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Pentastar making loud clicking noise

12K views 27 replies 9 participants last post by  BillyPete 
#1 ·
I just bought a 6 speed Wrangler Arctic Edition last week and it ran wonderfully until this morning. It only has 300 miles on it. All the miles have been on the road, mostly highway. There were no issues when I parked it in the heated garage last night. This morning I started it and it started making this loud clicking noise. Its rhythmic at idle but gets faster and louder as you hit the accelerator. It sound almost exactly like playing cards in wheel spokes. I drove it around the block in hopes that it'll go away but it only got louder as I got faster. Its loud enough that people would turn around to look where the noise was coming from. I parked it back in the garage in fear that I may cause more damage to it. The dealership I bought it from (Fields) is about 40 miles from me. I could go to a closer one but prefer to take it to where I bought it from. Its just a real PITA since I need to take time away from work to take care of this.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this? Any reservations about driving it to the dealership or should I have it towed to a closer one? Any advice would be appreciated!
 
#5 ·
Congrats on the buy-I've had my 2dr Arctic for a week (just shy of 300miles-auto). It'd help if you could fill us in on where/what you were doing prior to this morning. Weather, temps, potholes, gravel or paved roads-I'd agree with your description that it isn't a "normal" engine noise.
If its gofastpedal related-I'm inclined to think tires and work your way in (drive shafts, bearings, trans-things that have to do with the crank going faster or slower).
Sorry to hear-sux when a new vehicle has gremlins!
 
#8 ·
Maybe-but I'm thinking stone caught between the wheel/caliper, sitting somewhere, fan whacking something-
There's a bunch of things I've seen that make wierd clicking noises that were not related to the car at all (mechanically)-
Nails, railroad spikes, golf ball-
On the mechanical side-cv joint/boot torn, bolt not set correctly rubbing as something turns (wheel or drive shaft)-steering linkage-loose lug nut.....
 
#9 ·
He says rhythmic at idle so I'm betting it's a moving part under the hood. We'll see.
 
#10 ·
Sorry that last post was to the engine oil question. The noise occurs at idle as well, meaning at a stand still so it can't be the wheels. I spent the day yesterday driving mostly highway, nothing unusual such a potholes or anything else out of the ordinary. It did rain and I did put gas in the car for the first time...Regular gas. I can clearly tell the the sound is coming from the engine compartment. It sounds like a fan rubbing against something. It clearly gets fast and louder as I hit the gas....even in neutral. I don't pretend to know a whole lot about cars so sorry if my descriptions are elementary.
 
#25 ·
I spent the day yesterday driving mostly highway, nothing unusual such a potholes or anything else out of the ordinary. It did rain and I did put gas in the car for the first time...Regular gas. I
Mine did the same thing just after washing it. When I lifted the hood to listen more carefully, the top of the engine was wet from when I washed it.
Similarities.
 
#13 ·
Timing chain? Take it to the dealer ASAP!
I love my arctic but have to admit, the interior's build quality is "inconsistent". If the powertrain comes from the same plant... well, I prefer not to think about it. It's obvious the guys are hard pressed to crunch out as many Jeeps as they can. I had scratches on interior parts from day one (including the clear gauge cover), ugly paint spec (or weld spec under the paint) protruding on the inside of the passenger door, just pushed back the seat cover snap rail... after 4 weeks of ownership, things should not be falling apart. Now I see why the company's website says "Build Your Own":) By the way, I'm getting 13.0 MPG (4 door 3.73 ratio), one would expect more out of a VVT engine.
 
#15 ·
You might be just kidding, but many folks of another brand's 3.6 V6 VVT found out the hard way:

Oil completely dry!

Henceforth, I would check the oil level no matter what the oil pressure indicator says.

Epi also said that he drove 300 miles on highway as a break-in... Guys, respect the machine! My mom did not make me run marathons right after birth!
 
#16 ·
I did check the oil, it was fine.

I mispoke earlier...I would say only 100 of those miles were truly highway. I did try to vary speeds. The rest were stop and go due to heavy traffic and downtown Chicago driving. In any case, I really don't think that's why the engine is making this noise.
 
#17 ·
Just a heads up-Chrysler has never used a "real" oil pressure gauge or sending unit. The computer tells the gauge what to read-it's not volt based to the cluster (so-don't ever really trust it).
Sorry I missed the noise at idle part-that does rule out rolling issues.
Start at the front-fan, and work your way past pulleys belts (pull the engine cover off-pull straight up, easy to remove)-and see if it's left or right side.
If its bad enough feeling that you don't want to drive it-your Chrysler warranty covers tows to the nearest dealer (you pay the diff for a further dealer of your choice)-iirc-the pentagram (I work for a Christian dealer-so I think calling it that is hilarious) uses a timing belt not chain-and of that's bad, you'd hear all sorts of things forgive minutes-than a sound you only want to hear once by accident.
 
#18 ·
GXB said:
You might be just kidding, but many folks of another brand's 3.6 V6 VVT found out the hard way:

Oil completely dry!

Henceforth, I would check the oil level no matter what the oil pressure indicator says.

Epi also said that he drove 300 miles on highway as a break-in... Guys, respect the machine! My mom did not make me run marathons right after birth!
:eek:

I've heard of one jeep being dry as a bone.

That's why I asked.
 
#19 ·
I'm sure this is totally unrelated, but if sitting at a light with the turn indicator on, my wrangler will at times give an irregular signal, like the audible ticking of indicator misses a beat or throws one in mid beat. Anyone else notice this? It's really odd because I've never seen a car do this.
 
#20 ·
Epi said:
I'm sure this is totally unrelated, but if sitting at a light with the turn indicator on, my wrangler will at times give an irregular signal, like the audible ticking of indicator misses a beat or throws one in mid beat. Anyone else notice this? It's really odd because I've never seen a car do this.
It may not be totally unrelated-electrical problems are prevalent on new CJDR's at dealers. Chrysler changed the way you prep for the lot-I've heard of a couple guys forgetting to pull certain relays and plug in others. Tire pressures too...Chrysler over inflates for transport.
Try this:
Lock the doors 3 times-unlock twice, get in-close the door. Use the door lock switch to lock and unlock 4 times in a row. Flash the brights 2 times. Put the key in the ignition-but don't turn on. Flash the brights 1 more time.
Get out.






Sorry-I needed a smile before bed......
:lol:
 
#21 ·
Epi said:
I'm sure this is totally unrelated, but if sitting at a light with the turn indicator on, my wrangler will at times give an irregular signal, like the audible ticking of indicator misses a beat or throws one in mid beat. Anyone else notice this? It's really odd because I've never seen a car do this.
Your blinker has a tap feature. Just tap it and it will blink 3 times.
Sometimes it will do weird things.

If that is not what your getting at then :hide:
 
#22 ·
OK....an update

So I had a service appointment setup at the dealer I purchased the car from (40 miles away). On my way there the noise stopped and I thought it was over so I cancelled the appointment and started driving back. About 15 minutes later when I restarted the car (I accidentally stalled it at a red light...getting use to the clutch) the clicking started up again but stopped after about 5 minutes of driving. I decided to take it to a local dealer and they thoroughly "eyeballed" the engine looking for the source of the click and even put it on a lift but they could not find it. Of course, it never made the noise while at the dealer. Later that day it started again after I started the car after it sat for a few hours but went away after 5 minutes of driving. I drove it all day yesterday without any issues. I haven't started it today since I walk to work most days. I'm REALLY hoping its over. I keep wondering if it was the gas I put into it. It did seem a bit sluggish since I did that. I'm gonna run a few tanks of higher octane gas through it and see what that does.

Just to reiterate. This is not a normal sound. When it happens its this really loud mechanical clicking noise, like cardboard hitting a fan.

Lets hope this is behind me now.
 
#23 ·
Mine did the same thing just after washing it. When I lifted the hood to listen more carefully, the top of the engine was wet from when I washed it.

I drove it around the block, and the noise went away. It has been 3 days and the noise hasn't returned.

I want to keep an eye on your post to see if you have any issues.
 
#24 ·
Epi:

Have you gotten under the hood yet yourself to see if you can isolate where it's coming from?
 
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