New to the forum so I'm not sure if this post is in the right place.

I have a 1996 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4 door 4WD 6cyl. When I make sharp turns, hit a medium sized bump, or turn the wheels to their maximum turning angle, I hear a super loud pop. Sometimes it's 1 pop sometimes it's three. Then when I turn the wheel the other way it usually pops the same number of times. I bought the Jeep with this problem so I don't know how long it has been doing this.

I have tested all the ball joints thoroughly by following multiple online tutorials. All are strong and secure (I had two people watching the ball joints and watched them myself and there was no bad movement).

I have tested the u-joints on the both ends. I grabbed and shook them but they were rock solid. I turned the wheels all the way and spun the tire to see if it would lock up but they did not (did that to both sides). Also visually inspected them, they looked just fine, the rubber was still there and they weren't mangled or anything.

I have replaced all the tie rod ends (inners and outers) after my dad said he felt them moving. But no luck, popping is still there.

I have replaced the track bar because it seemed to be moving. After taking it out I saw the ball joint that connected it to the frame was wasted so I replaced the whole bar. Again, no luck and no change in the popping.

I have pushed and pulled on tons of parts on the front end and checked them out visually but nothing seemed broken, loose, bent, or anything like that. But I don't really know what to look for.

Does anyone have any idea what it could be? I am totally at a loss and am gonna probably take it to a mechanic to see what they can do.

Please help, thanks.

 

Hate to ask a stupid question, but did you put it on jack stands and check for play with the wheel off the ground? Rock the wheels side to side then up and down and check for play if you did not have the wheels off the ground when you checked.

Also, how about wheel bearings? Again, put the heep in the air and test for play.

 

Yeah it was up on jack stands while I tested the u joints and ball joints. Did exactly what you said and several other tests.

Don't know about the wheel bearings. Could those be popping really loud?

 

Can't say with certainty if they would.. on initial reaction I would suspect U Joints. Sorry I couldn't of more assistance. Maybe someone else will be able to chime in.

 

Tighten the 4 bolts that hold the TB bracket to the frame.

Even if you see no movement........even if you think they are tight............tighten them.

 

Tada!!!!!

You beat me Quickdraw.

 

Don't mean to bump the post but your suggestion worked perfectly. The popping is now gone. Thanks a ton man!

 

Bump nothing.

I'm thrilled you responded. Myself and many others have been harping on this for years only to have folks think we're prime candidates for the insane asylum.
This was such an issue on NEW XJs that we took to tightening those bolts in the pre-delivery inspection so we wouldn't have customer complaints down the road. Thanks again for helping drive home an important point!