i was doing a little trail riding in the woods with my jeep and there was some steep climbs so i had it in first and in 4 Low. when i would engage the clutch to put it into reverse to turn around on flat surface it jerks or if i put the clutch in it makes a jerky sound am i not suppose to put the clutch in or something i just want to make sure im doing things right i dont want to mess up my tranny??? any help or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

Is it jerk or is it just gear backlash in the trans and transfer case
Mine makes a clacking sound and u can feel it also but it is just backlash
U can be smoother with the clutch but still will hear and feel it

 

yea its like a clacking sound i tried to get to a almost complete stop and then put the clutch in and it still made like that noise and jerked a bit im not sure if its going to do that just cuz its such a low gear or if im doing something wrong

 

my 6 speed rubi does the EXACT same "clacking" sounds in 4 lo. happens while engaging clutch, goin over bumps, or braking.... it's got to be backlash..

 

so then im assuming its a common thing then ?

 

Yep very common my yj even did the same thing sounds like crap
If u wheel with other jeeps u will hear it coming from theres also

 

One thing I have noticed that helps a bit is to get the RPMs to about 2k then engage the clutch sorta the same point you would use if you were shifting without the clutch. From what I understand it matchs the engine RPM to the trans RPM to make things abut more smoothe.

 

Yes, mine does this as well. It's a 4low thing that the JK has. I was unsure about it as well when I off-roaded the first time but then I heard Wayoflife's jeep doing it in one of his videos. Then I knew it was normal.

 

This is the normal sound of the TC

BTW Don't shift in deep water, because you will have a very very bad surprise (water in contact with the clutch)

 

Thanks for the advice JKU. I heard from my Jeeping pal that you should also never turn your engine off while in the water, as water will enter the exhaust and get into the engine. This makes sense. Is there anything else you would advise NOT to do in the water in a Jeep Rubicon?