k4ylr

Alright you gentlemen and scholars. I've got an RE 3.5 kit all around, RockKrawler adjustable arms upper and lower and REs adjustable trackbar and .75 coil spacers up front to level out.

I've noticed that on certain occasions (I can't always recreate the noise) I have a squeak when turning lock to lock that I can't narrow down. I've disco'd the front sway to see if it was the bushings but it still persists. Ball joints appear solid after doing a pry bar test and there doesn't appear to be any leaking from axle seals.

Additionally, I've noticed a clunk that I can feel through the floor when hitting bumps head on, the only seemingly loose cause is that my driver side upper arm has some side to side play in the heim joint on the frame end but the bolt is locked down tight through the frame side mount.

I'm at a loss!

S8NNG8

I'd bet it's the joints on the CA's. Mine does the same thing. As far as the squeak, is it coming from the gear box?

k4ylr

I suppose they could be. The only play out of all 4 arms, both axle and frame side are on the driver's side upper frame heim joint and it only moves side to side if I grab the arm and shake it.

I'd be super bummed if a bushing is already bad after a year of nothing but daily driving and some trails.

The squeak is hard to narrow down, I thought maybe it could be the coil spacers making noise against the coils as weight shifted and the coils adjusted slightly but I feel like the steering gets a little "chunky" or at least loses some of the smoothness when it does decide to make noise.


The bummer is that it doesn't happen all the time. I feel like the clunk under the floor plans happens more often sue to the crap roads here but the squeak comes and goes. If it is the gearbox what are my options in terms of mitigating or fixing it? The steering feels buttery smooth from lock to lock.

S8NNG8

The "chunky feeling could be problems your steering box is having when operating under load. It could also be your trac bar, check both ends for wear and tightness. The thunk you're hearing may be the double cardan joint at the tranfercase side of the front driveshaft. Unfortunately there are lots of possibilities.

k4ylr

I'll check everything when I get some spare time. If its the steering box I guess a durango swap or at least a replacement is in order. Is there anything in particular at the TC side joint I should be looking for? I just regreased everything a few weeks ago and everything seemed nice and tight.

S8NNG8

Depending on how you drive, I think that double joint on the front driveshaft has issues for all of us, just see if you can get any play from grabbing and wiggling it.

k4ylr

10-4 will check it