Popping noise when turning

Hello everyone:

I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
this be a bad U-Joint? I also have another problem where the steering
wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
one on the left. Any suggestions?

Mike

97tjMike wrote:
> Hello everyone:
>
> I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
> ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
> like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
> this be a bad U-Joint? I also have another problem where the steering
> wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
> check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
> one on the left. Any suggestions?
>
> Mike
>

The mechanic was right....

You can jack it up and cut the steering tot he side, then hand spin the
tire to check for binding or slop or rust stains at the caps.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile...
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

On Jul 26, 12:43 pm, 97tjMike > wrote:
> Hello everyone:
>
> I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
> ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
> like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
> this be a bad U-Joint?

Yes, it could be a bad axle joint, but if we're not talking about full-
lock turns or something close to it, I'd have to make sure you torqued
the axle nut properly.

> I also have another problem where the steering
> wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
> check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
> one on the left. Any suggestions?

Not likely on the TJ unless you've put on aftermarket hub locks, as
binding axle joint (as your mechanic was thinking) only does that when
it's not spinning. A binding joint will shake your wheel -- In your
case, 19/20 times it's traced to binding in ball joints/steering
linkage or bad alignment. Alternatively, if someone's been in your
steering box lately, it might have been "adjusted" too tight.

Jon

IF the steering wheel returned to center before you took the hub off, then
you have a serious problem that you need to address before you drive this
vehicle again. In tandem, the new noise and the new behavior raise a huge
red flag that tells me that the vehicle is unsafe to drive.

It is possible that the UJoints are bad (either one or both of them), but
they would not cause steering problems where the wheel does not come back to
center. If the hub was not installed correctly, then there could be popping
noises and the steering may not respond properly.

I could be wrong, but my guess is that the front tire is about to fall off.






"97tjMike" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hello everyone:
>
> I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
> ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
> like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
> this be a bad U-Joint? I also have another problem where the steering
> wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
> check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
> one on the left. Any suggestions?
>
> Mike
>

To clear a couple of things up. First of all, I bent back my dust
guard on the brakes and the problem lessened. Now it hardly happens. I
guess it was just everything "settling in." With that problem out of
the way (I hope), I still need to address the center problem. Yes, it
happened before I changed the hub, and the steering box is brand new
(but it happened before that as well). I'm gonna hopefully rip the
drivers side apart Saturday so I can check the U-Joint on that side.
Some of you have suggested that its NOT a U-Joint. What else could it
be?
Mike

On Jul 26, 6:11 pm, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:
> IF the steering wheel returned to center before you took the hub off, then
> you have a serious problem that you need to address before you drive this
> vehicle again. In tandem, the new noise and the new behavior raise a huge
> red flag that tells me that the vehicle is unsafe to drive.
>
> It is possible that the UJoints are bad (either one or both of them), but
> they would not cause steering problems where the wheel does not come back to
> center. If the hub was not installed correctly, then there could be popping
> noises and the steering may not respond properly.
>
> I could be wrong, but my guess is that the front tire is about to fall off.
>
> "97tjMike" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> > Hello everyone:
>
> > I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
> > ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
> > like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
> > this be a bad U-Joint? I also have another problem where the steering
> > wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
> > check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
> > one on the left. Any suggestions?
>
> > Mike

Why didn't you tell us that in the first place?

The steering box was installed wrong. The pitman arm has to be removed and
put back on in the right place. I suggest turning front tires so they are
straight, removing the pitman arm from the steering box, turning the
steering wheel straight, then putting the arm back on.

It's too bad that the hubs are between you and the u-joints, you have to
repeat all of the work you already did to get to the u-joints.



"97tjMike" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> To clear a couple of things up. First of all, I bent back my dust
> guard on the brakes and the problem lessened. Now it hardly happens. I
> guess it was just everything "settling in." With that problem out of
> the way (I hope), I still need to address the center problem. Yes, it
> happened before I changed the hub, and the steering box is brand new
> (but it happened before that as well). I'm gonna hopefully rip the
> drivers side apart Saturday so I can check the U-Joint on that side.
> Some of you have suggested that its NOT a U-Joint. What else could it
> be?
> Mike
>

On Thu, 26 Jul 2007 20:00:05 -0700, 97tjMike >
wrote:

>To clear a couple of things up. First of all, I bent back my dust
>guard on the brakes and the problem lessened. Now it hardly happens. I
>guess it was just everything "settling in." With that problem out of
>the way (I hope), I still need to address the center problem. Yes, it
>happened before I changed the hub, and the steering box is brand new
>(but it happened before that as well). I'm gonna hopefully rip the
>drivers side apart Saturday so I can check the U-Joint on that side.
>Some of you have suggested that its NOT a U-Joint. What else could it
>be?
>Mike
>

Maybe you need an alignment?
(Isn't that partly controlled by the CASTER (castOr?) setting?)

....



>On Jul 26, 6:11 pm, "Jeff Strickland" > wrote:
>> IF the steering wheel returned to center before you took the hub off, then
>> you have a serious problem that you need to address before you drive this
>> vehicle again. In tandem, the new noise and the new behavior raise a huge
>> red flag that tells me that the vehicle is unsafe to drive.
>>
>> It is possible that the UJoints are bad (either one or both of them), but
>> they would not cause steering problems where the wheel does not come back to
>> center. If the hub was not installed correctly, then there could be popping
>> noises and the steering may not respond properly.
>>
>> I could be wrong, but my guess is that the front tire is about to fall off.
>>
>> "97tjMike" > wrote in message
>>
>> ups.com...
>>
>> > Hello everyone:
>>
>> > I replaced my right front hub assembly yesterday, and everything was
>> > ok right after, but now I am noticing a popping noise (multiple times,
>> > like pop pop pop pop) when turning or swerving at low speeds. Could
>> > this be a bad U-Joint? I also have another problem where the steering
>> > wheel doesn't go back to center after turning. A mechanic suggested I
>> > check the U-Joints. The one on the right is fine, but idk about the
>> > one on the left. Any suggestions?
>>
>> > Mike
>

97tjMike wrote:
> To clear a couple of things up. First of all, I bent back my dust
> guard on the brakes and the problem lessened. Now it hardly happens.

Woah now! That is 'not' a good thing!!!!

That means the hub has lateral movement in it which means either the
bearing is shot or the hub is loose or the axle nut is loose.

Any of these can cause the front wheel to fall off.


I
> guess it was just everything "settling in."

That does not happen with your repair. It is either right or wrong.

With that problem out of
> the way (I hope), I still need to address the center problem. Yes, it
> happened before I changed the hub, and the steering box is brand new
> (but it happened before that as well). I'm gonna hopefully rip the
> drivers side apart Saturday so I can check the U-Joint on that side.
> Some of you have suggested that its NOT a U-Joint. What else could it
> be?

A bad ball joint can or will cause the steering to bind. That happened
to me recently and I had to 'pull' the steering back straight.

Again this can cause your wheel to fall off when the ball joint fails.

I also suspected my steering damper shock, but it turned out mine was a
hollow tube with a rod flopping in it.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile...
Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
(More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

"Mike Romain" > wrote in message
ng.com...
> 97tjMike wrote:
>> To clear a couple of things up. First of all, I bent back my dust
>> guard on the brakes and the problem lessened. Now it hardly happens.
>
> Woah now! That is 'not' a good thing!!!!
>
> That means the hub has lateral movement in it which means either the
> bearing is shot or the hub is loose or the axle nut is loose.
>
> Any of these can cause the front wheel to fall off.
>
>


I'm with Mike on this. You seriously need to take the right side hub apart
again and make sure it is PROPERLY installed. Everything you've said is a
Red Flag screaming DANGER, ABORT. This can lead to serious death or injury
to not only you but innocent bystanders.





> I
>> guess it was just everything "settling in."
>
> That does not happen with your repair. It is either right or wrong.
>
> With that problem out of
>> the way (I hope), I still need to address the center problem. Yes, it
>> happened before I changed the hub, and the steering box is brand new
>> (but it happened before that as well). I'm gonna hopefully rip the
>> drivers side apart Saturday so I can check the U-Joint on that side.
>> Some of you have suggested that its NOT a U-Joint. What else could it
>> be?
>
> A bad ball joint can or will cause the steering to bind. That happened to
> me recently and I had to 'pull' the steering back straight.
>
> Again this can cause your wheel to fall off when the ball joint fails.
>
> I also suspected my steering damper shock, but it turned out mine was a
> hollow tube with a rod flopping in it.
>
> Mike
> 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
> 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's - Gone to the rust pile...
> Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view!
> Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pi...?id=2115147590
> (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> I'm with Mike on this. You seriously need to take the right side hub
> apart again and make sure it is PROPERLY installed. Everything you've
> said is a Red Flag screaming DANGER, ABORT. This can lead to serious
> death or injury to not only you but innocent bystanders.

Why are bystanders always innocent? Odds are some of them aren't.

tw