My 04 TJ is having some problems

Headlessmonky

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Jul 17, 2022
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Bonanza oregon
Ok so I'm in need of some help here
I have been a mechanic for awhile and know quite a bit about vehicles and equipment. But I am still a young buck and still learning. Especially when I comes to my jeep. It's a 2004 jeep wrangler sport with 4.0l 4 wheel drive auto. This is my first jeep I have ever owned and I love the thing. It's got 35 falken wild peak tire and a 4 inch lift.
The other day it started to have a low vibration coming from the front axle like a hub bearing is going out. The front differential has a clicking nose that you can only hear on the driver side. And I know for a fact that it is not the death wobble cuase that only happens between 40 and 45 mph then goes away.
I do know that I have a u joint going bad cause I start off from a dead stop it vibrates bad.
This jeep is my only vehicle and my daily.
I could use some help with parts and a better set of axles for it. I would like a balance of highway and off road.
Any help would be much appreciated.

20220513_182101.jpg
 
A little to unpack

What kind of Control Arms do you have ? Pinon angle ?

Wheel bearings don’t usually cause vibs

DW usually is a tire balance issue and will come in at those mph 40-55

U joints usually are a chirping noise

Have you off road’ed it and hit a DS ?
 
I would start with replacing the U-joint that you know is bad and see where that gets you. It's possible that is the source of the clicking and the low vibration.
 
I have off roaded it but it's been awhile
But mostly I bought the jeep this way from a dealer and clicking noise from the front diff and DW were already there when I bought it.
The low vibration from the passenger side front just started about 2 or 3 days ago.
And the u joint started around the same time, maybe a day earlier.
I can take pictures of the control arms and everything underneath. But I think But I could be totally wrong I think it's a Skyjacker lift?
I know the 35s are doing some abuse to it and causing a major lag on the whole vehicle.
But I do know that most, if not all of the suspension is pretty tight and torqued to spec.
I probably need to swap out the front and back axles assemblies cuase the jeep was pretty beat on and it has a salvage title from a collision on the front driver side
Sorry if I'm writing a book
I know what's mostly wrong with it
And how to fix it but I don't know jeeps and jeep parts all that well
 
Doubt it cuase I jack up the front end and when you spin the driver side front tire there is a catch point and clunk from the pumpkin and no noise when you spin the passenger front tire.

I'm mostly a stickler when I comes to parts
I want good quality parts and parts that will hold up to the type of driving I do
 
So looks like a Dana 30 in front and a 35 in rear ?

Someone smarter that me will chime in I’m sure but the “catch point “ could be a u joint or pop your diff off and look at your gears

I’m assuming you have a rear CV joint with 4 inches ?
 
The rear driveshaft only has one U joint on each end and the slider is the t case so the rear driveshaft is stock w/o the double cardan joint.
The maximum tire size I would use with a Dana 35 would be 33" and DONOT install a locker in that differential.
Lower control arms front and rear are non adjustable with poly bushings.
The tie rod does not match the drag link, the tie rod and tracbar have heim joints which are known to wear quickly.
You need to do a thorough check on the condition of the control arm bushings and heim joints.
 
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