My friend has a 98 Cherokee 4.0 auto. Upon starting and just after he turns the ignition off there are some loud metallic banging noises coming from the bell-housing area. The vehicle sounds fine otherwise with no apparent vibration. At first I thought it might have been the exhaust pipe banging against something due to a bad motor mount, or loose hanger. He crawled underneath when he had it started and the pipe hardly moved, but he could feel the clunking vibration from the bell housing briefly for a few seconds.
My guess is that the torque converter is loose for some reason and it is flopping when it doesn't have enough centrifugal force to keep it steady. That sound logical? Hard for me to imagine how it could have come loose. He says this noise has been present for the last 1,000 miles, and runs fine once you get past the initial noise. Wouldn't the mainshaft of the tranny keep it steady and not let it flop if a bolt came loose? I am guessing at least 2 bolts might be loose. There is no grinding when he starts it, so I don't believe it is the flywheel. Does the observation cover on the AW4 give you enough room to check the converter bolts and tighten if necessary? Thanks for the help.
My guess is that the torque converter is loose for some reason and it is flopping when it doesn't have enough centrifugal force to keep it steady. That sound logical? Hard for me to imagine how it could have come loose. He says this noise has been present for the last 1,000 miles, and runs fine once you get past the initial noise. Wouldn't the mainshaft of the tranny keep it steady and not let it flop if a bolt came loose? I am guessing at least 2 bolts might be loose. There is no grinding when he starts it, so I don't believe it is the flywheel. Does the observation cover on the AW4 give you enough room to check the converter bolts and tighten if necessary? Thanks for the help.
