jedijeb

I have an 85xj and need to replace the unit hub and ujoints in the D30. I read somewhere there are either ball bearing units or tapered units and the rotors also depend on which is installed. Seems they mentioned that the tapered used the cast rotors which I thought were what are on my Jeep, but when looking up bearings on NAPA the lower priced ones are listed as having ball bearings. Just wondering if anyone would know if I need to make sure I get one or the other to match up correctly as I know some autoparts store websites are not always correct.

I will post some pics later, these are the original ujoints and hubs that are 29 years old. The passenger side is gonna be a bear to get the ujoints out of, can't even make out where the caps end and the axle begins.

jedijeb

Some photos to go along with the above post.

Passengers side




Drivers side, not as bad, ujoint still functional and hub rotates little rough but doesn't spin freely.


Thought this was interesting also, there is not shield/slinger on the driver's side shaft(not sure if there is supposed to be or not) and it looks like someone coated the end of the axle tube and onto the shaft with blue silicone.


I have found that NAPA sells the SKF units as their upper quality parts which I have found decent reviews on. I don't know if anyone local sells Timken or not, will look into that tomorrow. Since right now the roughest use is in light snow or some muddy back roads going fishing I will probably just go with the SKF ones unless someone here has bad experiences with them.

jedijeb

An update on the front repairs.

I picked up the SKF hubs from NAPA. First time I got one that was the wrong hub, the box was correct but the hub inside was the cheaper part when I looked at the part numbers on the edge of the hub. Returned it and got the right one the next day. They still look different, and after looking at the boxes, one is made in USA the other made in Spain.


There are a little differences but both look to have the same quality.






USA on the left, Spain on the right.

The Jeep drives a lot smoother now, no chirping or tugging on the steering wheel. Only thing I notice now is that when I turn the wheel about 2/3 to lock when backing out of a parking space I hear a loud click/pop sound, about like hitting the diff cover really hard with the handle of a screw driver. It won't pop again until you have turned it the same amount the other way, sometimes it will pop multiple times while the wheels are moving. It seemed to start after the repair, but I haven't had a chance to get someone else to walk in front of it as I back up to try to locate exactly where it is coming from. Everything was torqued to spec, even the hub nuts to 175ftlb.

I didn't pull the CAD cover when reinstalling the passenger's side shaft, could there be something misaligned in there? It seems to engage when putting it into 4wd without any problems. I was wondering if it could be something with the bearing in the end of the outer shaft? Or could sitting on jack stands for two weeks have messed up the track bar end or something like that?

I bought the Jeep to have something to keep me busy at night instead of sitting around watching TV, and it is for sure doing that lol.

sycoglitch

You did you hub bearin, you should have done the u joints one time so you don't have to open everything again to do the joints

jedijeb

Forgot to mention the ujoints. I did those too, but forgot to take photos of the new ones before installing them. Put in the Precision greasable ones from OReilly's(Federal Mogul). The axles cleaned up really well at the ears after we finally got the old joints driven out.

Oh and found out what was weird looking about the driver's side axle tube. The shield ring that goes on the axle to keep dirt out of the tube, was siliconed to the axle tube instead of being on the shaft lol.

md21722

The noise backing out of a parking space may be the track bar. With all wheels on the ground, have someone turn the steering wheel lock to lock while looking at both the frame side and the axle side of the track bar. I wouldn't be surprised if you saw one side or the other move at the stops. It could also be other things like sway bar bushings/links, etc.

jedijeb

I am leaning that way too. At first I thought maybe it was the grease fitting hitting something since they are on the end of one of the caps, but I don't see any damage or shiny spots from metal on metal contact.

Parsnip

The popping is more then likely the steering stabilizer nut binding against the drag link

crabmushrooms5

Check your nut has not come loose. Or have someone turn the wheel while you look underneath

jedijeb

Removed the stabilizer just before the oil leak mentioned elsewhere, didn't stop the noise, I was hoping it would but no luck. I picked up a new track bar, probably needs replacing anyhow since it is nearly 30 years old, just trying to figure out how to get the the cotter pin out, difficult to see it clearly from underneath and I broke my needle nose pliers. Probably will be easier to just remove the bracket. If that doesn't fix it then tie rods next, then ball joints.

Only 150k miles on it, but 29 years old and after sitting in one spot for about 7 years I imagine most of those parts need replacing.

jedijeb

Little update:

I replaced the track bar and the popping sound is still there. I had my Dad walk beside it while I made it pop and he said it sounded like it was coming from the passengers wheel.

We turned the steering while it was sitting still with both the engine off and running and it made no sound. Jacked it up and spun the wheel and not sound. Removed the wheel and turned the hub by hand and it felt perfectly smooth. Removed the brake caliper and rotor and inspected everything and all looks ok. One of the anti rattle clips does have the tip broke off where it makes the 90* bend but everything seems to still be tight, and it was like that before I changed bearings so I don't think that is the cause. It sounds almost exactly like a u-joint popping but it is a new joint and full of grease, and turning it by hand while turning the steering didn't show any signs of binding.

Could the bearing be moving slightly in and out when the side load is there with the wheel turned?

If it is at the 3/4 to lock turn position, it will pop sometimes multiple times until you turn the wheel more or less, that makes it stop. If you turn it more than 3/4 turn it doesn't pop as you move back through that position to centered. If you then turn it 3/4 turn to the opposite direction it will pop again. It seems very specific to the angle the wheel is turned and it also seems louder if you are in reverse than forward.

I haven't been able to pull the CAD yet to see if something there is misaligned, could something there cause the noise?

It seems to drive ok, but I would like to solve this and make it quiet again.

md21722

Have you inspected the ball joints?

jedijeb

I jacked it up and tried to move the wheel with my hands at 12 and 6 and it didn't even shake. I thought ball joints too, but it only seems to do it when moving is why I am thinking bearing, but still not certain.

SteveMongr

Looks like a homemade version of axle tube seals, or the tubes have been 'sleeved' internally.