Starting about two months ago, I noticed I had a small grinding sound coming from my XJ's front end. The grinding only occurred from a complete stop. It first was a brief grinding noise, but little by little the grinding noise has become longer and more harsh. The grinding now is throughout all of first gear and into the shift of second gear. At this point I'm scared to take off fast because it feels like something is going to break at any time. At least if something breaks I'll know what's wrong, but I would like to fix it before I'm left stranded somewhere. Would bearings sound or feel like this?

 

Anyone... I noticed today when I make a left hand turn I hear grinding. The harder the left hand turn, the worse the grinding.

 

It sounds like it might be a hub. After driving a bit, check for heat in the center of the front wheels.

 

x2

 

I finally got the money to replace the hubs, bearings and u-joints. The grinding quieted down and as almost done for two or three days but now it's back to the way it was. At WOT the grinding is constant until I let of the throttle. There's a lot of grinding and I hope I find it before something fails and I'm stuck on the side of the road. Next I'm going to replace all the motor mounts and trans mount. Any other suggestions?

 

did u replace the axle shaft u joints

 

yes I did. They were still good but I replaced them anyways.