megahunt

Ok guys here is my issue. Well more my Fiencee's issue but I have to fix it so its mine as well...

2004 Grand Cherokee 4.0L 4X4 130,000ish miles.
Parts Ive replaced:
Swaybar bushings front and rear,
Swaybar links front and rear,
Shocks,
Upper and Lower control arms front and rear,
Ball joint thing on top of the rear diff for the upper control arm,
Upper and lower ball joints and Hubs,

Im sure theres more but I cant think of anymore right now. After all of that this thing still pops and cracks hitting the smallest bumps. Going over railroad tracks no matter how slow, it sounds like the suspension is coming off it. I am completely at witts end with this truck. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I hope its just me overlooking something simple. I will say that I am about to replace all u-joints and pray that is the issue, but the way my luck is going its not..

Please Help!!!
Chris

cap'n cook

what about the track bar ball joint?

megahunt

I did all of the tie rod ends and steering stabilizer as well but not sure about a Track bar ball joint? I will have to look that up never heard of that. If it was a replaceable joint I probably replaced it.

megahunt

Oh and while doing front brakes tonight found out the axle seal on the front passenger side is leaking.. From what I could tell those are inboard seals correct? Meaning I have to pull the gears to get to the seals?

megahunt

Oh and while doing front brakes tonight found out the axle seal on the front passenger side is leaking.. From what I could tell those are inboard seals correct? Meaning I have to pull the gears to get to the seals?

megahunt

Also did the upper and lower coil dampners on all 4 springs. Ive got a good chunk of change into this Jeep with ZERO upgrades, and as of right now its all for nothing.. She doesnt want it lifted or anything or I would have done that instead of keeping it stock..

stitch702

Too bad she doesn't want it lifted. I had the worst death wobble and suspension popping I ever witnessed and decided to order a complete long arm kit. After installing it and replacing every bushin and upgrading my steering I haven't had a case of death wobble to date!!! Good luck though

dave1123

The track bar mounts to the axle with a bushing and the other end mounts to the frame with a ball joint. What do the shock absorber bushings look like?

fishbone

Where is the noise coming from? Front or Rear? Left or Right? All those parts you replaced, did they need to be replaced? Chasing a problem will only frustrate the heck out of you and drain your wallet as it seems to already have done. You really should be checking these components before replacing them. I had a problem on the front end once where a hairline crack developed in a coil spring that drove me absolutely crazy trying to find. However, my ball joints were good, tie rods were good, bushings were good, sway bar end links were good.........no reason to replace them. I did not find this problem until it finally manifested itself a complete break in the spring. Also had a similar problem once on a Daytona where a hairline crack developed on a trailing arm. Both of these problems gave the same symptoms. Perhaps this helps but dude don't keep throwing money at it.

Kingfisher

What he said!


Make a bump out of a 2x4 or something. Lay down beside it and let someone drive over it.

ScottTheEngineer

is the exhaust loose?

megahunt

All the shock bushings are new as the shocks were just replaced and upgraded under warrenty.. the shocks were about 1 year old and had about 15000 miles if that on them and 3 of the 4 were shot.. Granted they wernt the best in the world (Monroe Sensatrak) but at the same time im not gonna put Bilstin 5100's on there either..

The noises seem to be coming from everywhere!! Both front and back, havent pinpointed left, right or both yet. When this weather clears up I will get out there and try to do that. The exhaust is tight, I know that one of the little rattles that she had was the heat shield was loose and sitting on top of the pipe. When I found that I grabbed the pipe and shook it just to check and all was good.

jmonts

In a WJ no. Bushings on both ends. Unless your talking about the rear A-arm.

Do you feel it in the steering wheel? Is it more thumping or popping?

megahunt

On the small bumps that you cant even feel you can hear it popping. The suspension does its job of dampening road bumps, its just doing it very loud like.. The steering is the typical Chrysler drift but no you cant feel anything popping or thumping.

A buddy at work told me to look at the body mounts. If those bushings are bad you would hear it with most every bump.. So I guess I will look into those as well.. Thanks for the help so far

dave1123

Don't waste your time looking for body mounts. There are none. That's why they call it uni-body. Check your tailpipe. It might be touching the side of the fuel tank shield. I know this may sound stupid, but check under the rear seat and your spare tire well for loose jack or tools.

It's got to be something simple. My '00 WJ has 153K on it with the original control arm bushings and tie rod ends and shocks that are so rusty that you can't tell who made them, but it is as solid as a rock. No rattles or popping even over railroad tracks. All you can hear is the thumping of the tires. It doesn't even stutter going over washboard dirt roads. It actually amazes me how solid it is.