Lubing slip joints

'96 XJ AW4 here and for a while I've had this clunking sound just when I come to a stop and right when taking off again. From the feeling and sound if it I'm guessing it's coming from somewhere in the drive line somewhat toward the rear. The sound doesn't repeat itself, it's just one solid clunk when stopping and again when starting. Asked around about it before but nobody had any solid ideas about it.

So couple days ago I see this write-up describing how to grease the slip joints of XJs 97 and up. And in it is a description of a sounds exactly like what I've got. So all happy I've prob found the culprit I re-read the write up again and see it's only for, yes 97s and up.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/g...ite-up-357569/

What's the deal with trying to do the same to my '96? Is my drive line that much different from the 97?

The later-style setup was introduced in 95 or 96. A lot of people refer to 97 because so many other changes at that year, but the driveshaft change came earlier

I used Lucas red & tacky grease on my 1988 slip yoke and it worked really well.

From your description, it sounds more like a trackbar or control arms or possibly even a TC mount!

Driveshaft is indeed a good candidate for the given symptoms.

Lube that thing and see what it does.

My 96 didn't 'clunk', but had a notchy feeling when stopping
and starting. Greasing the slip yoke cured it. I used a zip-tie
to secure the boot, since you will destroy the metal clamp
when removing it.

96' was the crossover year.
Old body style, new drive-line and electronics.

So many 96's had external slip yokes (as opposed to the slip yokes that slide into the t-case). Symptoms varied depending on how tired the grease got.

To lube, you simply remove the rear drive-line, clean and coat the splines with grease, coat the splines inside the yoke, and slide it back together.

Great thread... could be the cure for the 'clunk' or 'pop' I've been trying to fix for years on my '01 XJ. Never knew the rear driveshaft had splines that needed lubed....