I've got a rattling sound coming from the driver's side wheel. Thought maybe it was the sway-bar disconnect (it was loose) but tightened it down and the rattle's still there. Something in the steering? Suspension? Wheel bearing?

 

Its hard to say, when does this happen? How often?

 

All the time. Seems to increase in frequency with wheel speed.

 

ujoint? could be a dried up u-joint head rattling in the cap.

 

Head? ... Cap? ... When I think of u-joints I think of... well, "U's" for starters , then the little + thingy inside them, and maybe some bearings. What is this head and cap you speak of?

 

Are you just telling me to lube it up? Cuz I can totally do that.

 

that's what she said..... i'm sorry i couldn't help it

What i meant, and i don't know the technical term for them, is the u-joints on the axle shafts. The cross shaped joint you can see through the knuckle. The have caps on each end and inside the caps are needle bearings wrapped around the u-joint end or what i call a "head". The bearings wear down and turn to dust if there's no grease and they u-joint is offically "toasted". So without the bearings, the "head" of the u-joint rattles around in there until you give it a chance to "snap crackle pop".

One way to check this is to jack up that corner and turn the tire back and forth and listen for the rattle or look at the joint for play. Sometimes there is no play and the only way to check is to remove the axle shaft and bend it at the joint.



http://www.stu-offroad.com/axle/ujoint4/u-joint4-3.jpg

This would cause a rattle cuz there's no needle bearings left:
http://dodgeram.org/tech/repair/U_jo...d_ujoint15.jpg

 

Hmm... I'll lube it up ( ) and see what that does, then jack it up and spin the tire. Hopefully I can pinpoint it and fix it before something DOES go snap, crackle, pop.

 

Could be your brake pads are rattling around I think their is anti rattle clips they could be loose or missing.

 

True if the axle u-joints go dry lubing them won't last long. They need to be replaced. As soon as they get dry they start wearing on the cross in the center of the joint and by the time you hear them they may have already lost some of the needle bearings from the cup.
Sry to hear the Jeep needs this but is a good time to inspect the u-joints and the actual axle shafts and the unit bearings. The unit bearings can make a sound when they are going out but I would describe it as a scraping sound and not a rattle. HTH
Blue

 

I just installed new pads, so that's a definite possibility. I'll have to hang my head out the window and see if there's any change when I apply the brakes.

I realize lubing the u-joints after the fact won't really help, but if it quiets the noise for a few miles then I'll know it's the u-joints. But now that he mentioned the anti-rattle clips, I'm leaning towards that. I'll let you know what I find.

 

older xj's have anti-rattle clips on them? Mine don't....

 

Rock Auto shows them for my 96, and TeamCherokee shows them for all 90-01 XJs.

 

i had a problem that i think was similar and it was my ujoint in the drive shaft not the one behind the wheel.

 

I'm sorry if this sounds stupid, but could it be a center cap rattling around when you drive?? Just wanted to bring that up, not trying to be an idiot!! HTH!!