Grand Cherokee - Ticking Auto Box - Chris75
1998 Grand Cherokee 4.0 Auto

Ticking noise from auto box under load. Ticking gets faster as speed increases.

Any ideas if this is serious.

Thanks
Grand Cherokee - Ticking Auto Box - Number_Cruncher
Does it depend which gear you are in?

For example, if it were a problem with the gear train, this might disappear in top, when the gear train revolves as a single unit.

Number_Cruncher
Grand Cherokee - Ticking Auto Box - Chris75
Does it depend which gear you are in?


Well I didn't notice it in first or second. Only under hard load. ie. kickdown or going up steep hills.
Grand Cherokee - Ticking Auto Box - Number_Cruncher
In my extremely limited experience, I have come across two failures that gave the clicking noise;

1) If the torque convertor flex plate is cracked, this may make a ticking noise, which would be present in all gears, be related to engine load, and engine speed, not vehicle speed

2) If an annulus of one of the epicyclic stages is cracked, then every time a loaded planet passes, you get a tick. In the gears where there is no relative movement in the epicyclic, notably top, then the ticking will go away. This will give you ticking related to vehicle speed and load.

It is, of course, possible that your fault is further downstream, and is in the output shaft, or even driveshafts.

Number_Cruncher
Grand Cherokee - Ticking Auto Box - Chris75
Thanks N_C

A google search seems to suggest this may be an exhaust manifold gasket problem. Although it definetly sounds like its coming from the gearbox.

I can confirm it makes the sound no matter what gear it is in.