clunking under the front left of tj when turning

  • I have a clunk that is worse when turning (either way) and i hit a bump. It is a heavy 'clunk' and i can feel it under my foot too. Also, when i have the TJ in 4hi, and make a turn, the steering wheel will pulsate The sharper the turn, the more the steering wheel pulsates.



    I thought it was the axle u-joints, but when i inspected them over the w/e, they appeared solid. I did have a clunk when i took the slack out of the ring and pinion when i spun the front drive shaft.



    As far as i could see the steering components looked ok.





    Any help to let me know if i'm on the right track with this?



    Thanks,
    kevin

  • You are going to get "pulsation" through the steering wheel when making turns in 4wd.,The sharper the turn the heavier the pulsation, this will be magnified especially on hard surfaces. It will also be more prevalent in 4lo.
    As far as the clunking goes have you recently done any front suspension or steering work? I would start by checking the front steering parts for any slop, my tj use to make a clunk and it went away when I installed the Currie Correct Lync steering upgrade.

  • as stated the feedback through the steering wheel is normal when turning in 4wd, but you should avoid using 4wd when you don't need it as it will strain and possibly cause damage to the drive train.

    for the clunk, have the jeep parked (transmission in park or neutral with parking brake set) and have someone get under the front of the jeep while someone else steers back and forth and see if you can locate it that way. look at your tie rod, drag link, and track bar ends. it could also be sway bar links or control arm links, but not as likely.

    I had a very similar issue and the bolt on the axle side of the track bar was too small.

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