knocking sound when turning steering wheel?

[Kreutz]

please help! knocking sound heard in steering

when i turn the steering wheel (while in park or neutral) back and forth, i hear a knocking sound coming from under the engine. is this the steering mech. going or something else? i'm not familar with this. any help would be great!

 

[RTicUL8]

Probably a ball joint going bad. :wave:

 

[rockwerks]

Probably a ball joint going bad. :wave:

not! ball joints dont pop, Most common is a loose or damaged trackbar joint

 

[Kreutz]

is it still safe to be driving around in, or should i park it until fixed?

 

[rockwerks]

still safe...I think....LOL, to check it you get on teh ground and let others turn teh wheel while you hold the various parts of the steering and track bar to feel the POP with your hand

 

[Kreutz]

thanks, i'll try that!

 

[jerrywagner]

Not Safe To Drive, Find Out The Problem And Fix. Could Be Loose Idler Arm Which Could Make You Lose Total Steering Control

 

[RTicUL8]

not! ball joints dont pop, Most common is a loose or damaged trackbar joint

Tell that to mine which went POP :exclamati

But I agree - it could be the trackbar too.

 

[rockwerks]

Not Safe To Drive, Find Out The Problem And Fix. Could Be Loose Idler Arm Which Could Make You Lose Total Steering Control

Hey noob dont tell anyone but jeeps dont use IDLER ARMS in their steering systems

 

[Kreutz]

just curious, but how do you know if the Power steering box goes out?

 

[Dr. Dyno]

not! ball joints dont pop, Most common is a loose or damaged trackbar joint

Could also be a bad joint to the Pitman arm.

 

[red91]

just curious, but how do you know if the Power steering box goes out?

I'm thinking it would get HARD to turn...IMHO

 

[XTrmXJ]

What size tires are you running, Could be that you need a steering box brace.. Mine did the same poping noise and come to find out it was comming from the steering box trying to pull the bolts through the frame..

Solution: get a steering box brace and tighten the steering box bolts on the frame

 

[XTrmXJ]

just curious, but how do you know if the Power steering box goes out?

The power steering pump will whine real bad without a load, and it will be real hard to turn the steering wheel

 

[2XJ]

Check the front U-joints. I have responded to threads similar to this in the past - a bad U-joint will pop too. That is what happened on my '93 Country.


just my 2 cents - increased to $2.85 cents due to Health Care increases

 

[TUFFXJ]

I think you should just start replacing everything in the front end until it goes away.....

 

[EZridaz]

I had the same prob and mine was from the tie-rod bolt where it meets the drag link hitting the disconnect and disconnect bracket and making a loud pop......drop pitman arm fixed it and grinded alil from the disconnect bracket

 

[Kreutz]

i still can't figure it out. i can hear the knocking coming from around the end of the steering shaft. sounds like it is coming from inside the wheel well, but when i look under there i can't see anything move. i don't hear any knocking when i'm driving around. sorry, it's hard to explain since i not sure what i'm looking at. but, i think it's been like this for a long time, it's just getting louder.

 

[NHextremeXJ]

Check where your track bar connects to the frame. The bolts that hold that brace to the frame can loosen and cause that popping noise. You can't always see it with the bare eye. Torque the hell out of them and see if that helps. I almost guarantee that is the problem.

 

[98JeepXJ]

FWIW, I've been chasing down a similar noise for a few months now. I've replaced all 4 ball joints, the track bar, and all the tie rod ends. The noise still continues. I rarely hear the noise when turning while driving on the road, just during parking lot and driveway maneuvers.

If I had to try and relate the noise to something, it sounds most like a ballpeen hammer hitting a thick steel plate.

Is this anything like what you're getting?