gmv93

Dear friends, there is a newly developed problem/sound on 97 zj laredo.

when turning steering wheel from where ever it sits at that moment, wether car is stopping or moving, especially to left, fsuspension elements or just the right wheel knuckle makes "thump" sound. I also can feel it with my foot on the floor of car. It is faint but i can feel.

I checked all elements while a friend was turning steering wheel and car was shut off. It was still there. and definitely coming from right front wheel. It seemed coming from inside wheel, so i got close when i was lying under car, it makes a sound like a high tension steel plate released after removing tension on it instantly. We removed wheel and heard no sound when no load on that axle.what can be the reason? I really have no idea.

drakan1908

sounds like the track bar bushing might be wore out.

gmv93

when i was under the car, and when steering wheel was turned, sound can be heard close to front right wheel. Closest thing is track bar there.

Track bar bushing is new,it is red colored, prothane branded. But this sound developed recently. Two days ago. How can i understand if bushing is not good without removing it? Can there be another reason for this like steering wheel linkages or similar?

There are no handling issues like roll feeling, sway feeling during cornering and no sound when driving what ever the road condition is(like it had before i replaced all bushings in front suspension), pavement asphalt or rough terrain.

joethepartier

Might want to check the wheel bearing if you just replaced all of the wheel bearings. Also check the cv (or U) joint depending on what you have.

2Evil4U

On my 2wd, after I did the rear main seal, (I had dropped the track bar to get oil pan clearance, the bolt loosened up and it would shift slightly in the mount when turning the wheel with the front end on the ground and make a horrid clunking noise. It wouldn't do it when it was on a jack.

I tightened the offending bolt and the problem went away.

gmv93

thanks for opinions. i will check one by one. something seems loose but not broken...yet . may be track bar, may be something else.

i feel, sound and feeling getting louder and evident each day i drive and it makes me wonder if something is getting more loose.

gmv93

i checked front suspension and steering elements... steering seemed loose to me and noise was getting worse, it turned out to be a loose bolt for track bar bushing.. . tightening it solved the problem and cured loose steering wheel feeling. false alarm.