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Ball joint or u joint?

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  JDintheTJ 
#1 ·
New time member bought my lj back in april with some stock tires. Found a pretty good deal on some firestone destination mt 285/16 with some procomp steelies about a month ago. These tires probably weigh double what the old tires did and with 95k miles of course the problems will arise. So.

Trying to diagnose the loud thud when i hit potholes and i dont want to fix something that isnt broke. It sounds like to pots clancking together only at speeds higher than 35mph? Does this sound like the axle u joints? Its not like an erckyercky for every little bump in the road... Any thoughts?
 

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#3 ·
It started about three weeks after i swapped tires. Definitely coming from the front passenger side my doors and shift boot are off right now cause i live in louisiana and its like 80 degrees right now.

What kind of grease should i use?

I think i am going to just order some spicer u joints then take it from there. And grease the ball joints.
 
#4 ·
Similar sound happened on my last jeep, and it was due to the sway bar links busting apart and making a horrendous clanking when I hit bumps. You could check yours and see how they look
 
#7 ·
I couldn't believe those little things were causing such a racket on mine either. On my current Jeep, mine are looking similar to yours but that haven't started with the noise yet so I'm holding off on upgrading a little longer
 
#8 ·
A good way to check the front axle ujoints is to raise the front wheels, turn your steering wheel all the way to the left or right and spin the tire. If the ujoint is bad the tire will not freewheel but catch at the spot where the worn ujoint binds.
 
#10 ·
You can usually check the condition of the swaybar by tugging on it by hand. There would be noticeable slop in the joint at the top for them to make noise. For checking front u joints put it in 4 wheel drive and drive in circles. If your front you joints are worn out or binding they will make themselves heard. Lastly if you think your ball joints are worn jack the front end up and push back and forth on the top and bottom of the tire. If the ball joint is worn you will be able to see/feel it move back and forth.
 
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