Help: Front end noise 89 LTD

I'm getting some weird noises (light metallic Clanking or popping - like something that should be greased, isn't) from my front end. I recently put in new coils, shocks, sway bar links, steering damper, brake pads, hubs, and splash shields.

The noise happens when I go over a big bump or when I turn sharply at slow speed. Kind of sounds like the the spring rubbing against something metal but I don't' think it is, at least there's nothing to indicate that there is and I check clearances everywhere and there doesn't seem to be any problem

When I put the new hubs in, I was surprised that the fit to the knuckle was so loose. After all, I really had to work on the old ones to get the out (of course, there was a lot of corrosion with the old ones). The new ones fit right in and could be removed without any effort at all. Could the hub be shifting in the knuckle? (I checked the torque 3 different times)

Years ago, I had an old fiat Spider and the sound I'm hearing is close to what I head on the Fiat just before the ball joints broke. Could it be my Kingpins?

Thanks for any advice.

89 Cherokee LTD, I6, Auto, Selectrack.

A lot of things could be making noise in front. When your turning into a driveway and here that pop sound it is often the ball joints (no king pin in the XJ), sometimes the trac bar. Any tire larger than 225 is subject to rub on the control arm. Without the anti rattle spring installed the brake pads can make some racket.
You can check the ball joints by jacking up the front axle until the tire is off the ground and prying up on the tire, you can see the ball joint movement or feel it. Bouncing the tire a little works better than steady pressure.
I have somebody turn the steering wheel 2-3 inches left and right and look closely at all the tie rod ends, any up and down movement is likely to cause grief.
The bushings wear in the control arms and they shift, usually during acceleration or when braking.

if it is a rhythmic noise when turning or simply worse when turning compared to rolling straight then it is most likely an axle u-joint. I recently had to replace mine and if you can replace one on a driveshaft then you should be able to tackle that as well.

Hi Guys:

Thanks for your notes. I forgot to mention that I also replaced the U joints while I was in there - in fact - they were the reason that I was in there - so I know that they're in god shape.

I did some yanking on the tires to check the ball joints (I thought that they were kingpins - thanks for the clarification although, I don't really know what the difference is). But what I didn't try is rotating the wheels a bit and and yanking on various bits - I'll give that a try - thanks for the tip.

As far as I can tell, there's no way to grease the lower ball joint, or am I missing something?

The lower ball joints are non-serviceable so you cannot grease them so don't worry you are not missing anything.

Did you replace the drive shaft u-joints or the axle u-joints ? There is a difference. Axle u-joints are located at the end of each of your front axles which are connected to the main hub that enters the rear of each wheel. Mine recently snapped a wheel joint, which I didn't realize until all the crazy vibrations on the highway. If those joints are turning a rusty red color, you should think about changing them, they won't last much longer, mine lasted maybe 9 months before the break

HI 91

I replaced the axle U joints. When I got as far as getting the hubs out, I realized they were thrashed as well.