Topic: Body mounts

[Jesse-James]

So I'm hearing a crunching/popping type noise when I brake and turn. I've checked the usual; ball joints, TRE, wheel bearings, etc. and all came up good. It started lightly before I added the walrus teeth so I've ruled that out. While I had it in the air the angle of some of my body mounts struck me as odd. I've never swapped tubs or done a body lift so I don't know how abnormal or bad this is so I figured I'd post pics here and get some opinions. Could they be bad and/or be the source of my noise?

In order from drivers front around to pass front.





And I know, I need to wash my junk. Power washer should be running again tomorrow.

[Jeffy]

I'd clean off the Jeep ASAP.  Leaving the mud on might look cool but it also hold moisture against the metal.  Mainly the body bolts.  Even without mud, moisture is able to hind in the metal sleeve that surrounds the bolt.  When I did my body lift, most of the bolts had some rust.  Not just surface rust but anywhere from 1/4-1/2's of the bolt was missing. 

The other problem I see is that the body looks like it's shifted towards the front.  This means the bolts must be a little loose.  I guess someone could have tighten the bolts down with the body shifted but really it's easy to center the body.  If the body was able to shift, I hope the captured nut is still intact and able to grab.  Otherwise, they will spin freely which is a real PITA.

[aw12345]

In the one picture it looks like the body sits on the frame could be the source of your noise, the bodt is supposed to be isolated of the frame by the rubber bushings its hard to tell from the mud bur if you have metal to metal contact between the body and the frame its a posibility and yes it looks like the body shifted or something bend the bushings should not be distorted just squased a bit from tightening Also make sure U bolts are tight, spring bushings are good, those can pop real bad also

[Jeffy]

In the one picture it looks like the body sits on the frame could be the source of your noise, the bodt is supposed to be isolated of the frame by the rubber bushings its hard to tell from the mud bur if you have metal to metal contact between the body and the frame its a posibility and yes it looks like the body shifted or something bend the bushings should not be distorted just squased a bit from tightening Also make sure U bolts are tight, spring bushings are good, those can pop real bad also

That's not the body resting on the frame.  Those are plastic/rubber cover pieces.  BTW: there are metal sleeves inside the bushings which the body also sits on.

[Bounty Hunter]

Looks like the body has shifted forward slightly.  You can loosen all the body bolts without removing them, and shift the body by jacking it up with floorjacks.

Mine creaks but it sounds like it is in the seat riser.

[Jesse-James]

I know, I know.....it's dirty. But like I said the power washer was busted. I got that going tonight so I'll be cleaning it off later today. Didn't check the Ubolts, I'll take a look. Next step is cleaning and liberal use of PB blaster.

[Jeffy]

Another culprit could be the trackbar or even the tie-rods.  Trackbar will clunk if you brake hard to turn quickly.  Otherwise it could be the tie-rods.  With more lift, the draglink will want to push down on the tie-rod, rotating it rather then pushing it.

[Jesse-James]

Trackbar is gone and TRE's are good. Draglink does tend to push it down though, any way to remedy that?

[Jeffy]

Trackbar is gone and TRE's are good. Draglink does tend to push it down though, any way to remedy that?

Fix the steering geometry.  A dropped pitman can help if it's not that bad.  Mounting the tie-rod ends ontop of the knuckles can help too.  Putting a S bend in the drag-link might also be an option.  Highsteering is probably the best solution though. Otherwise, grease the joints well and often.

[Jesse-James]

I'll have to see how it is after I put the shims in. If it's still not right then I'll go with a drop pitman arm.

[Jesse-James]

I cleaned it up good enough to see and found the noise. I have a visible gap between the spring and the perch on the front axle. Without the trackbar on they're rocking from side to side slightly when I turn and binding. Time for new U bolts.