I have a 99xj has about 260 thousand miles. I can hear a rumbling coming from I believe the two front wheels. So I thought that the noise would be the wheel bearings so I checked them by jacking it up and trying to test for any wiggling but there isn't any. Can the wheel bearings be bad even though there's not a wobble to them? Also the jeep keeps on pulling to the left. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it or not.

 

Yup. You need new hub bearings if they are the original ones. The weight of the Jeep is giving you the sound. Messing with them with no load on them will only show if they are dangerously shot.

You probably need an alignment, have a low tire, or a bad tire to make it pull. Or your suspension parts need to be replaced. Probably do since it has a bunch of miles on it.

 

Great thanks Diskman, I already have them on order, hopefully they are the right ones.. I know there are two types that come with the XJ. I just got new tires so probably not them. I have had the jeep for a year now and it has been pulling pretty much this whole time. When I got it I had a bad case of the death wobble..Got that fixed by getting a new steering stabilizer and a new tie rod end put in. What suspension part would be lacking to cause it to pull to the left?

 

Did you get alignment after rod ends? Pulling could also be sticky caliper

 

Most likely.. All of the original suspension parts..


Dont XJs borrow the front suspension layout from Ford? Ford front ends are aweful.

 

Yep I have had a couple of alignments since I got it and one just in December. I'll check the caliper when I replace the bearings. So you think I need to replace all of them? Any idea about how much that would cost, discman?

 

Back up your blanket statement with facts and scientific comparisons, please. Be sure to include links and cite your sources.

If you can't do that, please retract that statement.

 

If you replace the caliper you should do them in sets. Both fronts or both rears. They can be like $30-100 a piece at the parts store. Depends what you want to spend.

This bearing came off of mine. No noise no wiggle. They can be deceiving.




That's supposed to be one piece in case you're wondering.

 

I think when I did mine last summer I paid about $70 for the 3 tie rod ends. Check with your local parts store, they're pretty cheap parts. Make sure to get an alignment when your done or take really good measurements.

 

Lol. Not retracting statement. EVERY late 80s to current F and E series with the IFS fails. HARD. I had the luxury of paying for a few to be repaired. Loved the truck, but repairing the front suspension was a hassle.

Simply find any F or E with IFS and eyeball the camber. Guarantee it's gonna be out of spec.

Even had the pleasure of replacing most of the front end on my old mans very low milage F350 motorhome.




Ford makes a crappy front end. Period. Taurus to F / E series.

 

Yo, Disko, please explain how a Ford twin beam compares to an XJ??

 

Indeed. I don't recall a Ford that uses a solid axle with coil springs, but there could be one I suppose.

I've never had to replace anything on my '98 Expedition, which now has about 134K miles on it. I think it has had 2 alignments in its life. The tires wear evenly. I bought this truck brand new and still have it.

I had to replace everything excluding the ball joints on my '97 Silverado. Later I had to replace the steering box due to excess slack. This happened with about 142K miles on it. I bought this truck used.

So in my experience, Ford vs Chevrolet the Ford has the better front end. A lot of it may come down to how they are treated.