Clicking Sounds from front end

[bleve212]

Hey ya'll,

Sorry I've been away for awhile. Between the Jeep and the harley, I haven't been online much. But now, the problems arise.

On my 97 TJ, I have noticed a clicking from the passenger side while turning right. I notice it more under acceleration. That is in 2wd. When in 4wd, both sides click, but the driver's side is MUCH worse. There are squealing sounds and clicking sounds on the driver's side.

HELP! Where can I start checking? If I pull the hub assy off, will it be obvious if something is worn/broken? I hate to start changing parts without some direction in what's going on. I kinda hope it's the axle shaft ujoints because of costs, but I just want it right.

There's 178,000 miles on it, and as far as I know, everything is stock.

I am at work until 6PM tomorrow (gotta love being a firefighter) so I'll have lots of time to check here and try things as needed.

Thanks,
blev-E

[absolutpolack]

Check the Universal joints (the things that look like + signs) where the axle hits the wheel. You'll notice right away if theyre broken if you wiggle them, or even just look at them

[Peej1984]

Sounds like the U-Joint is bad. Not hard to complete, but this depends on how rusty your parts are. If the three hub bolts are rusted it will take some time to get them off. I ground mine off with a small hand held grinder, worked well. New bolts are about 7.00 a piece. Anyway its not hard, but you need a puller for the hub to come off, available at your local auto parts store. You can rent them at Autozone. If it all comes off easy it should take maybe two hours with replacing the u-joint.

[bleve212]

Ok, I took the front wheels off and rocked everything I could. There is no play anywhere. There is minimal play where the shaft goes into the axle housing, but it seems to not be enough to worry about. Any more suggestions?

blev-E

[90Wrangler]

Bad u-joints won't make the front end wobble, you'll actually have to pull them out & check them unless you can see them without pulling everything apart. I could see the U-joints on my 90 YJ without even taking the wheels off.

[Knuckelhead]

Bad unit bearing?...

[bleve212]

Bad unit bearing?...



Sorry, but I am a little (i mean alot) uneducated when it comes to bearings.... define unit bearing. Do I win if I say it's a bearing inside the axle tube that the axle shaft goes thru? 2nd guess would be it's a bearing on the hub assy.


Thanks,
blev-E

[jphrse]

Sorry, but I am a little (i mean alot) uneducated when it comes to bearings.... define unit bearing. Do I win if I say it's a bearing inside the axle tube that the axle shaft goes thru? 2nd guess would be it's a bearing on the hub assy.


Thanks,
blev-E

2nd guess is right

[Bada-Bing.]

To find out if unit bearings are bad, jack up tire and grab at the 12 and 6 oclock position and if the tire wobbles then its time to replace them roughly $130 a piece. Easy, do it yourself driveway job.

If the u-joints are real bad you can tell by grabbing one side of the axle and if it shakes then the u-joint is blown. Spicer u-joints are like $40 and rent the u-joint tool at the autoparts store or buy one from harbor freight