Rattle sound from front end

Jeepinjosh4.0

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Mar 8, 2018
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Location
Georgia, USA
Lately I’ve been getting a rattle sound from front of jeep when slowing down and coming to a stop. More prominent when turning. Not sure what it could be caused by. All steering components are tight and greased. Was thinking maybe bad wheel bearings in front or maybe axle u joints. Anyone have any ideas?
 
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I just replaced my front axle u joints after I noticed some noise when I was turning. Before I did the work I looked closely at the u joints and could see rust coming from them. A close inspection might tell the tale. I also did the axle hubs while I had everything apart. You might want to consider that if you need to do the u joints.
 
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I just replaced my front axle u joints after I noticed some noise when I was turning. Before I did the work I looked closely at the u joints and could see rust coming from them. A close inspection might tell the tale. I also did the axle hubs while I had everything apart. You might want to consider that if you need to do the u joints.
I don’t see any rust coming from them really & describe the sound you heard?
 
I did some driving this morning. The rattle is constant from front end when slowly turning tight to the right. If I do a constant right hand circle it continues to rattle
 
A metallic sound? Actually grab the u-joints and see if they move. They won’t always make the sound of you jack it up and rotate the wheel, but you can get them to move by hand. The slightest movement in the u-joint will cause them to rattle going faster than 5-10 miles an hour.


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I had a rattle when turning (more of a creak) and found my control arms were not fully torqued to spec.
 
Replacing the front U-joints and hubs is normal maintenance. As the newest TJ in the world is 12 years old, it is safe to assume any TJ with original hubs & U-joints are ready for new ones. Easy job job and not expensive. I'd do the seals and bearings as well. Mine were quiet, and when I changed them they were full of rust and basically shot.
 
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Check the ball joints while you are in that location If you are pulling axles, it is a good time to change the balls if they need it. When I got my TJ, I replaced all I mentioned and more as a matter of general maintenance. One ball was noticeably bad. The driveability and steering improved dramatically. I like to replace parts before they fail rather than after.
 
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I opened my diff up after work to inspect R&P and spider gears. All seemed normal no shavings or any pieces missing. So knowing that it’s gotta be either axle u joints or unit bearings right? Cause it only rattles when it’s turning which makes me think something related to steering? But if I’m going fast it doesn’t do it. Only slow tight turns
 
Often times it's control arms that aren't torqued down enough that can lead to this front end rattle. It's something to check, particularly if you're replaced the control arms at any point.
 
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Often times it's control arms that aren't torqued down enough that can lead to this front end rattle. It's something to check, particularly if you're replaced the control arms at any point.
I’ll give it a look but I’m pretty sure they’re as tight as I could get them
 
Just snugged them down with a breaker bar. Didn’t get them much tighter. If it was the control Arms wouldn’t it rattle all the time? Not worse when turning slow?

Mine only rattled when I went over large bumps or when I did slow turns oddly enough. I'm not sure what else it could be at this point aside from something loose.

Hopefully someone else chimes in, because all I've got is loose control arm bolts!
 
Just snugged them down with a breaker bar. Didn’t get them much tighter. If it was the control Arms wouldn’t it rattle all the time? Not worse when turning slow?

I wouldn’t necessarily think so because as you brake and turn there is a lot of weight transfer. If your turning right the right side is going to lose weight and the left side is going to gain weight. It could be that the weight transfer causes the joint to move around as compared to neutral weight and that this affects them...same with braking causing joint movement. Wouldn’t hurt to put a wrench on them and inspect them.