I have a 08 2door x 6 speed, running 35's w/4"lift, the click/clack noise in front end only happens when I'm in 4wd. It goes away in 2. It felt a little squirrely @70mph on hwy & my esp/tc lights came on, but, went off & stayed off after I shut it off & restarted. A fellow JK owner friend told me it might be my front driveshaft, as that's what their JK was in the shop to have replaced for the same or similar noise after we went wheelin. Can I tell if that's what I need by looking at it? Or would I need to pull it out to check something? Idk if it's a stock driveshaft or upgraded, I bought it used.thanks for any help I can get to determine what to do to not destroy anything further!

 

I presume you're talking about a mechanical rotational sound. A clicking noise like what you're describing is typically a front axle shaft u-joint, the front DS u-joint by the pinion, or the front DS CV joint at the transfer case (for the factory shaft). On a jeep that old with a lift it's likely you have an aftermarket shaft which would then have another u-joint or two at the TC side instead of that CV joint. If you have a bad joint in the mix it's not uncommon to only hear it in 4WD as there is load/stress on the components rotating in 4WD vs just kinda spinning in 2WD.

Look under the jeep. This is what a factory shaft looks like (bottom) relative to an aftermarket (top) -




The most common issue with a factory shaft is that the boot covering the CV joint will rip and spew the grease out which in turn dries the joint and you will start to hear a clicking as it rotates. You will also see a line of grease on the underside of your tub.

If you can put it in 4WD somewhere and listen it would help to pinpoint if the clicking is under the jeep or at one of the wheels. This at least eliminates axle shaft u-joints or the DS. Bad u-joints aren't typically something you're going to see with a visual inspection.

How long have you had this jeep? Is this new-to-you, or have you had it a while and this is something that just started?

 

Another way is to remove the drivehaft and rotate the u-joint and the Rzeppa joint by hand to listen for noises. 4" lift on something that old something is bound to need replacing but Resharp ran you through a bunch of items to look at. My bet is the axle u-joints as I had the same issue last year. One axle joint was dry.

 

I'm gonna throw out this random comment as well.....

Kudos to you for getting online and searching about and asking questions. IMO, for anyone that is going to travel off the pavement they need to be able to diagnose their issues at the very least. Ideally someone learns to do repairs on their own equipment if physically able to cuz when you're out on the trails things to happen. If you can't fix something in the garage then you are really SOL in less than ideal conditions out on the trail. A lot of this stuff is really not that difficult, and knowledge base is simply accumulated over time with instances like this. If you are able to diagnose what the culprit is there are several of us here that are happy to walk through fixing it. Most of the time that involves just a little time, an inexpensive part, some commentary here, and a few YouTube vids that hold your hand through things. If it is a u-joint that is an easy repair that would be good experience for you anyhow.

 

Sorry, I should have been more specific. I definitely know better, as I was a service Mgr./advisor & qualified tech (that went inside instead of out in the shop) I am retired now, so it has been a while. I do 99% of my own work, & have a great Jeep tech to bounce codes etc off of, but I live in a new area in the mountains that is almost 8hrs away from my old resources. I am a 1st time owner of a wrangler & bought it used from someone that didn't give me much info on the upgrades/changes from stock that over the last 2 yrs I have had to learn on my own. I never want to waste anyone's time, mine included. So, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this assist. I had just repaired wiring for my dash Xmas tree & a rethread on #3 after it blew the plug out 3/4 of the way UP a trail, I jumped the gun on my post out of frustration. I will check out the noise again & send pics if I get stuck. I appreciate y'all, your experience & expertise. I really like this forum, never too late to learn.