Hi guys,
2001 Jeep TJ 4.0, 5sp, np 231 trf case with AA HD Output Shaft and TW Double Cardan Drive Shaft. At SMOOR last time, i heard some popping noise from front drivers side. Noise is primarily when turning but mainly when say backing up and going forward i get intermittent pops.
Being that my RE Trackbar in front was 11 years old, i suspected that, ujoints or bad bushing. So, i took apart that track bar joint and rebuilt it, and replaced mounting hardware that was bad. Noise was still there. Disconnected the track bar and noise was still there. Moved to further elimination. Checked tie rod ends and no movement, castle nuts tight and joints greased. Disconnected sway bar end links and noise still there. Checked pitman arm and steering shaft no issues. Check motor mounts looked good. Checked drag link, ok. Checked ball joints unloaded, no play in any direction. Checked shocks, bushings good and compressed properly and shock bolts tight. Looked at springs and no rubbing on perch or on bump stops. No obvious rub marks anywhere. Wheel bearings are good. Front axle joints are solid. Checked rear dshaft, no issues, had just rebuilt it 2 months ago. Checked front drive shaft, there was a little movement at tc case end....so i dropped the skid plate, crossmember is ok and mount for tranny is ok...so, i rebuilt my front drive shaft completely, noise is still there. I know my rear is good, just performed maintenance on all my RE Control arms. Exhaust is not hitting anything, not a catalytic noise. Rear sway bar is not hitting my gas tank skid nor my shocks hitting perches. Now after i rebuilt the front drive shaft and re installed it, i
still had play up and down in my shaft, on closer look it appears my front tc output shaft bearing is heading south. So, i put it up on stands and no noise in 2wd, 4wdh or lo, this leads me to believe that (A) its not the tc front output shaft bearing is making the noise, or (B) although with no weight on it it could be the cause, either way i have some tc work to do in the future. Just had new gears put in front and rear and had my 500 mile check done today, there solid. Which leaves my front control arms, which are factory. I dropped my drivers side upper and lower and inspected. The lower front bolt was siezed in and after liberal pb blaster and air hammer it came out, bushings are a little dry rotted. I antisiezed that bolt after cleaning and since it wasn't damaged, re installed it. Upper was little dry rotted but ok. I have some new currie front arms coming this week that had been on order so i wont know for sure until there are replaced. Am i missing something?
and if any local OJT member would like to come by my place in Nixa and have a listen it would be great to have a second mechanical set of ears and eyes. Really wanting to get this fixed so i can go to flat nasty this weekend. Thanks....waiting patiently for responses and so sorry for the long post
Allen..
