Bad sound from front drivers side...

Hey guys, I've owned my 96 xj for about 2 months now and I'm really just starting to scratch the surface of this stuff. The problem I'm having now is that whenever I turn to the right I get a pretty heavy grinding sound from the front drivers side tire/wheel/brake area. I just put a new set of tires on it. 235/75 R15s. Same tires that were on it before. I've been getting a squeaking sound from my breaks for a couple of days now, I'm thinking that I may just need to get my breaks serviced/overhauled. Figured I could get a good answer about it here. Thanks guys!

hey, i just bought a 95 and it has almost the same problem. when driving straight, it vibes from the front. when i turn sharp left, it stops. i replaced the drivers side hub bearing and it still continues to do it. should i replace the other side? at $140 a pop, these things arnt cheap.
-chris

ok i had to register to help you out man, i have a 94 xj, i had the exact problem you have but mine is flipped when i turned to the left it grinded, that sound is your wheel bearings, there shot to hell!!, you can get em at advance auto for i think i payed 6.44 each(replace both not just one, or you will soon be replace opposite side anyway!) its not a real hard process if you know atleast didly squat, remove wheel, caliper and rotoe, pop out the small pin, take off the "huge" nut slide other crap off take out bearing pack new one with grease, clean axle surfase slightly grease it slide bearing(the new one) on and its just a reverse process from there, hope you get it fixed soon, cuz thats killing your brakes, if you aint noticed yet, i just bought new cross drilled and slotted rotos, 911 drilled semi-metallic pads any way, but before i did, brakeing while off road sucked!! and any of you that crawl you know how bad that is!!!! hope i helped ya!!

Search for info on how to check if it's your bearings or UJs. If you're driving around in 4WD, it could well be a UJ, but I'll leave it to others who know more than me to diagnose your problem more accurately. Both are pretty easy fixes, given time, patience and the right tools. Good luck!

I'm having the EXACT same problems on my 99. I spend most of my time in 2wd. Lst had it up on a lift last week at the shop and noticed that my right front, aftermarket shock was bent to hell and rubbing against something. Only problem is, there's nothing there for it to rub against! So a new set of front shocks and i'm back on the road again. Stayed quiet for a couple days till I hit a pot hole then the bouncing and sporadic thumping came back. Also, As I hit this one bump going into the parking lot at work. I take the bump nice and slow, and the minute that right front tire hits it, I hear a metal on metal grinding. I can't figure out what the deal is!

Now that my Jeep is out of warranty, I plan on putting it back up on a lift shortly and looking over it myself. I'm probably going to go ahead and replace the UJ's, and now probably the hub bearings just for peace of mind. I also plan on doing a tranny flush to be on the safe side (my old man has rebuilt tranny's for the past 30+ years, so I know how espensive it can be to get it fixed when they break), and some other general work including a tune up, as my milage has absolutely sucked in the past month (150 miles to a tank is insanely bad).

JSUXJ said:

Hey guys, I've owned my 96 xj for about 2 months now and I'm really just starting to scratch the surface of this stuff. The problem I'm having now is that whenever I turn to the right I get a pretty heavy grinding sound from the front drivers side tire/wheel/brake area. I just put a new set of tires on it. 235/75 R15s. Same tires that were on it before. I've been getting a squeaking sound from my breaks for a couple of days now, I'm thinking that I may just need to get my breaks serviced/overhauled. Figured I could get a good answer about it here. Thanks guys!

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I believe that you should start with checking the brakes and then move on to checking the wheel bearings then the ujoints . I believe that your problem will be in one of those areas . Also by checking the simple stuff first you will not waste very much time or money.