Whirring sound from frontend

[JBDive]

ok so some follow up.

Wet roads today so once I got into the neighborhood I put the Liberty into 4WD and there was a clear clicking with a slight grinding noise coming from the Left (Driver) Front. More of it and louder in turning, went away as soon as I took it out of 4WD.

Ideas? Got to get this fixed as I am going to need to do a few long trips tis summer and can't be stuck in Podunk, (insert state) letting Billy Joe Bob tow me in and rebuild my front end.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

CV axle going bad I bet.

 

[ltd02]

CV axle going bad I bet.

Probably this, but did you ever check the ends of the front driveshaft?

 

[JBDive]

Probably this, but did you ever check the ends of the front driveshaft?

Found another few threads on the Front Axle and by all the reports of sound and such I think it is the axle. Front joint looked fine, back looked "normal" to me but from those same threads it sounds like looks don't mean squat and that the rear joint goes out pretty consistently.

Seeing full axles for under $200 and it clearly looks like a driveway job to replace it makes no sense to not go ahead and do it.

 

[wheeee32]

Troubleshoot a bit further. Take out the front driveshaft and see if you still have the noise. If it ends up being the driver side cv axle it isn't as time consuming as the passenger side cv axle.

 

[nagami]

Pretty interesting posting

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[Mangate]

I think the main cause of the driveshaft failing at the rear of the front prop shaft is the boot perishing. Probably more stressed from not being the standard bellow type.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[JBDive]

Yeah while I could not get it on a lift I got under the Liberty and took a few pictures of the joint and it's not in good shape. I'll probably just have somebody do the work for me while I provide a replacement shaft. Really not comfortable working under it in the driveway with it sitting on jack stands. One thing to change the oil, entirely different being under there yanking on bolts.

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[wheeee32]

Yeah while I could not get it on a lift I got under the Liberty and took a few pictures of the joint and it's not in good shape. I'll probably just have somebody do the work for me while I provide a replacement shaft. Really not comfortable working under it in the driveway with it sitting on jack stands. One thing to change the oil, entirely different being under there yanking on bolts.

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You don't have to sweat taking off the front driveshaft. It is 6 bolts on the front and on the rear. I replaced mine with a brand new one bc I was able to find a good price on a new one by chance. Even so re-building the rear part of it isn't that bad. My new front driveshaft came with alan head bolts instead of the socket type ones on my factory one. I simply reused the old hardware bc they were still in good condition. The only difficult part of that job is getting the shaft out bc it is a little tight in there but it is a very doable task.

 

[tommudd]

Yeah while I could not get it on a lift I got under the Liberty and took a few pictures of the joint and it's not in good shape. I'll probably just have somebody do the work for me while I provide a replacement shaft. Really not comfortable working under it in the driveway with it sitting on jack stands. One thing to change the oil, entirely different being under there yanking on bolts.

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Easy job and costs 25-30 bucks
Takes under an hour to R&R it
One reason why mine are all ( well all but one KJ) are lifted, slide under and do anything to them

 

[tommudd]

As far as front CVs if replacing the right side , get a new intermediate shaft as well , always replace in pairs
Also use NAPA remans , never buy new from the pine tree parts stores

 

[Duster]

I've been in one that made the whirrrr sound sometimes. It was the 4wd drive shaft. I think the proper term is prop shaft? Both the front and rear driveshafts look to have similar parts and I think a whirrr sound could be either of them.

 

[JBDive]

You don't have to sweat taking off the front driveshaft. It is 6 bolts on the front and on the rear. I replaced mine with a brand new one bc I was able to find a good price on a new one by chance. Even so re-building the rear part of it isn't that bad. My new front driveshaft came with alan head bolts instead of the socket type ones on my factory one. I simply reused the old hardware bc they were still in good condition. The only difficult part of that job is getting the shaft out bc it is a little tight in there but it is a very doable task.

The work itself isn't what concerns me, it is very straight forward. What I don't like is being under the Jeep with it on jack stands while doing things which are clearly going to rock the Jeep around. I've got molded running board so I can't slide in from the side and leave it on the ground.

 

[JBDive]

ok follow up time - NOT HAPPY!

Had my "tire guy" rebalance all tires and inspect them, check alignment and install the new shaft. Drove about 2 blocks afterwards and drove right back to the shop and had the mechanic go down the road with me because my noise was still there. He swears the noise was pure tire noise.

Well that was one thing but then the next morning I drove to work where I reach speeds of 65-70MPH and I had a TON of low growling noise and vibration that I did not have before. This noise seems to be coming from directly under me which would be the drive shaft I just had replaced so I called them up and asked if I should expect a break in period of something to which they said I must be having differential problems.

Well how come I did not have this vibration or growling sound with the old worn out shaft but I do with the new shaft? My first thought is it's not a balanced shaft. I did get this out of the recommended New Jersey shaft outfit and while certainly cheaper than OEM it was not cheap.

I called up a local drive shaft outfit and asked if they could get me on a lift and spin everything up while in the air in an attempt to find the problem which they said they could so I'm headed back in to the shop this week.

 

[JBDive]

ok latest info.

Took the Jeep by a "drive shaft" shop today and they drove it and inspected everything. First off my initial noise I was complaining about they also said was all tire noise.

Second off however the drive shaft from the guys in Jersey is out of balance, end of story. They felt and heard the new noise and vibration so we removed the new shaft and all that vibration went away. Put in the old shaft, no vibration.

So much for the glowing recommendations for this drive shaft outfit. I have contacted them twice so far via email about this problem and so far the only answer has been they think it isn't their shaft but my differential which makes no sense at all.

 

[JBDive]

Revisiting this as I finally got the sound fixed. After swearing the sound had to be the front hub assembly or the inner axel I finally bought new tires and all the noise went away. I cannot believe those Hankook DynaPro ATM's could generate all that noise. I had not wanted to replace them even though they had been on the Liberty for 4 years as they still were not into the treadwear bars. While still having a lot of tread left it was clear the rubber in that last bit of tread is not what makes up the rest of the tire as it became completely unsafe on anything other than dry pavement and even on dry pavement I could break them lose pretty easily. Add that and the noise they were making it is clear you can't wear Dynapro's out, you have to get rid of them long before that. I am not upset, the tires ran great, good traction and looked good.

Put on a set of Cooper AT3's and they are dead silent. All my noise is gone, ride is much smoother as even the smallest bump was well felt on the Hankooks as they aged. Haven't put any real miles on the Coopers yet but have driven at both highway and surface road speeds and like them. Scheduled for a wheel alignment first of the week even though tire wear was even and travel was straight but any time I put on new tires I go ahead and get alignment check/set.

As a side not I put Cooper All Seasons on the 07 I bought and they ride and handle well. Wanted something more "street" for it as it won't be doing much for the next 2-3 years but going across town and back, if that.

So anyway, the Hankook's were great tires but damn they can sure put out the noise when they get old.

 

[HoosierJeeper]

x2. Mine have 40k on them and are getting loud.

 

[Renedave]

x2. Mine have 40k on them and are getting loud.

Good grief yes. I'm sure mine have way less than that and the Dynapro ATMs are noisy enough that I thought something was wrong with the front end.