I've got a 88 Sami, SPOA 6 inch lift, 3.5" Bonz Shackles, Rear EZ lockers, 4.16 low gears, Calmini OTS steering, 31" Truxus tires, Tri Mil header, Cherry Bomb muffler with 2 " exhaust,  etc and have a clatter/rattle that is getting worse and I cannot track it down.  Help Please! 

It is worst in 4 wheel Hi in 4th and 5th gear around 30 to 40 mph and clatters like crazy when I let off on the gas and push in the clutch to shift up or down.  It is less noticeable under acceleration, but gets worse the faster the vehicle goes.  It is slightly there in 4 wheel low, but even in 5th it only gets to about 20 mph so is not noisy.  It is almost totally mising in 2 wheel hi with hubs out, but is there if you listen very closely. 

I have replaced front drive shaft U joints, transfer case front output shaft, rebuilt transfer case with new bearings, seals, and counter shaft.  Clutch is new, exhaust system is new.  I have removed the front driveshaft and the clatter is mostly gone.  I have perhaps 25 to 30 degrees backlash when I rotate either driveshaft forward and then backward when tranny and transfer is engaged and hubs are in.  This seems excessive?   The noise almost sounds like a bearing or gear very very loose on a shaft that is wobbling or rattling.  No grinding noises.   I have not yet replaced the U joints in the tranny to transfer case drive shaft, but that may be next.  The angles on the front and rear drive shafts are at about the max they can go, but are not binding.

Any ideas from you veterans who are so good at suggestions?  Help!  I have thoroughly searched the topics and threads with no luck.

tranny input shaft has grove in it   the chader is in the pilot bearing

I had same situation.  I have spoa, cj/ruf, and its up there on height.  The rear drive shaft angle was the biggest noise maker.  I had to swap that out for a cv driveshaft from trail tough.  That quited it down about 50%, then next was bad ujoints and slop in the splines on the front driveshaft.  Replaced those and it was much better (push up on your front drive shaft in the middle and see if it flexes,  if so your splines are worn or not enough grease).

I have a might kong and originally was sold solid transfer case mounts.  Out of curiosity I switched back to oem rubbers and wow I had a whole new truck that was a pleasure to drive.  Those solid mounts just pointed the vibes directly into the cab.  It really was night and day difference.

Now, I have still have some noise from the front when its in 4wd at 30 mph.  Its not bad.   I have swapped to a RRO Kad front drive shaft and it has same problems. It really seems that the sammy binds up when you put it in 4wd between front and back axles.  You can feel it give some when switching from 4wd to 2wd on the fly.  I get the impression they are just not made to run that fast in 4wd.  My kicks/trackers have a much smoother transfercase for winter driving.

tranny input shaft has grove in it   the chader is in the pilot bearing

Hey fordguy   Thanks for helping me narrow in on my problem.. So that means new tranny input shaft from someone like Petroworks for $95  or plus new pilot bearing, plus ?  Anything else while I'm in there?  The output shaft for the transfer case was EASY.  Anything like that for the tranny input shaft?   Thanks for your help again. 

Zuken

So you say it appears to be worse when in 4wd, and now you think it is the pilot bearing making the noise..........I'm not seeing the connection.

Odd sounds are the hardest things to diagnose over the internet....since it appears to be less noticeable when in 2wd, I would guess either tcase or something in the front axle (did you have the hubs turned to "free", when you had the front driveshaft removed?)

Hi Skyhiranger,

Yeah hubs are out.  Worst noise is hubs in, and 4WH.  I am somewhat going with the pilot bearing and tranny shaft b/c the rattle is still there in 2WH.  I am thinking that being in 4W puts more of a drag on the drive train.  It is not noisy under acceleration, but gets very noisy when I let off on the gas and it is under compression or when clutch is in.  I am concurretnly messing with the front (original drive shaft) and it now vibrates after I put in new U joints.  I am going to align it to the dots, then flip it over 180 degrees so that the grease zerks on fron and back yokes are opposing to see if that helps.  So the vibrating front shaft is adding to the clatter noise.  The splines are also worn some and that could be making the vibes worse.  I just don't think it is the transfer case b/c that was overhauled about a year ago.... unless the shimming wasn't done correctly.  My son did that when he owned it with new bearings and counter shaft.  Gears seemed to be OK then and he was chasing the rattle at that point. 

Like you say noises are hard to analyze, but the clatter seems to be coming up from underneath the hump ( tranny or transfer case)  and not further up in the front end.  Thanks for your thoughts, I am more than open to all suggestions.  Gotta a trip planned to Moab at the end of March and I would like to get it solved before then!

Follow up to Skihiranger,

You mentioned in another thread that you put in a wider Pilot Bearing?  In a Sammi?  Where did you get it?  That should be an easy/temporary fix that would put off the $95 new shaft and I could see if that fixes the clatter!

most Sammie's can't run 4wd high with out noise. bad front drive line angle.

Follow up to Skihiranger,

You mentioned in another thread that you put in a wider Pilot Bearing?  In a Sammi?  Where did you get it?  That should be an easy/temporary fix that would put off the $95 new shaft and I could see if that fixes the clatter!

No, it was in a trackick.  But it might work in a samurai too.  Since it is wider, it will ride farther back on the input shaft.....on the non-worn part of the shaft as well as the very tip of the shaft.  But I have not put one in and assembled everything to see if it will ride too far back and bind up on the non-machined part of the tip of the input shaft on a samurai (if I am not explaining that clearly, look at the end of an input shaft, and hopefully it will make sense).
I got mine locally from a bearing supply place.  If you are not in a hurry, you can order them online for a little less $$$.  Locally mine was around $15, I think.
The part number for the bearing is either 5200-2RS or 3200-2RS.....the specs are the same on both bearings, just different part numbers.

I had same situation.  I have spoa, cj/ruf, and its up there on height.  The rear drive shaft angle was the biggest noise maker.  I had to swap that out for a cv driveshaft from trail tough.  That quited it down about 50%, then next was bad ujoints and slop in the splines on the front driveshaft.  Replaced those and it was much better (push up on your front drive shaft in the middle and see if it flexes,  if so your splines are worn or not enough grease).

Spyder0069   Thanks for your response.  I went searching for additional posts that you have done since your Sammi is very similar to mine and you are much further down the road on some of the problems I am chasing and also on doing some things that I am considering doing.  I have my front driveshaft with new U Joints back in and aligned and the vibration is less, but not gone.  I suspect the spline is getting worn some since there is a little movement when I push up and down on the middle of the shaft.  My rear shaft seems to be much worse for spline wear and there is motion in the U joints and I plan to replace them to buy a little more time until I can perhaps locate a Yota driveshaft.  Most people seem to go CV joint on the rear.  Why not a Yota drive shaft with normal U joints?  I have a 1.115 inch thick driveline spacer on the rear.  Would a 1 inch extended slip yoke from Trail Tough keep the drive line angles more equal in you opinion?  Plus a new spline might reduce some of the flex?  Even if the original other side is still worn?

Regarding the clatter, when I shift from 4W Hi to 2W Hi on the fly (with hubs locked or with hubs unlocked) my clatter is significantly less and almost goes away.  I can still go 4 wheelin' for the time being by using 2W Hi and then go directly to 4W Hi on the trail and just not use 4W Hi at all.   Long term I would like to get the clatter fixed and will eventually tear into the tranny to see if it is the pilot bearning.