I have been searching this subject for some time now and have not come up with an answer

In the past few weeks my 98 has developed a creaking noise when nearing full lock to the right and a clicking feeling at the steering wheel at the start of a turn in either direction. I knew i needed new hubs and a new u joint on the PS axle so I changed them out hoping it would cure the problem. It had no effect on the problem so that is when I started searching for other possible causes. I have checked all the bolts related to the steering and suspension and everything is properly torqued and I can not see any cracks near the steering box or track bar frame mount. I wont say they are not any, just that I can not see any.

I really don't like throwing money at a problem in hopes that it will go away, I would rather find the problem then fix it properly so I am looking for help in diagnosing this. The noise near full lock is sort of like a creaking door hinge, and sounds to be coming from near the DS firewall. The popping at the steering wheel is more of a feeling and not something you can actually hear, but if you stick your head under the dash and slightly turn the wheel with the engine off you can hear it clicking.

I am working 12 hour day shifts for the next few days so I wont be able to get video or try any of the diagnosis suggestions till probably Wednesday.

More info about my XJ
1998 4 door Sport
3" Zone AAL lift
new front hubs
New u joints every where
235/75R15 tires on Canyon rims
2x6x3/16" rocker panels
Frame patch on drivers side just behind the lower control arm mount. The patch was for a hole that had been poked through by a rock or something, not due to a stress crack or rust.

I have been putting off larger tires till I got all the u joints and bearings replaced, still need to do the rear axle bearings, but no noises are coming from them. The Jeep has right around 200,000 miles on the clock.

Thanks for any help, I really hope I can pinpoint this on my next set of days off.

 

Check your steering dampener and your tie rods as well as the steering column. There are 2 mini u joints in the column on the engine bay side. One at the steering gear box and one further up behind a rubber boot.

 

The tie rod ends were new last fall, so they "should" be good but I will check them again on Wednesday.

Two quick questions about the steering shaft. Are the u joints serviceable? And is there a difference between tilt and not tilt shafts? I did grab the shaft and gave it a shake last night when I got home from work and to me there is a fair amount of play in it. I found an XJ in the JY last weekend, but I don't know if it has tilt steering or not, but I know mine does.

 

I could have sworn i saw them on a website months ago but I can't find the little u joints now... They do sell replacement shafts but personally i would probably go get one out of a junk yard. What i am seeing is around 80 bucks for a dorman replacement and 270 bucks for a heavy duty upgrade. Just make sure the looseness/noise you are feeling/hearing is actually from the shafts 2 u joints and not coming from your gear box instead. I am not sure if there is another joint inside for the tilt wheel.

Edit:
Well it seems they don't make a replacement shaft past 97... or at least i can't find... here is a link to the upgrade version , junk yard is prob your best option for a stock replacement
http://www.4wheelparts.com/Brakes-St...t_pn=BUC000893

 

I gave the shaft a quick shake last night after a long 12 hour shift with no sleep the night before, but the play seemed to be coming from the upper end and not the lower. Tomorrow I am only working an 8 hour shift so I will check to see where the play is coming from. The JY I have been going to seems to sell everything for $25 if you remove the parts yourself

Right now it drives fine, no excess play in the steering, no death wobbles or bump steering, it is just the gawd awful noise when backing in or out of a parking spot, or any other time i need to go to or near full lock to the right. There is a little bit of noise at full lock to the left, but you literally have to be at full lock to get it and it is very soft. This noise is not pump whine either.

There is a little up and down play in the steering wheel, but I had always associated that with the tilt steering, but the more I think about it and check out other cars, I have more play than they do.

Update:
I just took the time before heading to work to check the intermediate shaft again and it looks like the play is at the steering box end The more I look into this the more it looks like I will be hunting for a replacement steering box. Now to start weighing the options, OEM, Durango, or S10 steering boxes from the JY or break the bank and start saving up for a new one It is a real pain for a shorter person (5'8") to try diagnose this by them self. Everything is just out of reach, either i can grab the steering wheel or the intermediate shaft, but not both at the same time

 

Check to see if your spacer (behind steering box) is broken. That can cause a pretty nasty sound at times. Also, I don't know if you have an aftermarket trac-bar but if so, those brackets can come loose and pop over time. I would first make sure everything is as tight as you can get them.

I tried to go the Durrango route, ordered a box online, got an XJ box in the mail. Lol apparently alot of people do that mod. In any case, the new XJ box has worked great. While you are in there (if you go that route), definitely upgrade that stock spacer. They are cheap.

You don't have anyone who can turn the wheel for you while sitting still? Even if you might not hear it from inside the cab, movement/light noise might point you in the correct direction.

 

Totally forgot about the spacer lol. If it turns out to be that, here is what I am currently running as a replacement:
http://www.jcroffroad.com/product/XJSTSPC.html

Get a second pair of hands to help you if you end up having to go this route. Pain in the rear to get the bolts to line up by yourself

 

It has been awhile since I have had any time to spend any time under the Jeep. Yesterday I managed to get a few hours, in the rain, to do some work on it. With a very bright light I was able to see that the lower most rearward loop in the spacer is cracked and it is not a small crack either. It was caked it dirt and grime even though I had degreased and pressure washed the whole area a week before, guess I missed that spot.

I don't know if that is the cause of the noise, but I have 3 more days off this week so I hope to get the spacer out and make a new one out of some steel I have kicking around. I have about 1 square feet of 3/16" plate steel and maybe 4" of 1" round stock to build with. Once i get the old spacer out I can piece it back together to make a template, cut out and drill the plate steel, then turn down the round stock and bore it on the lathe. The only thing I am missing is my welder. I lent it to my brother so I will have to go pick that up before I start the job.

I am going to try do this without actually taking the steering box all the way out. I am hoping that I can remove the bolts and just shuffle the steering box over enough to drop the spacer and all its pieces. Then weld up the new one and slide it back up into place.

While I have the steering box moved I will look for frame cracks under it.

 

After two days of fighting and dodging down pours, I think I have the front end noise solved. I ended up having to remove the steering box completely because 2 of the 3 bolts snapped. Once I got the box out rthe spacer was actually in 7 pieces and I made it 9 when I hammered the spacer off the broken bolts. The bolts broke at the spacer not the steering box and with the remains of the spacer removed the broken bolts came out easy with a rounded bolt remover.

The frame is solid, I gave it a good going over while I laid under the jeep contemplating lifting the steering box back into place by myself. All I could find were a couple surface rust spots so I cleaned them up, primed, painted and under coated them while they were easy to access.

I still have a bit of air in the system as of last night, but I have a bottle of power steering fluid in the cargo area to top it off as needed.

DIY steering box spacer. If you want to try it my advice is don't. I am pretty handy and make a lot of things. I thought the steering box spacer would be a breeze. While not too hard to make, making it right takes some serious layout skills and proper tools. The spacers I made are functional, but not even close enough to being good enough for pictures Yes I said spacers, I made two. One for a RHD Cherokee and one for a LHD. That was not my intention. I got interrupted a few times while making the first spacer and started rushing to beat an incoming thunder storm. I could see it getting close and never double checked what side of the plate I was welding the standoffs to That spacer would have been good enough for pictures. The second one I was already a day behind and even though i double and triple checked the stand off location, I misplaced the drill chuck for my lathe and had to drill the standoffs on the drill press. This led to one hole being 1/4" out and I had to ream all three holes to get the spacer to fit. I plan on building my own bumpers this fall. or just ordering the JRC DIY winch bumper. What ever path I follow I will be replacing my home brew spacer with something like the JRC tie ins and spacer.

I will give an update in a week or so on whether or not the noise returns.

 

Day two and still no noise and the fluid level seems to be holding fine. What a difference a little piece of metal can make to how a vehicle handles, the steering is much more precise and solid feeling now. So glad I didn't drop the $100 on a JY steering box only to find out I could fix the problem for free. Well OK it wasn't really free, but it was money I had spent a couple years ago and it did take me 26 hours to pull the box, fab the spacer, reinstall everything and put on my fender flares. What it does mean is that $100 is still in my pocket right now and I can use it to buy fuel to go wheeling this weekend.

Thanks for the help people

 

Well the noise returned yesterday morning when I turned in to the parking space at work I am hoping that I just need to re torque the bolts. I have almost no hours at work next week, off the next 4 days, so if going over everything I had off or disconnected to replace the spacer doesn't cure the noise again I may just have to give up and take it to a professional

I am going to use the one thing at a time and test drive method. First check the three bolts for the box, and if that makes no difference I will move out from there till I find the source, I hope. at least I know I shouldn't have to worry about breaking bolts or have to go through a can of penetrating oil this time

 

I found the source of my front end noise, that creaking near full lock to the right. It turned out to be nothing more than my steering stabilizer

The Jeep was parked for a month while I was waiting on new rear shackles to arrive, so I never got a chance to test drive to make sure my repair worked till the last few days. Been driving it for a week now and no noise.

After double checking all the bolts, and greasing everything again, I broke out the penetrating oil and started giving everything that couldn't be greased a shot. First thing I hit, by accident, was the old stabilizer shaft. I was aiming for the inboard mount for it, and since I wanted to check everything individually I crawled out from under it and took a test drive. No noise for 12 hours then it came back, sprayed the shaft again and the noise went away instantly. When I ordered the stabilizer I also ordered new shackles and leaf spring bushings. I got the stabilizer right away, but waited almost a month for the shackles to come it. Only problem was I has already torn the old shackles off and burned out the old bushings, so I was Jeepless while I waited.

I now have a RE stabilizer bolted in place. The noise is gone and the steering feel is 100% better. The old stabilizer had no damping and would get sticky as you got to the end of its travel. I never saw a drop of fluid come out of it and the body was always dry in the time I have owned the XJ. It must have did the fluid dump while the previous owner had it and my actually driving it off road got some grit into it to cause the noise