Giant Angry Cricket?

I have a squeak in the front end of my XJ that sounds like a giant cricket. Everything is fine except for the squeak. When I get above 15 mph and drive around town, I get the squeak. When I get below 15 mph, it goes away. Also, after I drive a couple miles, it goes away. But after I park it and it cools off, it will do it again. This is the only time it does it. It sounds either rotational or like something is loose and rubbing. The steering feels tight, and there is no wobble in the steering wheel.

I had a a problem I posted about before and never figured out what it was. Here is that post...

Would a bad axle ujoint make a bad rumbling noise when going down the highway at speeds greater than 45 mph, but not when going under 45 mph?

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I was removing the TC yesterday and while I was trying to get the bolts out for the front DS, I noticed the inner axle movingquite a bit and the outer part of the axle was not. So I know the ujoint is bad, I was just hoping it was causing my intermittent rumbling at speeds greater than 45. I suspected the hub, but at the price of them, I was hoping t was caused by something less expensive.

Forgot to mention, it is not a constant rumbling and nothig I do can create the noise or make it go away on demand.

The tires are fine.

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Has anyone else had something that was causing a squeak like this before, ie. front hub assembly, axle stuff, front driveshaft? I am pretty concerned about this since I have a 1 1/2 hour trip tomorrow and another one this Saturday. I don't want it to fail on the highway towing a trailer . TIA for taking the time to help me out!!!

Search "angry sparrows" (sparrow or sparrows) or do an advanced search under my name with "Stu" or stu-offroad as the searchable. It's been addressed fairly recently, but I don't know that Angry Cricket has ever been used to describe it

Either way, you're going to have to grease or replace the centering ball assembly in your front driveshaft.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

Yucca-Man said:

Search "angry sparrows" (sparrow or sparrows) or do an advanced search under my name with "Stu" or stu-offroad as the searchable. It's been addressed fairly recently, but I don't know that Angry Cricket has ever been used to describe it

Either way, you're going to have to grease or replace the centering ball assembly in your front driveshaft.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

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Thanks a million, I had a feeling it was the DS, but was afraid it was the front hub assembly getting ready to come apart.

Well, I have read up on the Angry Sparrow. Now, I have to leave in the AM as stated in my previous post. This just started making noise a few days ago, will it be OK? Is there any way to grease the centering ball without removing the DS? I doubt my stepdad will want to wait for me to rebuild a driveshaft before we leave.

If you're not going to use 4wd then just pull the driveshaft and fix it when you get back. Nothing will happen with the front shaft removed just won't be able to use 4wd.

dave92cherokee said:

If you're not going to use 4wd then just pull the driveshaft and fix it when you get back. Nothing will happen with the front shaft removed just won't be able to use 4wd.

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I figured as much. Can the bolts at the TC side be removed without dropping the crossmember?

Also, we are going to his camp, so I was hoping to ride on some trails and will likely be pretty muddy, so 4wd is a must (since I want to play :looney: ). I have a spare DS, but it has been sitting unused for about 5 years, is it even worth swapping in?

this is waaaaaaaaay off topic, but when i read "angry cricket" i thought of the tiny gun that will smith used in the first men in black :laugh:.... someone back me up on this!

back to tech, almost-good luck with the repair.

Yucca-Man said:

Search "angry sparrows" (sparrow or sparrows) or do an advanced search under my name with "Stu" or stu-offroad as the searchable. It's been addressed fairly recently, but I don't know that Angry Cricket has ever been used to describe it

Either way, you're going to have to grease or replace the centering ball assembly in your front driveshaft.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

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Well, I pulled the DS tonight, and you were right. The centering ball was as dry as a popcorn fart. I also noticed a lot of vibes and the ride was rough when I went on that 3 hour trip yesterday. Now I am vibe free again :yelclap: Put my spare in and it was good to go.

asp387 said:

this is waaaaaaaaay off topic, but when i read "angry cricket" i thought of the tiny gun that will smith used in the first men in black :laugh:.... someone back me up on this!

back to tech, almost-good luck with the repair.

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Yep, although I think it was the "noisy cricket."

Yep, it is: http://www.jibjab.com/view/195551

asp387 said:

this is waaaaaaaaay off topic, but when i read "angry cricket" i thought of the tiny gun that will smith used in the first men in black :laugh:.... someone back me up on this!

back to tech, almost-good luck with the repair.

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That was what I thought he had found.....

But it was Noisy Cricket, not angry....

id just replace it if you have the front DS off. Mine "almost" exploded after a few weeks of squeeking, even after some grease. Its not pricey to replace.

Ben

no no no. its probably not your cv joint. i had mine doing the same thing on both ends after sinkin it in a mudhole (dumb) and i took the shafts out, cleaned the DIRT out of all four yokes and off of the u joints and put grease directly on the yokes and u-joints. no more squeak.

Paging Rick Norman........."dude, can you hear that?"

If the rubber up is still intact, you can drill a tiny hole in the base of the cup, and get a needle attatchment (like for servicing non-serviceable ball joints), and inject a little grease in there as a temporary fix.

The Stu write-up is pretty good, for when you gat around to doing it right.