Paul-JK
23-03-13, 08:16 PM
Hi All,
I'm after some advice. I've noticed over the last few weeks that when I turn at slow speeds I can sometimes feel a pulsing through the steering. Had a look under the JK this afternoon, jacking one wheel up at a time on full lock and seeing how easy it was to turn the wheels but found different things on both sides. Just after some advice as to what each means, though I suspect I already know!
On the drivers side, the wheel rotates smoothly under both full left/right lock but there is some movement in the uni joint. When I hold the axle end of the uni joint I can feel movement both up/down & left/right. I'd say less than 1mm movement but it definitely moves.
On the passenger side it's the exact opposite. Getting hold of the uni joint I can't feel any movement at all but the wheel doesn't move freely all the way round. As the axle end of the uni passes horizontal the wheel gets significantly harder to turn, and then frees up again as the end of the uni goes towards vertical. This only happens on tight lock though. It turns freely when the wheels are straight.
Does this mean what I suspect it means, that being that I need to replace both uni's? If it does, how much can I expect it to cost (as I'm guessing it's beyond my fairly basic mechanical skills to change them)?
Is this a common thing on the JK's? Mine's an early MY10, so just over 3 years old with 74,000km on the clock. Done some off roading but fairly light and infrequent (sad to say).
Also, is it advisable to fix this before going off road and engaging 4WD? Was hoping to get the tyres dirty for the first time in months over the Easter weekend but don't really want to risk getting stranded someone if something breaks.
Thanks,
Paul
I'm after some advice. I've noticed over the last few weeks that when I turn at slow speeds I can sometimes feel a pulsing through the steering. Had a look under the JK this afternoon, jacking one wheel up at a time on full lock and seeing how easy it was to turn the wheels but found different things on both sides. Just after some advice as to what each means, though I suspect I already know!
On the drivers side, the wheel rotates smoothly under both full left/right lock but there is some movement in the uni joint. When I hold the axle end of the uni joint I can feel movement both up/down & left/right. I'd say less than 1mm movement but it definitely moves.
On the passenger side it's the exact opposite. Getting hold of the uni joint I can't feel any movement at all but the wheel doesn't move freely all the way round. As the axle end of the uni passes horizontal the wheel gets significantly harder to turn, and then frees up again as the end of the uni goes towards vertical. This only happens on tight lock though. It turns freely when the wheels are straight.
Does this mean what I suspect it means, that being that I need to replace both uni's? If it does, how much can I expect it to cost (as I'm guessing it's beyond my fairly basic mechanical skills to change them)?
Is this a common thing on the JK's? Mine's an early MY10, so just over 3 years old with 74,000km on the clock. Done some off roading but fairly light and infrequent (sad to say).
Also, is it advisable to fix this before going off road and engaging 4WD? Was hoping to get the tyres dirty for the first time in months over the Easter weekend but don't really want to risk getting stranded someone if something breaks.
Thanks,
Paul