birdnerd

Little data first.....the problem/daily driver jeep is a 94 4dr 4L 5spd with a 4" lift. The problem started when I swapped in a front end from my old jeep (1988) that has 3:55 gears. Be fore any questions, I will be swapping in the D44 with matching gears. Everything was good for about a week till I had an alignment done. Now every time I turn to the left and only the left the thing groans like fat man getting off the toilet. I'm at a loss. There is no visible sign of damage on anything and the parts are all nice and stiff.
Any I'm put would be appreciated.

dans98xj

Is the front drive shaft still connected? The 1988 has a disconnect front axle. If the front shaft is still connected and the passenger side axle is connected it may be sending bad vibes into the case from the mismatched gears.

birdnerd

There is no front drive shaft in the jeep. But the front end is out of a new xj, it's a non disconnect

dans98xj

Oh ok. I thought you put the old axle in the newer jeep. If it is only groaning on the left side you might have a bad wheel bearing on that side. jack up that tire and shake it at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock and see if there is any excessive movement at the wheel bearing.

birdnerd

Well the hub units were shot, I replaced both of them. It didn't seem to fix the noise. If I rock the jeep it seems to make same noise. It sounds like a bushing. I will have a friend over tomorrow to help me identify where exactly it is coming from.

Reble

When I did my 6.5 lift I forgot to lube my bushing. I could push on any corner and get it to start rocking and it would do the same moaning you are describing.

I lubed all my bushings and after 5 minutes on the road it's as quiet as a mouse.

birdnerd

Bloody hell i didnt even think of lubing everything up during assembly. I assume a silicone grease is good. Question now is can I use a spray now or do I need to pull it apart and use a paste?

Bustedback

Replace the sway bar frame mount bushings. My ZJ made groaning noises like you described and I installed some poly sway bar bushings on it with silicone grease applied to the inside. No more noise.