with my new bumpstops). I'll post a pic here in a second, trying to get the son to take a nap.

The new bolt is the gold one

Bleeding the brakes now too. Thanks Eddie for the write-up on installing brake lines and bleeding!