Just as the title implies, I've got this knock when I take tight turns, like when I turn around in the middle of the street, or tight turns into a parking spot. Doesn't happen all the time, but most.All u-joint are new, ball joints are new, steering is new. Put CavFan 1 ton on a little over a year ago. Happened before and after that. Track bar seems tight. Thanks an older RE bar. PS upper control arm mount has been repaired and braces. That was cracked. Thought it could've been that. Upper arms are new RE arms. Lowers are still junk RC arms, but they seem tight. Steering box has a new spacer and is tight. I had that apart when I did my bumper 2 years ago. New bumper came with frame reinforcement plates, so new bolts go through that, through a new Iron Rock spacer, and are tight in the steering box. Box also has a weld in brace going to PS frame.

I'm at a loss here. I was a mechanic for years. I'm not stranger to diagnosing suspension woes. It does have a locker in the front. I replaced the rusty old cover and changed fluid recently. Thought maybe by some chance, something was going on in there. No chunks in the fluid, no chips or broken teeth that I noticed. Also, when I did u-joint, I obviously had the axles out. All splines were good.

Anyone else run into this? Could it just be a cheap and noisy locker? I didn't install it, it was in the Jeep when I bought it. Admittedly, my experience with lockers in Jeep's is limited. I've always run open or just a limited slip in the rear. The tires don't bark on turns like it's locking up, so I kinda don't think it's related to the locker. It sounds like something is knocking on the frame, but I can't figure it out.

 

There is a high possibility that your track bar bracket to frame rail bolts need tightening.
Gotta just do it. The factory torque spec was too low. Don't worry about the spec. Tighten the **** out of them just cuz.

 

"Don't worry about the spec. Tighten the **** out of them just cuz." - Cruiser54

my new signature... :-)

 

LOL!! The back story on that is when the XJs were new, through 1992 when I left the dealership, that was a huge issue.
Way earlier than that, after finding out what the issue actually was, we put a 3 foot breaker bar on those bolts and had the fattest guy in the shop hang on the breaker bar. Got almost quarter turn out of the bolts.

When I left in 1992, the fat guy still had great job security.

That procedure was implemented as part of our Pre-Delivery Inspection and no more customer complaints to deal with.

 

Ok. I did put an 18" or so ratchet on it and crank it down to check tightness. I guess I'll have to grab my 4 ft Strap-On breaker bar. I rarely use it because it only has 2 settings:Really ****ing tight and broke. Lol.

 

I don’t know how long you have owned the XJ but I just installed an Aussie locker and it sounds just like you described while turning corners.

 

What do you mean by "seems tight"
I had a front end knock for a few weeks recently and I was convinced my track bar to bracket bolt was tight. Tightened it anyway and I got about half a turn tightened and it went away

 

Yup. Very common result. IF you do it................

 

I bought it with the locker installed already, so I'm not sure what brand it is, but I did read somewhere that a locker could possibly be the cause of the knock I'm hearing. I'm just trying to see who else has experienced what, so I can look at any area I may have overlooked. It drives ok, it's just annoying, and definitely makes me look at me like it's broken when I take a turn and it does it. Lol.

 

Had the same issue, my outer tierods would pop and bang, i upgraded them to the "heavy duty" ones and my problem was resolved then and there

 

lol indeed, I think you mean Snap-On

 

I know for a fact it's not my tie rods though. It did it before with stock steering, and then I upgraded to Cavfab 1 ton steering to correct my death wobble. Nothing changed other than the death wobble went away.

 

Lol. Same thing. I always called them Strap-On. They make good tools, but they definitely break out the old Strap-On when it comes to price. Crazy thing with Snap-On is, my friend worked in a machine shop in PA. They made various tools for many different companies. One of those companies was Snap-On. Same steel, same machining, same company producing them, but different label, and much bigger price. But people out there will act like they're made of solid gold and anything less is poor people tools. Lol.

 

Have you tightened the track bar to frame rail bolts yet?

 

It drives me crazy enough that I am ready to put spider gears back in to keep from hearing it. I have a Spartan LSD in the front with no noise and I am contemplating installing an LSD in the rear.