Thrumming Noise at Highway Speeds (63-67ish)

[Redneck_Jedi]

A few on this forum have had their factory shafts replaced without any luck. I replaced my factory shaft with an aftermarket double cardan shaft and it had no effect on thrumming either. But, thrumming is completely gone when driving in 4hi with the rear driveshaft removed, so it's not the rear shaft but happens when the rear shaft is installed... if that makes sense.

I don't think it's pinion angle related, as stock wranglers are also having the issue.
I wonder if it's the rear output on the transfer case or possibly the rear differential.

Supposedly, the JL Wrangler underwent 3.9 million miles of testing during development. Yet somehow, the Engineers never noticed this thrumming issue, the door corrosion problems, the loose steering, or the clutch and LSDs self-destructing.

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[zrickety]

I am also in this thrumming boat at 2200 miles... Disappointing. Subscribed if anyone finds a fix.

 

[BubbaJeep]

Going to another dealer on the 19th. The conversation with the new dealer I could tell they do not want to work on it. Dealer>Did you buy it here. Me> No Dealer> did you take to them. Me>yes. Dealer> What did they say . Me. said it was normal. Dealer > Well we can look at but not sure what we will be able to do. LOL What a waste of time. Come on Jeep get it together and fix this issue. Mine is so loud you can hear it over the radio. Thats normal RIGHT!!!!!!!!

 

[Three Pedals Please]

You can add me to the list of people with this issue. I've only got 130 miles on my 2021 MY I just bought, but it's thrumming loudly between 62 and 65 mph in 5th or 6th gear.

Manual two door Rubicon with BFGoodrich tires inflated to factory spec 37psi.

Haven't visited the dealer about it yet though.

 

[Gcodejedi]

I don't think it's pinion angle related, as stock wranglers are also having the issue.
I wonder if it's the rear output on the transfer case or possibly the rear differential.

Supposedly, the JL Wrangler underwent 3.9 million miles of testing during development. Yet somehow, the Engineers never noticed this thrumming issue, the door corrosion problems, the loose steering, or the clutch and LSDs self-destructing.

Great point. I didn't consider the variation in pinion angle among the 2 door JL and those running lifts that all have the same problem still.

I looked under a few Gladiator and non Rubicon JLs at my local dealer. All of the Gladiator trims have significantly negative pinion/shaft angle and non Rubicon JLUs have the same 2ish degrees of positive angle as the Rubicon, so no smoking gun there.

@Jbish1977 reported that replacing the rear diff fixed the thrumming issue on his Jeep. I'm curious to know the list of parts replaced. Just diff or bearings and ring & pinion gear as well. A copy of the work order might help us help our service departments pinpoint the problem. Others have reported rear axle rebuilds and replacements did not fix the thrumming issue or that thrumming began after rear axle work was done for other reasons. I can totally see some unlucky folks having an axle with a faulty locker position sensor swapped for an axle that thrums! or one thrumming axle replaced with another thrumming axle. Fun times.

Since the D44 with eLocker is unique to the Rubicon, maybe Dana has a manufacturing or assembly issue with some of these units and that's why only the Rubis are seeing the issue. I guess same could be said for the transfer case, although I haven't yet seen someone report a transfer case fixing the problem. Ugh.

I hear you on the testing side. Very frustrating.

What's that saying... "Life is like a JLR rear axle... you never know which problem you're going to get."

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

I too have a bit of thrumming- most pronounced at 60 mph. Seems to have gotten better with miles....now with 5,000 on the odometer. Feels like a driveshaft to me. Mine is minimal enough I’m not going to mess with it...

 

[JaayyyeeeE]

I'm also experiencing something similar but in addition to the slight hum it also feels as a slight hesitation, almost like very lightly tapping the brakes (of course my one foot is only on the gas not the brakes). It only happens in 7th and 8th gear (I tried to replicate it in 6th and below to no avail) and in both under acceleration or coast. I measured it to almost exactly every other second, regardless of road speed.

This is the only thread I was able to find with a slightly similar issue. Are you guys symptoms purely sound and vibration, or have you noticed any drivetrain hiccups in tune with the sound?

 

[tas7107]

I'm also experiencing something similar but in addition to the slight hum it also feels as a slight hesitation, almost like very lightly tapping the brakes (of course my one foot is only on the gas not the brakes). It only happens in 7th and 8th gear (I tried to replicate it in 6th and below to no avail) and in both under acceleration or coast. I measured it to almost exactly every other second, regardless of road speed.

This is the only thread I was able to find with a slightly similar issue. Are you guys symptoms purely sound and vibration, or have you noticed any drivetrain hiccups in tune with the sound?

No Drivetrain Hiccups with mine. Still just the thrumming @60-65ish. Just over 10k Miles. Going to live with it. Love the rubi otherwise. Plus it just hasn't annoyed me enough yet to deal with the dealer hassle. I would rather go to the dentist.
I can say it doesn't affect my Wife's Gladiator sport with the Max Tow package. D44 axles with rear LSD. So maybe a clue there somewhere...

 

[Qjoh5510]

So with no conclusion to this thrumming, is the rubi transfer case the only part that nobody has replaced yet? The only thing that changed mine was the bigger tires. Adding 37s has moved the vibration from 63ish mph down to around 56ish. Same exact vibe, just different speed. Now what seems very strange to me is that sometimes, like 10% of the time, the vibration isn’t there at all when driving. It totally catches me off guard and I say to myself, isn’t there supposed to be a vibration right now? Well hopefully jeep figures this thing out one day. I’m sure they will. Hopefully it’s just within our powertrain warranty limits lol.

 

[Three Pedals Please]

So I had an appointment with the dealer today and they took the car for 90 minutes. They came back and said they checked the balance of all four wheels and only one was off a half ounce (which they adjusted. However, it made no improvement.

Their conclusion to the vibrating and thrumming between 62 and 65mph is "it's a Rubicon-they do that." They also said the tires are aggressive and cause the problem, but I'd say the vibration and thrumming (I feel it though the seat and steering wheel) are beyond anything I can imagine was approved for a production vehicle. I've been in smoother Wranglers from the 1980's.

In conclusion, a brand new $49K vehicle with 250 miles and it feels like crap on the highway unless I want to cruise at 75-80mph (smooth at very high speeds). Oh well, perhaps someone will figure it out eventually.

 

[Gcodejedi]

So with no conclusion to this thrumming, is the rubi transfer case the only part that nobody has replaced yet? The only thing that changed mine was the bigger tires. Adding 37s has moved the vibration from 63ish mph down to around 56ish. Same exact vibe, just different speed. Now what seems very strange to me is that sometimes, like 10% of the time, the vibration isn’t there at all when driving. It totally catches me off guard and I say to myself, isn’t there supposed to be a vibration right now? Well hopefully jeep figures this thing out one day. I’m sure they will. Hopefully it’s just within our powertrain warranty limits lol.

I’ve noticed that the thrumming is less noticeable on cool mornings. Lows have only dropped to the 60s in my area and the thrumming is definitely less than when it’s 90+ degrees out.

 

[BubbaJeep]

New dealer today. They had it all day and no update? I'm sure this will be a waste of time as well. My guess is Jeep knows exactly what the noise/vibration is but not willing to recall that many units. Bottom line is most of us have owned Wranglers prior to the JL without this level of issues. Its sad that we pay the amount of money we pay for a Rubi and have issues that Jeep nor the dealer take a lot of interest in fixing. Mines so loud you can hear it over the radio so its not like I can just ignore it. Not sure what my next move will be if not repaired??

 

[zrickety]

Their conclusion to the vibrating and thrumming between 62 and 65mph is "it's a Rubicon-they do that."

This is the problem. Dealers across the board are saying it's 'normal' or 'it's a Jeep thing.' If I had a dollar for every time I read that, I could buy another Jeep...

 

[JeepJohn]

Has anyone had success with a different (non-mopar) transmission or some type of transmission improvement? It seems to be most noticeable in 7th and 8th gear around 63 mph for me.

 

[BubbaJeep]

Well as I expected. Dealer says nothing wrong thats how they sound. They did say mine is a bit louder than the one they have on the lot. We are driving theirs tomorrow to compare the difference. I must say I am not surprised at the result!!!!

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