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steering box?

GrimmJeeper

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Gardena, CA
i think ive narrowed downt the knocking in my front end to the steering box. when im sitting still and move the wheel from lock to lock it pops sometimes, not all the time but usually... and i can feel it in the wheel a little but mostly i just hear a loud knock, like someone hit the unibody rail with a hammer real hard. ive gotten under the front end with someone turning the wheel inside but it never does it when im under there, go figure. it also occasionally makes the same noise when im turning into a driveway, as soon as the closest to the driveway tire hits the driveway (if that makes sense...). any suggestions on how i can narrow it down to the box? or prove to myself its NOT the box? its one expensive mofo, even at the junkyard, so i really need to be sure before i go dropping that kind of coin.


thanks folks! :D
 
Check the bolts holding it on for tightness. Also check the unibody around the gearbox for cracks.
 
I've had the same problem. Take a look at the track bar where it bolts to the axle. The bolt is tight but with enough pressure it will move a little witch is the poping noise. Atleast that was the problem with mine. Have some one turn the wheel and watch it or even grab the track bar and feel for movement.
 
no movement in the RE track bar, all new tie rod ends, ball joints, and all arm bushings. no play in any of the ujoints, all good at the knuckles and driveshaft. the only u joints i didnt check are the ones on the steering column shaft. at its worst when i turn the wheel it goes pop pop pop pop pop. usually its just the one big clunk tho. this is not a suspension issue, all that stuff is new and not worn out. and its not the steering linkage, thats all new as well, unless i ruined the TREs in the last 150 miles. its been steadily getting worse which still leads me towards the steering box... tie rod ends usually just break, not steadily get worse. bushings do that but give bad wobbles, they dont klunk like what im getting, and im not getting death wobbles.

help!
 
LOOK FOR CRACKS!!!

The frame likes to crack around the box. Thoroughly inspect the frame around the three steering box bolts, both inside and out. If the frame is cracked crank up your AAA and tow it to somebody who is a good welder to get it fixed up.

If it is not cracked put one of these on when you put it back together. C-Rok Steering Brace Get the FULL kit, inside and outside plate.

If it is cracked after welding have one of these welded on by the same competent welder. JKS SBS

The JKS SBS is better than the C-Rok kit but a lot more work to put on. I run a C-Rok system on my red Jeep and it gets the job done well.
 
GrimmJeeper said:
i think ive narrowed downt the knocking in my front end to the steering box. when im sitting still and move the wheel from lock to lock it pops sometimes, not all the time but usually... and i can feel it in the wheel a little but mostly i just hear a loud knock, like someone hit the unibody rail with a hammer real hard. ive gotten under the front end with someone turning the wheel inside but it never does it when im under there, go figure. it also occasionally makes the same noise when im turning into a driveway, as soon as the closest to the driveway tire hits the driveway (if that makes sense...). any suggestions on how i can narrow it down to the box? or prove to myself its NOT the box? its one expensive mofo, even at the junkyard, so i really need to be sure before i go dropping that kind of coin.


thanks folks! :D

It is usually the trackbar that makes the poping noise, even if everything looks to be tight. To test for sure, disconnect the trackbar from the frame, then start it up and turn the wheel lock to lock several times and see if the noise goes away. If it does, then either the bolt at the axle mount isn't tight enough, or the bracket or bolts at the frame mount are moving just enough to make the poping noise. It is very difficult to tell where this sound is really coming from just by listening. It would suck to spend a bunch of money on a steering box only to discover that it was just the trackbar mount.
 
update: so i took everything apart today, no visual problems with the steering box mounts, nothing cracked, everything was tight.all the bushings were intact and not worn. tie rod ends, good. ball joints, good. shocks, good. bearings, good. only one weird thing... the little plate that holds the coil spring down was bent up more than it should be and not touching the spring (passenger side). i also noticed that the passenger side front tire is worn much worse than the drivers side, and i think its wearing like the shock is bad, but its not. it feels the same when i compress it and rebounds the same as when i put it on. i have 31" TSL swampers, and the rear edge of the center lugs are worn down but not the front edges, like the tire is bouncing down the road, which is usually what happens when a shock goes bad right? i think its called cupping? any ideas folks? im at a loss here. im taking it in to be re-aligned tomorrow since i removed the entire front suspension today, but i dont think alignment would cause the tire to wear like this way, would it? help!
 
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