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Alignment and crunching noises! Fun!

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Old May 3, 2011 | 01:19 AM
  #1  
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Default Alignment and crunching noises! Fun!

Allright so ill point out why im a dumbass here first and the cause of the issues. My alignment has been off for quite some time but not majorly. My jeep pulled to the right ever since i got it but it was manageable to me. Recently i was driving by a wedding and being oregon it had rained profusely hours before and the wedding couple was stuck in the mud with their lil lincoln town and country. It was their special day and i just couldnt leave em.

So i decided to pull them out. There was nothing to hook up to on the back of my jeep its all stock and no tow hitch. So she hooked up to the front. She said she hooked it up to the sway bar. But im thinking it was most likely the tie rod. Got them out of the mud but now i notice my tires while i have hte wheel straight the right tire is straight but hte left tire is sticking WAY out to the left. When turning left there is slight noise but when making right turns there is a noticeable crunching metallic sound. I thought i was dragging something across the road. I cannot see any noticeable damage...

I do not have a job right now and i was wondering if there were any adjustments i could try to make to fix this or at least better identify the real problem. Also would pictures help at all as i can get pictures for you guys if it would help you to diagnose my problem. Its a 92 cherokee laredo 4.0l 2wd automatic...most useless cherokee ever.
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Old May 3, 2011 | 01:34 AM
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pics would help. if they hooked up to the tie rod and you bent it pulling them out, I would think your tires would point inward rather than outward.
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Old May 3, 2011 | 01:36 AM
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I had it hooked to the front tie rod and i was in reverse so pulling back would bend the rod forward and push the tires out but its only that one tire. Ill try to get pics in the morning. Where should ig et picks of. Everything suspension related up front where the problems are?
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Old May 3, 2011 | 08:59 PM
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Dont have access to my camera today. But i took a thorough look around. The bushings on EVERYTHING are cracked and crumbling. The stabilizer bar, the center link, the track bar. Every part that had a rubber bushing on it was just crumbly mess. Could that cause the major misalignment and crunching noises while steering? It also feels like the tires are moving of their own accord while driving.
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Old May 3, 2011 | 09:18 PM
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I'm just wondering why you would pull them out with your tie rod? I would of rather pushed em out
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Old May 3, 2011 | 09:33 PM
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I was wrong. It wasnt the tie rod. I had mom show me where she hooked it up at and it was on the stabilizer bar. And pushing them out was not an option. They were in mud. Nose first up against trees. My jeep is also 2wd so going into the mud was a bad option. Immagine a T And they were on the long part. I was on the top part. Mud on all sides. I know its sad...a jeep that cant handle mud well. So yeah i was pulling them out sideways pretty much.
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Old May 3, 2011 | 09:59 PM
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You probably bent something in the steering assy, which would be a tie rod. Everything in the front practically looks like a bar, so if you don't know the correct name of a part, they are easily confused.

Your best bet is to get a picture of what you hooked the tow rope to.
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Old May 4, 2011 | 07:40 AM
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Old May 4, 2011 | 01:44 PM
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Probably killed the track bar... No job sucks but you might get lucky at a local JY... they can't be that much.
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Old May 4, 2011 | 08:58 PM
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Heres the images.

Thought this might be relevant albeit emberassing. Bumper and cap dented. Bent the side panel snapped the headlight cover off and makes the hood difficult to shut.

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Here you can see how the driverside tire is cocked off even while the passenger is straight.

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Picks of the underside. And the part that i towed with was the stabilizer bar The black bar seen at the top of this image.

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Another pic of the bar that was used for towing.


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Thank you for anyone who takes the time to look and offer any advice or tips to try and figure this out.
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Old May 4, 2011 | 11:58 PM
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Bump...
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Old May 5, 2011 | 12:36 AM
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Could it be wheel bearings maybe? It feels SLIGHTLY like the wheels are wobbling on their own while driving and the grinding or crunching noise is only occuring when turning. It happens more prominently when taking right turns though. Other than a buttload of cancer and alot of worn bushings everything looks ok to me here.
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Old May 5, 2011 | 08:18 AM
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third and last pics seem to show a bent drag link. the stabilizer bar looks ok from the fotos. pic #5 you say "Another pic of the bar that was used for towing" which shows the drag link. You need to look at what is bent under there. You might be ok with adjusting the tie rod to correct your toe-in then adjust the drag link to recenter your steering wheel. I know money is tight but if the bent parts are cracked (not likely) they must be replaced.
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