new steering noise,help?

while out doing the daily running, my gf noticed a new noise in the jeep.

when turning (or just steering) left, there's a "clunking" noise. and now it does it while turnig it both left & right.

i popped the hood, had her turn it while investigating the origin of said noise. all i could find to be the culprit is the u-joint righ infront of the fire wall where the 2 steering rods are connected. but sitting in the drives sea it almost feels like it maybe in the (driver-side front) tire or even the steering gears (box).

has anyone else had this problem with their "older" xj's?
ours is a '89 xj limited, i-6, aw-4, with the 242j t-case & she is bone stock still (3 years after buyin her).

so far the damage this old xj has had since we've had her is
1:being rear-ended (ins. totaled her, but i rebuilt her)
2:t-case grenading on us goin 65mph
3:busted wheel studs (needed a spare & got the wrong rim @ the yard. had to replace everything for that rear tire).

Any progress on this?

Did you try crawling underneath with a bright light and have GF turn the wheel so you can get a good look?

I had a similar problem with my 2001 Classic. It was a worn out track bar. New track bar in and noise gone

no not yet. with it bein in the teens & just above during the day i aint gettin on the ground unless i fall there! lol

hope it dont cost too much to fix. kinda on the "empty-pocket" side of the fence right now.