I have a TJ jeep 6cly 4.0L 2002. When I drive the jeep for around 1/2 then make a sharp turn it seems like the wheel binds and I have a flat tire. This only occurs if the jeep has been driven for 20 minutes or longer. If I take it for a spin around the block it is ok.
The U-Joints are find, and I am out of ideas. Any help would be great.
I have what seems like the exact same trouble on my CJ7. The wheel will bind and stay about half a turn cocked while pulling to that side when I come back straight, like a flat does, then suddenly it will come straight again.
I was thinking maybe a bad steering stabilizer shock until I got under and looked real close. I then noticed the rubber boot around one lower ball joint gone. I will be damned if I can get that joint to move with a pry bar and jacks, but it sure acts like it could be toast.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >
Mike,
I have seen them bind up like that, instead of getting loose. Heh, if you drive it long enough, and if you survive, it will loosen up for sure.
Earle
Ideally, you would drive the car for 1/2 hour, until the problem appears, jack up the front end, and turn the wheels side to side, looking for binding. This may manifest as a sudden, jerky motion while you are smoothly trying to turn the wheels. The boot may not be gone. You have freshly lubed the front end, of course. Murphy's Law dictates that the ball joint without the grease fitting is the bad one though.
Earle
The steering pivots for the wheel on the axle are the ball joints. You have one at the top and one at the very bottom above and below the axle u-joint. I noticed the missing boot because something looked different than the other side.
I can't see movement in mine, but it has to be bad to move enough to blow out the boot.
Mike
snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:
Gotta fix it.... I am planning to put about 3000 miles on her later this summer.
Mike
Earle Hort>
Mike, see if you can detect a difference in the ball joint motion when you jack the front off the ground by lifting the frame as opposed to lifting from the axle. It shouldn't make any difference with a solid axle, but I found a bad ball joint on the MJ that way. Actually, I finally got it high enough that my daughter could get a decent swing with a 4-lb hammer while I had my hand wrapped around the joint to feel for motion. Once I found the odd-ball one that way I managed to confirm the play. Different amount of play with the wheels straight ahead than I got with them turned.
That wasn't the real b> The steering pivots for the wheel on the axle are the ball joints. You
Mike, What all did we find underneath his TJ?
I recall there was some loose stuff but did we check it again afterwards?
State inspection guys in Massachusetts, when I was first learning to drive, used a great big crow bar under the wheels, after jacking up. They will bind sometimes though, before they get loose.
Earle
That was a bad track bar. I think both ends were bad or loose. This feels totally different. It feels like driving on a flat tire where you have to hold on tight to the steering wheel half turned.
Mike
billy ray wrote:
I just had the outer wheel bearing blow out on that side and the wheel cupped inside and out. Fixed that and an inner wheel bearing on the other side too. No help with the pull...
I put the cupped one on the back and the SOB howled for the first hundred miles....
Mike
"L.W.(Bill) Hughes III" wrote:
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