Hamandcamo
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #1
So, here's a fun one. I have had a clunk in the front right of the vehicle for about three weeks or so now. For reference, the clunk only happened when the sway bar was connected, the wheel was slightly turned, and the right side of the axle was elevated more than the left. I would feel this through the steering wheel, almost like a bind, and the noise would just be a singular clunk. I haven't driven it much, but had some free time, so I decided to tackle this issue. I speculated that it could be ball joint related (from the forum post), so I went ahead and took the wheel off to take a look. Sure enough, it seems like the upper and lower ball joint were a little loose. I couldn't fit a torque wrench in there, but I'm certain I didn't overtighten them (about 1/2-3/4 turn on each). I also tightened everything else just to be sure, including the tie rod flag nuts (by hand). The one closest to the wheel was fairly loose. Drop it back down, feels great driving through town.
I get to highway speeds, and notice a pretty bad vibration when turning to the right. I think, well, could be I didn't tighten the wheel nuts tight enough. I pull over and tighten them, and the vibration goes away for about a minute, then comes back and it's even worse. I don't want to overtighten the wheel nuts, and I got them pretty tight, but I'm kind of stumped as to what this could be. The vibration can be felt through the steering and it is definitely fighting me. I'm guessing it's either: overtightened ball joints, or the CV Joint is bad. Looking at the joint, it is somewhat rusted, which is odd considering location. There are some small specs of grease on the knuckle of the axle, but I'm not too sure if it's grease as I take this thing off road. I never owned a solid front axle, so I'm looking for general advice on how to diagnose what the problem could be. Any information helps.
I get to highway speeds, and notice a pretty bad vibration when turning to the right. I think, well, could be I didn't tighten the wheel nuts tight enough. I pull over and tighten them, and the vibration goes away for about a minute, then comes back and it's even worse. I don't want to overtighten the wheel nuts, and I got them pretty tight, but I'm kind of stumped as to what this could be. The vibration can be felt through the steering and it is definitely fighting me. I'm guessing it's either: overtightened ball joints, or the CV Joint is bad. Looking at the joint, it is somewhat rusted, which is odd considering location. There are some small specs of grease on the knuckle of the axle, but I'm not too sure if it's grease as I take this thing off road. I never owned a solid front axle, so I'm looking for general advice on how to diagnose what the problem could be. Any information helps.
Sponsored
