Novak Conversions Jeep Wrangler TJ radiator

Scary sound out of the blue (with video / audio)

Not_Invented_Here_

Not_Invented_Here_

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Jan 15, 2019
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Drove home late on Monday and parked, came back out Tuesday morning and got this sound after I started driving to work. It's only happening in/on the driver's side rear wheel well. At different times, it has sounded like a pebble getting kicked around, a metal on metal scraping sound, and a rubber on metal groaning/creaking sound. Almost like someone is loose and flopping around sometimes? Yesterday it went away at highway speeds but today it's happening any time I drive. Definitely worse at low speeds and when I brake for lights or stop signs, pressing and releasing the brake seems to duplicate the creaking sound but at high speed not so much. Any ideas?

EDIT: added video with sound
 
Planning to swap vehicles at lunch and after work, I guess I'll pull the inner rear fender liner to see if anything looks obviously wrong back there...Best suggestions I've gotten include:

- loose e-brake shoe
- driveline u joint right in front of rear axle

Anything else to look for? I'm going to jack up the rear to spin the tires after work and see what happens.
 
Goatman said:
Check for any broken or cracked metal. I'm thinking like a shock mount, control arms, etc.
Click to expand...

Shock mount was one of my first thoughts too but it looks fine...I'm going to just chill out and wait until I can actually get under and look. I really think it's coming from the wheel/drum brake area itself...The frame on that whole side is in solid condition and I don't go wild in my Jeep, it's a DD mostly to and from work. I'd be very surprised if something broke like that...
 
If anyone has any better descriptions about what to look for when I check out the brake drum/e-brake shoe, I'd appreciate them. I'm going off of YouTube and google searches right now with only moderate success.
 
I'd start by jumping on the bumper to see if you can replicate the noise. If you don't hear anything my next step would be to jack up the rear axle and spin the wheels.

*Proceed at your own risk.... You could support the rear axle by placing a jack stands on the axle tubes and in 2 wheels high bring the axle up to speed.

I'd also check the u-joints on the driveshaft.

Let us know what you find.
 
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Alex01 said:
I'd start by jumping on the bumper to see if you can replicate the noise. If you don't hear anything my next step would be to jack up the rear axle and spin the wheels.

*Proceed at your own risk.... You could support the rear axle by placing a jack stands on the axle tubes and in 2 wheels high bring the axle up to speed.

I'd also check the u-joints on the driveshaft.

Let us know what you find.
Click to expand...

Thanks, for real. Father in law thinks rear driveshaft u joint just in front of axle but that just really seems like it's not the place where it's coming from. Still gonna check but symptoms don't seem consistent with what I know about those failing. More reading is leading me to believe it's something with the brake drum, a loose e-brake shoe? I flushed the brake fluid last month and changed transfer case fluid this past weekend and I can't imagine either are related - otherwise, I really haven't messed with anything recently. Haven't had any warning signs or problems either.

I guess did remove rear seat hardware on Sunday and used an impact a couple times. Highly doubt that would jar anything underneath though enough to cause a problem ha. Just seems odd that it would appear in the morning after no problems the previous night.
 
xxdabroxx said:
Could be spider gears in the diff maybe? Might jack the rear end up and spin the tires independently of each other to see if it feels gritty.
Click to expand...

Also crossed my mind but it really seems to be coming from the driver's side specifically. It just doesn't sound like it's in the center of the vehicle by the pumpkin or driveshaft. Bumps in the road seem to agitate it. Pressing/pumping the brakes when I'm stopped or especially if I'm crawling forward duplicate the creaking sound - I almost thought it was a suspension component groaning as the brakes stopped the Jeep.

Will do with the tire spin though, thanks.
 
CharlesHS said:
I suspect that when you remove the brake drum you will find a loose part in the emergency brake assembly is making the noises.
Click to expand...

I agree. Seems to fit based on what I know. What I can't seem to find is a good diagram or explainer of what I'm looking at/for. I wish I could find something like those ZJ steering linkage diagrams that highlight and label every part for folks doing the ZJ upgrade - just for brake drums and e brakes. I don't even really know how to remove the brake drum right now and am trying to find a good video ha.
 
This is a better picture...
The other was incorrect.
IMG_7724.jpg
 
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Alright, I think I've fixed the problem. When I removed the wheel, I noticed that the brake drum seemed like it wasn't properly seated on the wheel hub (forgive me if I'm using the wrong vocab). Lug nuts were torqued down fine and all but I don't know if the drum itself was set flush against the hub - it seemed like it was sitting forward by at least several mm. It's possible it just popped out a little when I pulled the wheel but I don't think so. I made sure to seat it back all the way and evenly when I put the wheel back on. I just got back from driving it around and no longer hear/feel anything so....problem solved?

Incidentally, I was never actually able to pull the drum itself and no, the e-brake was not engaged. If the problem returns, I'll assume that's the place to start. For now though it seems to be gone completely. Fingers crossed.

PS -there was an amazing amount of crud behind the inner fender and definitely some areas with light rash that I want to go back to and sand/paint. PSA to check yours sometime if you never have ha.
 

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