4 Wheel Drive Thumping...

[AiDub]

Hello everyone. This is my first post here at these forums and unfortunately it might not be under the best circumstances. :disgust: I have searched the forum and haven't run across the problem I'm having so I thought I'd ask away.

I own a 2005 Jeep Liberty Limited 4x4. Everything runs great and works fine EXCEPT when I put it in 4 wheel drive. The 4 wheel drive works but when I am driving down the road with it engaged it makes an awful thumping noise that you can definitely hear and feel. It seems to only be a problem when i am coasting along and/or under braking. Once I start to accelerate it goes away but once I let off the gas or brake it starts "the thump" as I call it. Also when I have the 4 wheel drive engaged and try to make a sharp turn into a parking spot for example it feels like the tires are rubbing on something underneath and it becomes VERY hard to turn and just sounds plain ugly. Again this only happens while in 4 wheel drive. If it is off everything is fine.

Anywho if anyone has any suggestions as to what it could be I would appreciate it very much. I love my 4 wheel drive, especially this winter since I live in Indiana, so if it sounds like something major, I definitely want to get it fixed. Thanks in advance!

 

[RenegadeBullitt]

When you have your Jeep in 4wd does it say Part Time or full time on the dash. If you have part time 4wd you should not be using it on dry pavement and that could cause weird noises and bumps

 

[AiDub]

Yes it does say part time. I was not aware that it should not say that when driving on pavement. Should I have it set one something else when trying to run 4 wheel drive? Thanks for the insight!

 

[rockymountain]

Yes it does say part time. I was not aware that it should not say that when driving on pavement. Should I have it set one something else when trying to run 4 wheel drive? Thanks for the insight!

don't run part time 4x4 unless the wheels can slip. wet roads don't count and in many cases the tires could have more grip when it's just wet. Do some research and you'll find out why. The wheels all need to spin at different speeds especially when you are turning (parking lot). Its called part time because you should only run it part time or better yet only when you need it.

If you have full time you can run that whenever since the front and rear can spin at different speeds. You only have full time if it says so on the shifter. (select trac)

If it constantly thumps I would suspect something wrong like a bad bearing or missing tooth on a gear or bad cv joint either on the front axle or the front driveshaft. That all depends on how long you've been letting it bind up on pavement in part time. Hopefully its just the CV joint on the front driveshaft. I would start there.