vzehler Posted August 24, 2008 Share Posted August 24, 2008 I'm having a problem when I make hard turns... Speed is not a factor. For example, I could be turning around in a culdesac and while I'm going through the turn my front wheels seems to be binding/hopping almost like it's in 4-wheel drive on dry pavement. The track bar was sloppy, I replaced it. The ball joints seem to be good. What would cause this problem? Any help is much appreciated. :mad: :headpop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 How wide are your tires? They could be rubbing on the LCAs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Hows your axle universals? Or maybe your axle disco is not disengaging? CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted August 25, 2008 Author Share Posted August 25, 2008 oh, the comanche in question is bone stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 Hows your axle universals? Or maybe your axle disco is not disengaging? CW Yeah, definitly check the U-joints, they can wear enough to cause binding. Disco not disengaging wouldn't matter. If it did, then the non-disco axles would bind all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 well i checked out the ball joints again... they're all good and tight... rubber boots could be better but functionally, they are "ok". I check the u-joints... no slop whatsoever. even turned the wheels lock to lock and nothing notable. the only thing i noticed out of whack was the steering stop bolt... the one on the drivers side is bent and kinda pushed up... the other side is fine.... any other idears? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Check your caster angle and camber. It may be that what you're experiencing is normal but you're not accustomed to Jeeps with 4WD. The caster angle is set to around 7 degrees positive, which means that if you could turn the front wheels perpendicular to the vehicle, the tops of the front tires would be leaning back -- sort of like picking up the toe of your boot and digging in your heel to stop sliding on loose dirt. When you turn the front wheels all the way to lock, you don't get the full 7 degrees but you DO get some of it. That may cause some hop on some surfaces. It's interesting that one of your steering stops is fubar. Does the hop seem worse when you turn toward that side? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Some waaaay out in left field ideas: -t-case shifter is out of whack and it's actually in 4wd when you think it's in 2wd. -previous owner installed a locker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Pete is somewhat on the trail I am. Have you opened the front diff? It could have a locker OR someone could have welded everything together in there and made a "Lincoln Locker". My reasoning for this is I have a spool in the rear of my truck and it does what you are describing because the two axles can no longer differentiate in speed thus causing one wheel hop or squeal. You should hear me make a tight turn on blacktop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 well... an alignment is cheap enough... and the front drive tire does look a little off camber. so Ill have that done. and this weekend ill pull the diff cover and have a peek to see what it's got... I wouldn't be surprised... the guy i bought it from seemed to like "rigging stuff together" thanks... ill get back with more info when I get it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Before you spend any money (camber is not easily adjusted), jack up a front tire and see if you can spin it. If you can't, jack up the other side too and see if they turn. Keep an eye on the front driveshaft to see if it spins at all during this experiment. While the tires are in the air, take the opportunity to shake them and check for any slop in the balljoints or steering links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddzz1 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Look at your lower control arm on the drivers side. See if it is scrathed up or shiny like the tire is rubbing on it. My drivers side front tire only rubs on mine sometimes. Like 1 out of every 10 times that I take a tight turn. I am swapping in new ball joints (there is alot of movement in mine) and u-joints while I'm at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Alignments are easy enough to do yourself. I've done several and no problems. http://www.4x4xplor.com/alignment.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted August 29, 2008 Author Share Posted August 29, 2008 Before you spend any money (camber is not easily adjusted), jack up a front tire and see if you can spin it. If you can't, jack up the other side too and see if they turn. Keep an eye on the front driveshaft to see if it spins at all during this experiment. While the tires are in the air, take the opportunity to shake them and check for any slop in the balljoints or steering links. I did a little diagnosis with the help of Pete through PM and this is how it went: jacked one tire up and it would not turn.... jacked both up... one tire spinned one way... one tire spinned the other.... the front driveshaft did not spin, but it did move slightly if I quickly changed the rotation of the tire I was spinning.... If one spun one way and the other spun the opposite, then you have an open diff for sure. A locker would keep them spinning togather. But if you jack up only one side and it wouldn't spin freely, that means your front driveshaft is still engaged at the t-case. Basically, in 2wd the following things should happen if you jack up only one tire: -if you have a CAD axle (and it's disengaged), then the front tire should spin freely. -if you have a non-CAD axle or a CAD axle that is stuck engaged, then spinning one tire should spin the driveshaft. So I'm betting that your t-case is still in 4wd (which explains the hopping). This all means what? I'm assuming it means there is no locker or welded gears, right? Okay, so how does one go about un-sticking it? Or am I just totally phucked... Don't know. It could be that the linkage needs to be adjusted, or it could be that something inside the t-case is sticking. Here is the manual's procedure for realigning the linkage. I'll be on the road all of tomorrow so if you have any questions you'll need to ask the group. Make sure you update your thread so the others will know what's going on. So, I adjusted the linkage, it was fine and replaced the t-case fluid. It was just slightly under the mark, but dirty. I took it out for a road test and sure enough it stillllllll does its little chirping and bucking around tight turn arounds. I went on to shift the t-case in 4-low... 4-low I got. I shift the t-case into neutral and let the clutch out while it was in gear.... neutral I got. So, that tells me that it is engaging and disengaging but I'm at a loss as to why this problem still exists... I just can't track it down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Try having BOTH front wheels off the ground, T-Case in 2WD and you should be able to turn driveshaft. If you cannot, your not in 2WD even though selector says you are. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted August 29, 2008 Author Share Posted August 29, 2008 Try having BOTH front wheels off the ground, T-Case in 2WD and you should be able to turn driveshaft. If you cannot, your not in 2WD even though selector says you are. CW okay... both wheels off the ground... t-case in 2wd... the front drive shaft will not turn.. So, this goes on... If it is stuck in 4wd... does that basically mean that my t-case is fragged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vzehler Posted September 2, 2008 Author Share Posted September 2, 2008 well after a little more diagnosis, I finally looked into the vacuum shift motor on the front axle. It seems that it gave up the ghost and filled itself with gear oil.... which in turn would not allow the truck to unlock the front axle. I almost pee'd myself to find that a new one goes for 149.99 at the parts store.... So I went ahead and built a posi-lock for the time being Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 All newer Jeeps have the front axle locked all the time. That alone shouldn't cause your issue. But unlocking the CAD would make the issue go away since now the front driveshaft can turn and the power can't get to the wheels. I still think the t-case has a problem. With the t-case in 2wd and the front axle unlocked, can you rotate the front driveshaft by hand? What about if the t-case is in neutral? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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