Need Help...

[Herzog]

What's it sound like in reverse?

I'd say you have a dried up wheel bearing. Buncha old, dry, noisy balls. The wheel bearing, not you.

 

[RockMonkey]

What's it sound like in reverse?

I'd say you have a dried up wheel bearing. Buncha old, dry, noisy balls. The wheel bearing, not you.

It makes no noise in reverse, but it makes no noise in forward either, until 30 MPH or so. I haven't tried the same speed in reverse...

 

[Bart]

So go try it up to 30 mph in reverse and then report back.
My guess is unit bearing also, and if not, it's still a good place to start.

 

[Kevin B.]

So go try it up to 30 mph in reverse and then report back.

And, we're back to fiery crash.

X eleventythree for bearing. If you don't wanna spring for a new one right away, are they symmetrical? Can you swap them left to right?

 

[Kiel]

if you rock the wheel back and forth and it fades in and out. wheel bearing

 

[RockMonkey]

I picked up a Timken and swapped it tonight. That seems to have done the trick. No more noises on that side! Actually, it's so quiet now that I can really notice how much noise is coming from the other side. I probably should just knock that one out too. It's actually got about 180 thousand miles. When I get around to replacing the other hub, do the ball joints at the same time? Is it safe to say they're shot at 180K?

 

[RockMonkey]

The noise came back today! It's on the same side, but seems to come on at a higher speed now. So, if it isn't the wheel bearing or the brakes, what is it? Maybe something inside the differential?

 

[Herzog]

Oh man... that sucks.
What does that CV look like under the rubber boot?

 

[lewis]

I had a similar noise in a 97 Chevy, it was a bearing inside the shaft of the diff. not sure if yours is set up similar

 

[RockMonkey]

Oh man... that sucks.
What does that CV look like under the rubber boot?

I didn't take the boot off when it was apart. I would think the noise would change when I turn if it was the cv.

 

[RockMonkey]

I had a similar noise in a 97 Chevy, it was a bearing inside the shaft of the diff. not sure if yours is set up similar

Yeah, I'm wondering if the noise is in there, and being transferred out to the wheel via the axle shaft.

 

[Herzog]

That's right, forgot about the steering with no change. I could see the axle shaft acting like a big amplifying tuning fork.

 

[bryson]

Knowing you, I'm sure this has been checked, but I'll ask anyways... could it be the dust shield rubbing the rotor? Contaminated brake pad? busted/bent squealer? Are you missing a cat?

 

[RockMonkey]

Knowing you, I'm sure this has been checked, but I'll ask anyways... could it be the dust shield rubbing the rotor? Contaminated brake pad? busted/bent squealer? Are you missing a cat?

It's not the brake pads, since it still made the noise with the pads and caliper removed. The dust shield is not rubbing the rotor, but that doesn't mean that it's not resonating. I'm blissfully cat-free since 2010ish. I'm going to throw it back up on jack stands and get the noise going, then see if I can stop it by pressing on the dust shield. This seems dangerous...

 

[dash]

Have you thought to just tear apart the front end all together and look for wear. Sounds are tricky because they can travel. Also i was told by a few friends that zj front ends like to blowup on occasion because they are always in 4wd. If it was mine i would check fluids and then go from there. Also look for wear indicators on parts that mesh together or are constantly under load. If all else fails, Gaylon's in Lehi is a pretty good rebuild shop with good prices that can help as well.

 

[RockMonkey]

Have you thought to just tear apart the front end all together and look for wear. Sounds are tricky because they can travel. Also i was told by a few friends that zj front ends like to blowup on occasion because they are always in 4wd. If it was mine i would check fluids and then go from there. Also look for wear indicators on parts that mesh together or are constantly under load. If all else fails, Gaylon's in Lehi is a pretty good rebuild shop with good prices that can help as well.

It's a WJ, not a ZJ. Same basic front axle though. It is always spinning, but not always in four wheel drive. It's a selec-trac, and nearly always in two wheel drive. I would really prefer not to tear the whole thing apart, but if it comes to that I will.

 

[Toad]

This is probably a long shot. Have you checked the cv joint on the front driveline at the t-case. They are notorious for failing.

 

[RockMonkey]

I went to check the dust cover today, and realized it doesn't have them. Soooooo, that's not it.

 

[RockMonkey]

This is probably a long shot. Have you checked the cv joint on the front driveline at the t-case. They are notorious for failing.

That would be affected by speed, but not by turning the wheel, so it might not be such a long shot. It would be a little strange to hear that noise so clearly coming from the driver's side wheel though. Maybe I'll take off the front drive shaft and see if that makes any difference.

It doesn't help that the noise is inconsistent since I swapped the hub. It went several days with no noise after that, and now it only sometimes makes it.

 

[DaveB]

My 02 WJ makes the same noise and when I asked the guys at Six States about it they said they fix lots of them by rebuilding the front axle. They said that what they take out looks fine and they aren't sure why they whine like that. Mine is worse once the warm weather hits.