at the dealer with "mystery" clunk?

[rockymountain]

I have my kj in at the dealer as I type. there is a clunk that I notice when I make a right turn. It clunks once when I turn the wheel and then once again on returning the wheel. You can't really hear it unless you really listen, but you can feel it in the wheel with your hands. I'm suspecting ball joints, but maybe someone can help me hear so I have a little amo to talk to these guys with. Right now they say they can't find anything. Big surprise right?

The kj has 28K miles and it is an 04. I do believe the initial recall was performed on it. BUT I was only told by this same dealer it was done when I got it with 3000 miles on it. Thanks in advance I really do appreciate it.

 

[yellocoyote]

Check the ball joints/CV joints.

 

[rockymountain]

I forgot to include that the steering is progressively getting looser too. I'm getting more and more wheel wiggle.

 

[Searcher67]

I'd say Ball joints too!

 

[desertkj]

Sounds like ball joints to me as well and it is absolutely critical to get those replaced as soon as possible!

 

[rockymountain]

Is there always play in the wheel with bad ball joints? What I mean is play in the wheel when you test while off the ground and wiggle the wheel and tire back and forth holding the wheel at the top and bottom.(vertically) thanks!!!

 

[rockymountain]

Do bad ball joints cause a vibration at highway speeds similar to a bad balance? It is experiencing that too although a balance has not been ruled out yet.

 

[desertkj]

The play in the wheel from what I've heard is one of the biggest signs that the ball joints are failing. The vibration at speed would probably be caused by that play. I would take the Jeep into the dealer and if they say nothing is wrong, get corporate on the phone while you are there. That is a serious safety hazard for you and the people around you on the road should those give out.

 

[desertkj]

Here is a link to a page on the forum for how to check your balljoints: http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27868

 

[maverick7321]

I would take the Jeep into the dealer.

According to the thread title he is at the dealer posting this thread.

 

[Treyz02KJ]

Do bad ball joints cause a vibration at highway speeds similar to a bad balance? It is experiencing that too although a balance has not been ruled out yet.

Oh my goodness.. get that puppy into the shop.. those wheels are going to come off.

It scares me that your wheel has slack when wiggling it vertically.

I'd be walking if my **** was doing this. (or taking it to the dealer for those recalled A-Arms again)

 

[desertkj]

According to the thread title he is at the dealer posting this thread.

Good call. I missed that and just picked up on the part where they claim to not see anything. My bad.

 

[CHUD]

I do believe the initial recall was performed on it. BUT I was only told by this same dealer it was done when I got it with 3000 miles on it.

You can go to the jeep.com website to verify that recalls were performed. You'll need your VIN. Good luck.

 

[rockymountain]

ok I just got back home. I did have them lift it for me and I did not find any play in the wheels while moving them vertically. I do believe they were being honest in what they were saying. At this time I notice it just slightly and it does not do the little clunk every time I turn. This does not mean though anything until I perform the test in the previously mentioned post. I will be doing this tonight. I have a newborn right now so time is a little bit at a premium right now. They had it lifted on a lift so, really I didn't test it very well at all. I decided to just walk and test it myself. I will escalate it further if I find any play while jacking it up by the control arm. The Dealership has not convinced me of anything yet. I know my cars and in this case my Jeep. When something changes I notice it. I almost scare myself sometime because I notice the tiniest of details. I will do the test tonight and post my findings. Thank you all for the help so far. This post will hopefully be more evidence in my case. Does anyone know off hand how to address this issue with Corporate? Just wondering at this time. Thanks!

 

[HoosierJeeper]

To contact Coporate, go to jeep.com and scroll all the way to the bottom of the page, and I think there is a link called "Contact Us".

 

[rockymountain]

Oh my goodness.. get that puppy into the shop.. those wheels are going to come off.

It scares me that your wheel has slack when wiggling it vertically.

I'd be walking if my **** was doing this. (or taking it to the dealer for those recalled A-Arms again)

Just to clear up, I have not yet said there is play. I will find out though in a little bit. If I do find play I will make a video and show it to them.

 

[rockymountain]

ok, I have done the tests from the thread:
http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27868
I did not find anything with play. Everything is tight. I found two things; one is something with the steering shaft. If I pull up on it the bracket that holds it moves it. It is the bottom part of the picture I took:

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When I pull up on this part it moves and it makes a similar noise to the clunk. The u-joints seem to be tight as they were replaced after I bought the kj 3 years ago. They were about destroyed for some reason and the dealer would not let me drive it until they fixed it. That was under warranty so no biggie. I'm still at a loss as to why they got that way in the first place. I guess the looks of the kj made me oversee that problem.

the second thing I found (as my 4 year old wiggled the steering wheel) is that there is a clunk coming from the rack. It just seems to clunk like something has a gap between it. Hopefully the rack is ok. I did not see any evidence of leakage on the boots.
So that's where I'm at. I guess it isn't a mystery but I'm still just asking why. I will keep my eye on it and update with anything I find.