Front Right Wheel Grinding (1 Viewer)

[ThatMacGuy]

Over the weekend I took a trip in the 80 to go visit my son. We got about 150 miles from home and the front right wheel started making some noise. It was 30 degrees outside and there was ice everywhere; perfect time for a drivetrain issue. I was running late so I parked it at Enterprise and rented a car for the remaining 200 miles of that day.

That evening I drive it out of the enterprise lot and over to a hotel. by the time I got to the hotel, the intermittent grinding sound had gone from about a half a second of noise every ten minutes of driving to a full on dragging sound for about 10 seconds. I can feel the steering wheel pull just slightly to that side when the noise occurs.

I had it towed home the next morning. I drove it off the truck and around the corner to my house, then backed it into the driveway. Not a peep out of the wheel/hub/axle. It's been freezing cold and miserable since so I have not had a chance to dig into it.

I am curious to know what I should be looking for when I tear it apart.
If its the wheel bearing, I'll have movement tin the wheel before loosening the lug nuts. right?
If its the axle / Birfield what will I see?
What else should i be looking for?

This is a 96 FZJ80 with 396K. I bought it six weeks ago and had the engine rebuilt. The dealer checked the tans/transfer case/diffs while it was there.

 

[NLXTACY]

Caliper bolt.

 

[ThatMacGuy]

Good thought. I hadn't considered that. Thanks!

 

[jynx]

Agree with @NLXTACY easy check is to shine a light in thru the front of the wheel towards the rotor and see if the inside face of the wheel is worn.

 

[ajax1]

Caliper bolt , wheel bearing , trinion bearing or pads gone

 

[bajaphile]

Check external stuff first obviously...

If nothing outside, then I'd bet it was the axle nut backing off and/or the wheel bearing needing to be re-packed or replaced based on condition.

 

[ThatMacGuy]

Great info guys
Thank you all

 

[HAAANK]

What every one else said... but may also be a stuck caliper. Mine crept up on me in this way.

I've had wheel noise where the culprit was:
- a stick stuck between the rotor and rim (could be ice in your case) easiest fix of all
- a stuck caliper
- loose caliper bolt (fell all the way out actually...not a god day)
- bent inspection window (on the rear)

 

[ThatMacGuy]

OK Ladies and Gentlemen; I finally pulled the wheel off this thing. The noise and pull seems to be coming from the passenger side, so that's the wheel I pulled. Near as I Can tell, everything seems to be in order.Prior to pulling the wheel, I gave it a good push/pull and there seemed to be little to no movement in the bearing.

The rotor and caliper are in good shape. All of the fasteners are secure.

I did notice the Shock Absorber seems to have shot is load:

I also checked to see if there were any rub marks inside the rim, but it has an even layer of filth:

There were no obvious signs of problems on the birf/axle. Although it did look to be a little on the dry side. Is it possible that needing to grease this joint could cause the noise/grabbing?

In other news, I noticed the drivers side was WET while I was under there. This can not be good:

Aside from being completely filthy underneath, do you see anything out of the ordinary?
I am thinking degreaser and a pressure wash is in order. Aside from that, what would my next steps be?

As always, thank you for your time and expertise!!!

(PS - sorry for the sideways images)

 

[ajax1]

Rebuild time

 

[noahfecks]

axle needs a rebuild but your grinding sound could still be something on the outside

I had the rivets on a brake pad completely let go and the friction material exited the scene. Made an inconsistent grinding noise. You may need to pull the calipers off to check but that was what caused a similar sounding condition for me

 

[ThatMacGuy]

Rebuild time

What goes bad that causes the axle to leak like that?
What exactly needs to be rebuilt?
Any idea if that is something that can be done at home or if this is better left to the professionals?

 

[ThatMacGuy]

axle needs a rebuild but your grinding sound could still be something on the outside

I had the rivets on a brake pad completely let go and the friction material exited the scene. Made an inconsistent grinding noise. You may need to pull the calipers off to check but that was what caused a similar sounding condition for me

The friction material looked ok on the front pad, but he rear is hard to see without pulling the caliper. Guess that will be the next dry day project. Up here in Oregon it's been cold and wet for weeks and I don't have a covered place to work. So I try to dodge the weather

 

[noahfecks]

Outer and/or inner axle seals are leaking. Its not a hard job but it's messy and takes some time, spend some time here researching it and get a complete kit from one of the vendors on here (I recommend Cruiser Outfitters). I dont know if I would take it on as a winter driveway project, keep the front diff full of fluid and wait until the weather is warmer or you find a place inside to work.

Grinding noise could be many things as others have mentioned. Keep eliminating the easy stuff, hopefully you will find the problem soon

 

[ThatMacGuy]

Outer and/or inner axle seals are leaking. Its not a hard job but it's messy and takes some time, spend some time here researching it and get a complete kit from one of the vendors on here (I recommend Cruiser Outfitters). I dont know if I would take it on as a winter driveway project, keep the front diff full of fluid and wait until the weather is warmer or you find a place inside to work.

Grinding noise could be many things as others have mentioned. Keep eliminating the easy stuff, hopefully you will find the problem soon

Thanks brother
Cheers

 

[ajax1]

I'd just pick a weekend and rebuild, axle seals bearings , and repack birfs, if that grinding sound is a bearing it can fubar, the spindles and hubs

 

[Jason hansen]

Lots of good videos and threads out there. I liked the trail gear offset inner axel seals if you have grooved axels from the factory seals. Upgrading the front axel breather will help mitigate cross contamination between gear oil and cv grease.

 

[Tools R Us]

The knuckles need a reseal job. If it's being driven, the more immediate need is lube, leaking seals will make a mess, but insufficient lube will destroy parts. If it needs to be driven, I would put a tube of moly grease in each side and see what that does, may need more. Also check the diff fluid for contamination.

 

[decoco]

if that passenger birf is absolutely dry, then that could be creating some time of grinding noise.
In any case, pop some moly in both birfs check level with a zip tie. I think half full is the mark - but do your research.

 

[Phares]

Search the forums and youtube for "knuckle rebuild" and you should find lots of information. There is an entire grease thread on what grease to use for repacking the knuckles. A forum search for "grease" should find it. It took me about 16 hours to do both front knuckles start to finish. Get lots of nitrile gloves and about 12 rolls of paper towels. I think I used 8 tubes of Palladium grease from Valvoline. If you have any questions post them up here. This is a great group and welcome to the suck. I hope you don't like money.