Hubs are unlocked, but tires still chirp

The front hubs are in the unlocked position, but the front tires are still chirping around corners... does that mean the hubs are crap?

Truggy does that too. It's called "eyeball" alignment. The front suspension is lined up by "rule of thumb", not down to the proper degrees of caster and toe. So, those monsterous 36's are gonna protest when you turn 'em. It's set up to crawl, not cruise.

I actually kinda have fun driving through supermarket or mall parking lots in the Truggy..... The tires chirp, squeal and howl..... mothers grab their children, old folks stop and stare, people on cell phones holler "Hold on, I can't hear because of some loud-ass truck", people in general snapping their necks to see what the hell is making all that noise........

Huh. Are there any benefits to eyeball alignment off road? And would setting up the front suspension the right way have any negative effect with the 36s on the trails?

it means you need to light that thing on fire already.

mcantar18c said:

Huh. Are there any benefits to eyeball alignment off road? And would setting up the front suspension the right way have any negative effect with the 36s on the trails?

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Ok..... hang with me here Mason......

Your rig already has been "eyeball" aligned. You or the prev. owner has looked at the tires, and adjusted the steering to get the tires aimed straight forward with nothing more than looking at it. Ya dig?

To set up your front suspension to be aligned "properly" is gonna cost you around $2K. All suspension mounting points would have to be laser measured to ensure they're square in relation to the vehicle and axle, all arms, links, steering components would have to be re-designed to allow for the proper amount of adjustment. Your caster angles would have to be calculated based on pinion angle, suspension height and travel........ etc, etc......

The Truggy is "eyeball" alligned and that's the best it'll ever be because it's meant for crawling. The tires just need to go straight, turn right/left. Tire wear concerns.... well, there arent any because the rocks are gonna wear 'em out long before the road does. Your rig is built on the same principal. You're not gonna get it any better than eyeball aligned. You may be able to play with the caster a bit if your control arms have enough adjustability built into them, but other than some caster and toe, that's all you can really adjust. And with the nasty bend in your tie rod - you're probably limited on the toe adjustment.

Tire noise on turns is always gonna be part of the equasion with your rig.

You don't neccessarily need lasers, but like Troy said it'll be a lot of work to make your linked suspension "perfect" for both the road and trail. Go get a daily driver already and leave that thing for the trail

btw, the army never used front d44 8lugs so ID ditch your "military" hubs and go with non-selectables. They're stronger and less likely to fail when crawlicng the curbs at the mall

Well, I'm thinkin that its got the eyeball alignment AND my hubs are crap.
I went out and jacked up each tire, and when I spin em they're still locked to the shafts.
And yeah I'm pretty sure they're Fords, not mil hubs. He mighta been talking about the rear ones though, they look like they could be military equipment.
I don't want non selectables cause then I wouldn't be able to change em between the street and the trail.

mcantar18c said:

Well, I'm thinkin that its got the eyeball alignment AND my hubs are crap.
I went out and jacked up each tire, and when I spin em they're still locked to the shafts.
And yeah I'm pretty sure they're Fords, not mil hubs. He mighta been talking about the rear ones though, they look like they could be military equipment.
I don't want non selectables cause then I wouldn't be able to change em between the street and the trail.

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Hopeless..........:doh:

Kittrell said:

Hopeless..........:doh:

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Explain?
When the hubs are open, I should be able to spin each wheel individually. Since I can't even though the hubs are in the "free" position, they must still be locked.
If I'm wrong, tell me HOW I'm wrong so I can learn.

Daily driver

or

accept the fact that it's going to drive like a lifted locked jeep with big tired on the street.

Planefixer drove his locked jeep to work. Did he b---h about the chirping? No. Why? Cuz he knew and accepted what he was driving.

You should do the same

mcantar18c said:

Explain?
When the hubs are open, I should be able to spin each wheel individually. Since I can't even though the hubs are in the "free" position, they must still be locked.
If I'm wrong, tell me HOW I'm wrong so I can learn.

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Locked or unlocked. Pink or blue or green military or ford or chevy doesn't have a damn thing to do with the allignment of the damn jeep. Quit mixing the two!!!!!!!

Your allignment( caster/toe) - aka your control arm adjustment and your tierod adjustments- is not set for STREET driving. Or comfort driving. Get over it!!!!!

in4aride said:

Daily driver

or

accept the fact that it's going to drive like a lifted locked jeep with big tired on the street.

Planefixer drove his locked jeep to work. Did he b---h about the chirping? No. Why? Cuz he knew and accepted what he was driving.

You should do the same

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I know its not built for the street. And I'm not bitching about the chirping... like Troy said, the looks ya get are kinda fun
What I'm bitching about is that the chirping means the front is still locked, and since the hubs are in the unlocked position, somethings not right.
If it was just the alignment causing the chirping than I'd still be able to spin the front wheels individually with the hubs unlocked.
Am I wrong to want the hubs to work the way they're supposed to?

in4aride said:

Locked or unlocked. Pink or blue or green military or ford or chevy doesn't have a damn thing to do with the allignment of the damn jeep. Quit mixing the two!!!!!!!

Your allignment( caster/toe) - aka your control arm adjustment and your tierod adjustments- is not set for STREET driving. Or comfort driving. Get over it!!!!!

Click to expand...

Where did I say the hubs had anything to do with the alignment?

Are you sure the chirping you are hearing is the front and not the rear tires? You have a locker in the rear and anytime you power through a corner the inside tire will chirp because the locker is engaged. You need to learn to coast through turns so that the locker unloads and unlocks. Or just say f it and deal with the chirping.

Ok. Two wheels pointing dead on straight ahead when turned. Turn the same degree to the specified side at the same time.
Now-if you are toed in(tires aiming at each other) when you turn that same degree, you will have one tire( the tire on side you are turning toward) having an angle less than specified. While the tire on outide has and exxagerated angle.
Example.
With wheels dead center ahead. You turn 45 degrees left(driver) both wheels turn same amount (45degrees) to the left. Tires move easily and freely

with toe-in in same scenario:
steering wheel is at 45, your driver wheel is only at 35 degrees of turn and your pass. Wheel is at 55 degrees of turn.

So

one tire is turning sharper than the other. The rubber on your tread will flex to a certain degree. Once it can no longer flex it will 'pop' into it's original position. Thus, a chirp.

A chirp. Caused from allignment. Not the damn locker. Not saying you don't have hub issues. BUT you need to realize your ALLIGNMENT can cause it just as bad.

There are other thing like caster that can make thing weird too but it's too hard to explain over text not in person.


Also. Same thing but flipped for a toe out issue



Answer your question enough?!?!?!?!?!

Yup... the rear chirps too, which I know it will and I'm ok with that because that's supposed to always be locked. But watching the front tires while I'm turning, they're definitely chirping too in turns, with and without power, and they shouldn't be.
I remember at COfest talkin with you, you mentioned that about coasting through turns. Funny thing is though, its actually easier to turn with a little throttle (at least without the hydro assist)

in4aride said:

Ok. Two wheels pointing dead on straight ahead when turned. Turn the same degree to the specified side at the same time.
Now-if you are toed in(tires aiming at each other) when you turn that same degree, you will have one tire( the tire on side you are turning toward) having an angle less than specified. While the tire on outide has and exxagerated angle.
Example.
With wheels dead center ahead. You turn 45 degrees left(driver) both wheels turn same amount (45degrees) to the left. Tires move easily and freely

with toe-in in same scenario:
steering wheel is at 45, your driver wheel is only at 35 degrees of turn and your pass. Wheel is at 55 degrees of turn.

So

one tire is turning sharper than the other. The rubber on your tread will flex to a certain degree. Once it can no longer flex it will 'pop' into it's original position. Thus, a chirp.

A chirp. Caused from allignment. Not the damn locker. Not saying you don't have hub issues. BUT you need to realize your ALLIGNMENT can cause it just as bad.

There are other thing like caster that can make thing weird too but it's too hard to explain over text not in person.


Also. Same thing but flipped for a toe out issue



Answer your question enough?!?!?!?!?!

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Yeah, I understood the whole alignment thing when Troy explained it.
If the tires still chirp with the hubs unlocked, whatever.
What I'm trying to get help with is that the hubs are still locked, even when they shouldn't be.

In other words... forget the alignment, I understand all that, now I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with the hubs and how to fix them.

Locknig hubs dobn't just switch on/off, they need to rotate. Try the same test you did before, then rotate the tire the opposite direction to unlock.

Other possibilities would be stiff grease not letting them function, dirt and corrosion not letting them function. They could even be broken??? I had one bud who took a locking hub apart to find a melted plastic part not letting that hub unlock.

Time to take em apart and inspect.

Hypoid said:

Time to take em apart and inspect.

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But then someone will have to take the time to come over and put them back together............:shhh:

Hypoid said:

Locknig hubs dobn't just switch on/off, they need to rotate. Try the same test you did before, then rotate the tire the opposite direction to unlock.

Other possibilities would be stiff grease not letting them function, dirt and corrosion not letting them function. They could even be broken??? I had one bud who took a locking hub apart to find a melted plastic part not letting that hub unlock.

Time to take em apart and inspect.

Click to expand...

I tried rotating the tires both directions, and I tried the hubs while the tires were up too, the hubs wouldn't budge. It seems they're stuck in the open position but are stuck locked too.
Opening them up and cleaning them out would probably be a good idea, seemed to help some guys on other forums with stuck hubs.
They don't take a special kind of grease, do they?

in4aride said:

Example.
With wheels dead center ahead. You turn 45 degrees left(driver) both wheels turn same amount (45degrees) to the left. Tires move easily and freely

with toe-in in same scenario:
steering wheel is at 45, your driver wheel is only at 35 degrees of turn and your pass. Wheel is at 55 degrees of turn.

Answer your question enough?!?!?!?!?!

Click to expand...

Not to get too off topic but your wheels are never at the same angle unless you have zero toe-in and then they're only at the same angle when your going perfectly straight. The rest of the time they are at different angles due to the ackermann angle.