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New steering box, still have a clunk

B

Ben824

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Woodstock, GA
I bought a a gently used OEM steering box had it inspected for being in good shape and installed it last sunday. My old box was a reman and had begun to puke fluid out the bottom of the box. I put a new high pressure hose on it while I was at it. I can say this box definitely feels tighter that the reman unit it replaced. I have the C-Rok frame reinforcement kit, I installed a 1/2" bolt at the axle end to my Iron Man 4x4 Fab track bar, checked all the frame end track bar bolts for tightness, but I still have a clunk noise when turning back and forth. It doesn't matter what the direction the tires are pointing it comes when you transition from one direction and begin to turn back the other way. Any ideas of what I should check next?

I don't have a brace to connect to the other "frame rail" but I was thinking about maybe picking up a Kevin's Offroad steering box brace. I like that one since it attaches to both frame rails.
 
zachandandy said:
Could be a tie rod end or a worn ball joint.
Click to expand...

Couldn't be ball joints as those are maybe a year and half old and genuine spicer parts no off-brand crap. Now tie-rod ends could very well be the issue since those are original OEM from 1997 with 238,000 miles on them. Could be that time to make the excuse to go ahead and do a 1 ton conversion if they are indeed the issue!
 
Check to see if your track bar is loose too.
 
Axle end track bar is definitely tight. Went to 1/2" bolt upgrade since the hole had wallowed out a bit so instead of welding a plate onto the bracket and re-drilling another hole, I opted to drill the hole out larger for a larger bolt. I tightened it down with an impact and then snugged it tight with a 24" breaker bar.
 
If it will make the noise when stopped and rocking the wheel back and forth, have a helper do this while you get under the front and look and feel for the clunk. Many times you can feela clunk better than trying to see or hear where it is coming from.
 
Don't go with a "1-ton" upgrade. The tie-rod roll will give you a worse clunk.

Check the steering wheel shaft u-joint for play, check all the tie-rod ends, and definitely the panhard
 
rockclimber said:
Don't go with a "1-ton" upgrade. The tie-rod roll will give you a worse clunk.

Check the steering wheel shaft u-joint for play, check all the tie-rod ends, and definitely the panhard
Click to expand...

I am aware of the tie-rod roll and have plans on how to deal with that.

The steering shaft u-joint is in good shape. I checked it while I was in there.
 
I've run the JCR 1-ton OTK setup for about 5 years now... Not a chance I'd go back. I ended up using the white high density cutting board plastic for the spacer on the passenger side. Tie rod roll is completely eliminated and everything feels nice and tight. I don't have to worry about my alignment ever changing with ride height either. Just last weekend, I dropped off my line in a rock garden and the whole front end was in the air, held up by a rock right in the middle of my tie-rod. It flexed probably 6-8 inches and came out straight once I got off the rock. Pretty solid in my opinion.
 
rockclimber said:
What would that plan be?
Click to expand...

Another forum member and very very skilled fabricator both at home and professionally made his own tire carrier and used Delrin for bushings in the hinge and it has been holding up well for years. Figured making some spacers like the poly ones many people use may be better than poly since poly is still soft enough to allow small amounts of roll leading the poly to eventually fatigue and allow more and more roll as they fatigue and where out.
 
I should also mention, the little cutting board spacer is the same one that's been in there since the day I installed it...
 
Oh and I think I have narrowed down the point of concern to the track bar. I am running an Iron Man 4x4 Fab track bar, neediest toughest track bar I have seen for the money, and the lock nut for the adjustment part of the bar has come loose. The nut is enormous so I need to go to Home Depot or somewhere else to get a wrench large enough to tighten this thing up.
 
Steering axis inclination means that those spacers are a bad idea.

Enjoy wrecking your cheap parts store TREs and bending your knuckles.

Those "1ton" TREs have plastic races in them. If you have completely eliminated the rod ends ability to misalign with a hard spacer then you are destroying the races of the end by asking them to do all of the deflection.

If that actually worked, you could run a straight bearing instead of a TRE. But you can't because of SAI.

Don't believe me? The test is simple. Take your knuckles and steer them both to full- lock one direction. Then run a straight piece of tube from the knuckle that is turned inward to the other. When I did it I measures the tube about 6" above the other knuckle.

As far as the alignment thing, of nobody had told you that happens, you never would know it happened. It's not enough to affect anything. Your axle also moves off center and your castor changes when the suspension cycles. It doesn't make any difference

Inverted T is bad design. The Only way it works is if you can get the drag link reasonably flat.
 
To each their own. Perhaps my post was a bit misleading... The spacer allows for just enough movement to take care of the SAI, but not enough to feel the dreaded dead spot. The contact areas are roughly 90 degrees apart between the rolling effect and change of pitch in the knuckle, so having tolerance in the spacer for the knuckle angle change is a different contact spot on the spacer than when the wheel is centered and the roll forces are imposed on the passenger TRE. Something along the lines of a full crossover is obviously superior, but I don't think the inverted T is nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be, as long as it's set up properly. As for the races wearing out, five years on them now and no noticeable wear. If they lasted 2 years I'd still be ok with it. I'm fully aware of the geometry changes as the suspension cycles, I have a mechanical engineering degree with a concentration in vehicle dynamics :wave:
 
BADaXJ said:
I'm fully aware of the geometry changes as the suspension cycles, I have a mechanical engineering degree with a concentration in vehicle dynamics :wave:
Click to expand...

They why even bring up the issue of toe change with inverted Y? Someone with that kind of background should know that it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference.
 
Last week I had to drill my Ironman4x4 trackbar out to 7/16" to get rid of my clunk. I can imagine how thin that inner sleeve gets when you drill it out to 1/2".
 
gradon said:
Last week I had to drill my Ironman4x4 trackbar out to 7/16" to get rid of my clunk. I can imagine how thin that inner sleeve gets when you drill it out to 1/2".
Click to expand...

I called up Andy nd he sent me a 1/2" bolt, nut, and a new sleeve. Should be enough for what my Jeep does.

Ok so I tightened down the jamnut on the track bar and it helped but something is still up. At this point it has to be something in the steering linkage. Everything is original with 238,000 miles on it and hasn't been greased in who knows how long since the boots when bad a long time ago so none of them would hold grease.
 
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