Rear interior clunk?

[Yuke175]

I am getting a very annoying clunk in the rear of my xj, sounds like it is inside almost. It was there before I lifted the jeep rencetly and I was hoping it was a suspension clunk and new lift would eliminate it but it did not.

Any thoughts on a clunk towards the rear of the jeep?

 

[IslanderOffRoad]

liftgate rattling?

 

[Yuke175]

I opened the liftgate and shook it up and down and didnt hear anything i think tried pulling on it when latched closed and it seemed solid.... idk

 

[Tim_MN]

Recheck torque on all the suspension fasteners. Check the common clunk sources like the exhaust pipe hitting on the floor, frame, or the new suspension. Check the shock bushings.

 

[JrTxJ]

97+ have liftgate bushings that can break down.

spare tire nice & tight?

 

[Yuke175]

Brand new shocks so not those

pulled the spare so not those

clunk was there with the stock suspension and is still there with the new 4.5" zone lift

exhaust seems firm in place

 

[Reverend Jim]

Do you have a skid-plate over your gas tank?(Factory or aftermarket). My '98 had a clunk that drove me crazy, turned out to be when the P/O installed a skid-plate, he never re-torqued it. It was just loose enough to make noise over potholes and such.

 

[Yuke175]

No skid plate

 

[Dragonslayer]

I've got the same thing on my '93 XJ 2WD. New shocks. Exhaust OK. I actually crammed myself in the rear of my car while someone else drove it over rough roads
in an attempt to pinpoint the source of the noise.

I tightened the hatch lock catch to the point where I have to really slam the hatch shut.
I adjusted and secured the hatch rubber bump stops. I stuffed batting (padding) between
the interior plastic panels on the hatch and the sides of the cargo area. I removed the
spare tire entirely.

While there was a small improvement, I still get a dull rattle in the rear cargo area every
time I hit a moderate road bump.

 

[MaxxXJ]

Just Turn up the radio... I can't pinpoint that which I cannot see... It could be something stupid like a dirt clod build up inside your rear quarter panel bouncing around or a lost tool someone couldnt reach that they lost could be a faulty rear seat latch. If you suspect it's your hatch remove the latch it clicks into and flip it 180 degrees so it has a non worn surface to latch to, that helped my 2000

You didn't even describe the sound, it it a metal to metal sound? Dull? High pitched? Faint? When does it rattle? On speed bumps? Consistently? At idle? Idk being so vague it could be a million things, could be a loose speaker in your sound bar... Help us out here, get as descriptive as possible and tell us when it does it what it sounds like etc...

 

[Dragonslayer]

Sorry.

I play the radio often, but there are times when I just want to drive in silent mode.

On my car ('93 XJ, 2WD) - it sounds just like someone is moderately tapping on the rear fiberglass hatch with their knuckles - and, no, there's nobody being dragged behind my car (I checked that, too).

You can replicate the sound that I am hearing by tapping on your desk with your
knuckles. It sounds just like that.

Last night, I tightened the lift mounts (the right side was a bit loose) but it didn't
improve anything.

Are there supposed to be any rubber cushioning parts on the rear hatch lock of a '93 XJ?
...or is it all metal?

 

[sidewaysstarion]

Did your stock jack come loose under the seat?

 

[87manche]

Brand new shocks so not those

just because they're new doesn't mean they're not related.

Did you use bar pin eliminators?

Check that they don't need the bolts retorqued?