so been out wheelin a few times, and there has been a nasty grinding "clunk" from the front end. at first it was just in four-low, and only when turning sharp. its slowly escalated so its constantly clunking in four low and now in four high when turning sharp and occasionly when going straight. any ideas as to what this could be? does this happen when the hubs start to go out? it seems to be from the front end and that is what makes me wonder if that is what is causing it. any other ideas? im praying that is all it is.

Any number of things can cause a klunk.

First of all, do you have manual hubs or semi auto, or vacuum operated? If it is vacuum then there is you most likely target. (hub issue)

Check that the wheel bearings are up to torque and rotating smoothly if you have removed the hubs for inspection. (bearing issue)

Now check all the boots on the CV's (outer half shaft joints) and DOJ's (inner half shaft joints). Any tear of these could indicate loss of grease and increased wear to the point of destruction. (half shaft issue)

If it is only a one off clunk when you turn, look at the suspension (ball joints and TRE's). (suspension issue)

If it is a repetitive clunk try and get someone outside the vehicle to identify which side. Once you know then change over the locking hubs one side to the other and see if the noise follows (only with manual or semi auto hubs). If the noise follows then most likely it is the hub at fault, if it doesn't then start looking further towards the center of the vehicle. (half shaft issue)

Jack the vehicle up and put the front chassis on wheel stands. Turn the steering wheel hard with the hubs locked in and check that the half shaft rotate with the wheels smoothly by spinning the wheel with your other hand on the half shaft. Any knock as you described would be evident as a uneven feel as the wheels rotate. (half shaft issue)

Next would be to get someone to help you to rotate both wheels (and half shafts) in the same direction with the wheels in the straight ahead position and check the front drive shaft (tcase - diff) is rotating smoothly. (front diff issue)

This would leave the tcase as being the most likely suspect if the sound is emanating from under the vehicle and the front drive feels like it is "slipping a cog".

In all of these cases be guided by what you hear and feel at any and all stages of the tests. You may find what it is after the first few steps by sound or feel alone. The more steps you go down the ladder the more $$$ it is to fix.

WOW thats a great run down,to me it just sounds like a CV,mostlikely outer,but check everything and if you can, change out old with new,as you will have it apart anyway <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cyclops.gif" alt="" />

it is a broken hub. i promise.

it broke due to the needle bearing in the back of the spindle wearing out and allowing the stub shaft to excert torque on the hub at an angle.

had the exactl same problem more than once. those needle bearings ain't cheap, but replacing them is the only thing that will keep you from continuing to buy new hubs.

ok finally got the hub off. took several hours due to the fact the bolts were corroded into almost nothing. long story short will be replacing the hubs wether its the problem or not. things look really worn, a couple spots may be broken i just can't tell i am not sure what they look like when they are good. does anyone have a pretty good sized picture i can maybe look at? also, i just had the front bearings replace in october, i cant imagine they are already bad <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" /> so i hope that its not the problem or else a shop is gettin a huge piece of my mind. still open to ideas, just thought i would update on what i have found. i have some warn manual hubs in the mail, hopefully that solves the problem.