Americas Strange vibration/rattle

[MTNDOG]

Thank you for figuring this out! Yes, mine has some rub to the casing but it has not broken through yet.

I found the same issue, and it seems to solve the rattle. Here are two pics... one before with it just about touching the drive shaft (which it was but I moved it just a bit to test), and then the second one where I pulled it away from the drive shaft. You'll see that there is a floating clip that has come undone. I don't know where it connects? Moving it away from the drive shaft solves the rattle issue.

Hoping I can make this make sense. I have circled in red the clip hanging by itself on the cable and then where it should be attached. If you look at your second picture u can see the post that is broken. The other picture on this post is mine and showing intact.

 

[khmarks]

View attachment 7853395

View attachment 7853396Hoping I can make this make sense. I have circled in red the clip hanging by itself on the cable and then where it should be attached. If you look at your second picture u can see the post that is broken. The other picture on this post is mine and showing intact.

Thank you.

 

[Kevin Mokracek]

I was watching a video on YouTube today by Dirtbox Overland. In their second video he was going over the underside of the Grenadier and pointed out two lines, one of which is the line that was rubbing the drive shaft, he stated they were transmission cooler lines. That could be even worse if there is constant wearing and the line burst.

 

[ORSO]

I confirm that the vibration was due to the transfer case cable touching the front drive shaft.
Now I can't understand why that noise was only heard during compression on certain bumps taken at medium-high speed. because by compressing the suspension the front shaft rose and touched the cable.

since to look for the solution [later found here on the forum] I examined the whole machine I found two or three other things to fix:

 

[khmarks]

Your post is helpful. Regarding the transfer case cable, that was the problem with the rattles that I was experiencing. I purchased a heavy duty quarter inch wire tie that is for automotive use, and made a hole in the same location that you show. It appears to be a reasonably permanent solution. I also used one of those ties further up the cable towards the engine where the factory had installed a rather light weight tie... I put the new one in place to reinforce and provide some additional strength.

 

[DMZNOLA]

Our G started this issue with the transfer case cable after 3k miles. Crawling under the car showed that the retainer clip (photo from KHMARKS above) was off. I put it back on, but will need to address is better- since I have little faith that it was hold the cable for the long haul. The cable is still touching the transfer case and I'm hoping its vibration doesn't degrade the cable.

 

[khmarks]

Our G started this issue with the transfer case cable after 3k miles. Crawling under the car showed that the retainer clip (photo from KHMARKS above) was off. I put it back on, but will need to address is better- since I have little faith that it was hold the cable for the long haul. The cable is still touching the transfer case and I'm hoping its vibration doesn't degrade the cable.

To solve the issue, I drilled a hole in the heat shield and used a quarter inch industrial wire tie to connect the cable to the heat shield. I've had it off-road since then, sorry for the dirt in the picture, and it's held fine. You might want to zoom in a little bit to see the black wire tie.

 

[Kevin Mokracek]

To solve the issue, I drilled a hole in the heat shield and used a quarter inch industrial wire tie to connect the cable to the heat shield. I've had it off-road since then, sorry for the dirt in the picture, and it's held fine. You might want to zoom in a little bit to see the black wire tie.

I did the same, I have a few thousand more miles on it and zero issues.

 

[khmarks]

I did the same, I have a few thousand more miles on it and zero issues.

Kevin - I think I got the idea from you. Thanks! It worked!

 

[Bell2]

I had same issue, rattle sounded like it was coming from the headliner above the drivers seat. The fix described here with a zip tie resolved the issue. Thank you for posting the fix.

 

[AndyT]

I arrived at this post because I also have an intermittent rattle. I thought it was my mud flaps, but the rattling would speed up and slow down according to vehicle speed. It almost sounded like my mud flaps were rubbing on the tires. After reading through this post, I looked under my truck and lo and behold, I have the same issue where that retaining clip has broken and that black cable was very close to the drive shaft. I am assuming that the noise I was getting was intermittent because that cable was not fully resting on the drive shaft, but under certain situations it would touch and rattle on the shaft. Luckily there is very little wear on the cable. I moved the cable out of the way and will drive my truck later to see if this is indeed the source of my rattle, but I am fairly certain it is. I'll zip-tie the cable to the heat shield as you guys have done as the "permanent" fix. I think that retaining clip is quite weak and if anyone hits something or goes through deep water, that clip is going to break off and the cable will sag onto the drive shaft. I';; post again once I have put my fix in and confirmed that this as the issue.

 

[AndyT]

I was able to confirm that the black cable was the source of my rattle. I took an awl and punched a small hole in the heat shield and passed a plastic zip tie to secure the cable higher so it wouldn't touch the drive shaft. No more rattle! When I had the rattle, it was very hard to pinpoint. It happened intermittently and usually as i just took my foot off the gas and let the car coast. It was speed dependent, so i knew it was something relayed to the wheels/tires or druve shaft. It sounded like my mud guards were rubbing against my tires, but since it was intermittent, I couldn't figure it out. At one point I thought the mud flaps would flex from air turbulence buy i had so much clearance between the tires and the mud guards that I had to find another source. I did come across this discussion previously and even looked under my truck and couldn't find anything hanging down. Well, after eliminating other sources of the rattle, I crawled back under the truck and specifically looked for this black cable. Mine was tucked in above the drive shaft so it is not easy to spot that the retaining clip had broken the the cable was just a few mm's away from the drive shaft. The cable had some very shallow nicks in it so I wasn't worried that the rubbing did more extensive damage. Like others, I zip-tied the black cable to the heat shield after punching a small hole in the heat shield with an awl. Noise eliminated and no need to go to the dealer for service! Thanks forum members...again!

 

[Bradysdad]

MY truck is at the dealer currently getting the hitch installed, as soon as I get it back I'll crawl under and take a closer look.

Not to highjack the thread but were you able to get the factory hitch and wiring harness installed at the dealer? I am looking to do the same thing.

 

[Kevin Mokracek]

Not to highjack the thread but were you able to get the factory hitch and wiring harness installed at the dealer? I am looking to do the same thing.

I had ordered mine with the factory hitch and wiring needed. When it arrived at port they removed the hitch to prevent the use of the hitch due to a wiring issue that needed to get sorted out. I had to go back a few months later to have them install the hitch.

I don’t believe you can get the hitch and wiring from the dealer if it wasn’t specified for the build when you ordered it. I’m sure someone could do it for a price but didn’t think the dealer would add the wiring for the hitch because it was too difficult. Like I said I’m sure someone could do it but not the dealer. Hope I’m wrong though.

 

[Ovrland Bill]

I found that the original plastic cable clamp was broken and no longer close to the heavy black cable above the front driveshaft. I suspect someone at the factory added a thin ‘zip tie’ to help prevent movement of this cable. I have added two ‘ties’ of my own for insurance. That said, the heavy black cable feels well fixed in place and not likely to go anywhere. Please see photos with captions.

 

[Ovrland Bill]

View attachment 7869702View attachment 7869703View attachment 7869704

I found that the original plastic cable clamp was broken and no longer close to the heavy black cable above the front driveshaft. I suspect someone at the factory added a thin ‘zip tie’ to help prevent movement of this cable. I have added two ‘ties’ of my own for insurance. That said, the heavy black cable feels well fixed in place and not likely to go anywhere. Please see photos with captions.

(I thought I added captions to each photo but they didn’t seem to turn up here.)