grinding from front end

i took the XJ out yesterday and did some light/moderate wheeling. i also crossed a creek about 3/4 the way up my 36's. i drove to school this morning with no issues (about 10 miles). i drove back to my house another 10 miles. then i get in it to go to wally world and at 30 mph i get a "errrr,errrr,errrr,errrr,errrr,errrr" sound with a vibration that matches it. its happeneing at the same speed my tires/axles are turning. i know this because the driveshaft is turning 4.56 times the speed of my axles and the noise isnt that fast.

it happens from 30-35 mph and doesnt do it anywhere above or below there. regardless of accelerating or decelerating or driving constant speed in that range. its there every time. its been doing it every time ive driven it since then.

i just now checked the diff fluid in my axles and its clean and theres no water in there.

i jacked up the front end and checked the hubs by pushing and pulling at 12 and 6 on the tires. absolutely no play whatsoever. balljoints were good as well.

i checked the tranny fluid with it idling in neutral and it smells sweet and has a nice red tint to it. its also full.

what else is there to check? could it be my brakes???.....i am on the squealers right now, i need new pads. the rotors arent warped because im not getting pulsating brakes. could this be related to brakes or possibly a failing u joint??

thanks in advance!

Deffinitly check your brakes... And dont just look at them, pull the wheel off. Rarely do pads wear even across the whole surface, and your inside pad may have material at the top and be grinding at the bottom... That's what I'd check first...

would it still make a grinding sound even when im not applying the brakes? the sound will actually stop if i press the brakes while its happening.

I would definatly say it sounds related to your brakes. I'd put a set of new pads on and go from there if i was you. Good luck.

I would also say check your brakes. That is what it sounds like to me. Check for rocks in your pads from wheeling. Good luck.

Kim.

You guys were right. I changed my pads today and to my suprise, they were no where near the squealers. They still had probably half life or better. They did look old though. They were about half rusted in there. Regardless, I decided to replace them since i already had the pads, and i already tore everything down. So i took it for a drive afterwards and my brakes no longer make any sounds. Before, they would squeal when i got on them no matter how hard. And its also not making the terrible grinding sound around 35 mph either. I did notice the pads were wearing crooked. They were fatter on one end than on the other. Maybe this has something to do with it. I dont know. Anyway, theyre all better now. Thanks for the help! :wave:

if it comes back check the nuts that hold the master cylindar to the vacuum assist. If those loosen up the brakes will not fully disengage.