[lost honda pro]

Originally Posted by ACSJeep

Same here, it sounds like a rock hitting the windshield, its terrible.

grave dig much?

[Macnasty]

I think its fairly common in alot of vehicles. My old 99 mustang gt did the same thing and started doing it around 40,000mi. It sounded like a large rock hitting the windshield, didnt happen very often but probably a couple times a month. I havent even driven my 90 xj but I'm sure ill get alot of good sounds, its been wheeled before.

[4.0H.O.XJ]

I laugh at you all.

I have 205 thousand miles. It's like SYMPHONY of crackiling in there. I gave up......between the flowmaster, the highway wind noise, the old, war-torn suspension and the cheap plastic interior, a guy could go deaf in there. One word, people. IPOD.

I USED TO get a friend to ride with me and find the noises, and I would A) install larger, tighter fitting bolts or B) put a piece of felt or tape between the offending surfaces.

........The problem is, any time you flex your Jeep, NEW dash squeaks occur. And everytime you remove the dash bezel or any other dash hardware, something else is gonna loosen up.

So I just bought a bigger stereo. BIG SPEAKERS = LESS DASH NOISE. Problem solved.

[jersey_jim]

Originally Posted by 4.0H.O.XJ

So I just bought a bigger stereo. BIG SPEAKERS = LESS DASH NOISE. Problem solved.

my system rattles everything loose!, so the day i dont listen to music i hear things i never want to hear.

[itasor]

My dash always sounds like it cracks in half or something. Happens on pot holes and sometimes when making a sharp turn. Our other 2 XJ's did the same exact thing!

[FlexdXJ]

just do what my buddy did and put a 4500 watt stereo in your XJ you cant hear any creaking or popping at 148 decibels

[dajeepman]

Or anything else after you get out of it doing 148db..

[tjwalker]

Creaks, squeaks and noises are pretty common as an XJ ages.

The key is to properly isolate the root cause of the noise and that can be tough. Take a long drive down a piece of crap country road with lots of potholes/ Have a friend drive. You are going to be the passenger and search for the noise. As your friend drives over bumps and stuff, put pressure using your hands on various parts of the dash to see if you can change the signature of the noise or eliminate it.

If you know approximately where you think it's coming from start there but you may have to expand your search. Noises are like leaks. They are tough to find and can easily fool you. ONLY when you find the exact location of your noise, can you move to the next step which is to create a type of shim (good posts above on the tape thing) to quiet it down. Some noises can be fixed this way; others can't. Worth a shot.

Get this....I had a dash creak coming from the plexiglass area that covers the gauges. I shimmed it with a couple of quarters. That was 2 years ago, quarters haven't moved and the noise is gone. You have to get creative to find and fix; otherwise yea..just crank up the tunes!

[CapnJack]

Well I'm usually pretty good at locating noises but this one comes from all over the Jeep. At first I thought it was rocks being thrown up by the tires and hitting the underside of the fenders. But then I heard it from the top near the roof on the drivers side. Then from the dash on the passenger's side and then from the back seat. But this noise does sound like a rock hitting the windshield and I'm glad I'm not the only one who has it. I was worried for a while that the thing would fall apart. By the way, my Jeep has 72,000 miles on it so I can't wait to see what it sounds like with 125,000. I'll need more than 148 decibels to mask the noise.

I can't wait for summer to see if it goes away.

[tjwalker]

May as well chime in too. My 99 makes that "cracking" dash noise almost every time I drive it. It seems to happen more when cab temperatures are changing (cold to warm or warm to cold) and I run over a bump to trigger it.

This happened since the vehicle was BRAND NEW. Obviously, with all the other people experiencing it, the noise is some sort of byproduct of the mfg. process that really isn't indicative of any problem. Something is just a smidgen too tight in there. It just takes some time to get used to the noise!

As far as other noises, Jeeps (and other vehicles) get creaky with age. This 99 is my third Jeep so I speak from experience. Isolating the noises can be tough. I always have somebody else drive my Jeep and then I start pressing on different parts of the dash to try to change the signature of the noise.

Dig in at your own risk as I have found that disassembling the dash (even if you do a good job) can introduce NEW noises. Unless the noise is really getting on my nerves, I generaly live with it and yea, like others have said. Turn up the tunes!

[TreddyoXJ]

My XJ makes an ungodly amount of creaking, cracking, rattling and popping noises going down the road. I taken apart the entire dash, most portions of the trim, and the glove box with limited results. I've tried electric tape, foam padding, and lubricants to no avail. The noises in my Jeep have increased exponentially with Baja Claws. I actually wear foam earplugs (I can hear other motorist and emergency vehicles just fine) and have the stereo up when I drive. I hate to say this, but it really is a Jeep thing.

[CapnJack]

I feel a lot more comfortable when enough people chime in with the same problem and it seems like it is a "Jeep thing."

I'm ok with Jeep things. It's things I don't understand that cause me to worry.

But overall I'm still very happy with my Jeep.

[alwaysready]

mine started doing it alot more since i put the lift on since it has a rougher ride.( only hitting a bump or rxr tracks etc..)
right in the middle of the windshield by the defroster sounds like a rock is coming through my dash or the dash is going to break in half.

[98junk]

Frame stiffeners will decrease flexing and the noises associated with it.

[mud-dog27]

Originally Posted by Slow86prix

its a jeep get used to it I just punch my dash when it starts makin funny noises, stops them for a while ...........

i use the same repair method..after rippin the dash apart for this and that and being broken into twice and having the bastards tear the dash apart for a radio when it would just simply slide out i get a sqeuak from the gauge cluster cover,something behind the glove box and just the trim in general makes noise but its normal as its a unibody and when you hit a bump the whole vehicle structure flexes so turn up the radio and keep drivin