Currently hunting this noise down in my 2018 JLUR and im definitely going to crank down the bottom ball joints down more! I gave all four a "good" turning, but its still present . Hopefully, this last turn fixes it. Appreciate your videos brother.
I think I remember someone saying the factory ball joints have plastic in them. Probably why the torque specs seem low. Crank them tight and run them until they fail, then replace with a proper part I guess.
After replacing my ball joints by clicking was still there I took it to the dealer they charge me $3000 to change the ball joints again clicking was still there. The dealer told me they tighten the swaybar link in the clicking went away, so check your sway bar links first.
I followed your recommendation: upper ball joints - 1 notch tighter on the castle nut. Lower ball joints - 2 notches tighter on the castle nut. Minor popping noise while tightening. At beginning of test drive I got a few really good pops, like the joints were seating the rest of the way. 3 days of local/minimal driving and the annoying popping noise is gone. I appreciate you sharing your video. I have a 2020 Gladiator Rubicon, leveling kit and 37’s. My previous jeep was a 2002 TJ, 1 Ton on 42’s
I agree with the Engineer below. I had that horrible clunk in 4wd as well on my JLUR as seen in my channel jeepNdirt. I recently upgraded to the spicer Ultimate 44 front axle and no clunking since the ball joints are different than the factory ones.
Why would you get the Ultimate 44 if you have a rubicon may I ask? Only advantage is a stronger ring gear and .5 inches of clearance. But I can’t see any other reason why anyone with a Dana 44 would get the ultimate 44?
@@SmokinMonkeyOG well interesting question. I'm one who agrees and confirmed that the stock ruby m210 axle is plenty strong even with the FAD and intended to keep it that way and just add RCV axle shafts. However an inattentive driver took out my right front wheel and since it was their fault I ended up with this upgrade due to the world parts shortage. I actually take my jeep offroad (as seen in my videos on my channel) but i think Long term I would have done this conversion regardless of the accident because the thicker axle tubes. thicker brackets, increased housing clearance, chrome molly shafts, spicer heavy duty ball joints and those monster 1410 u joints and one piece axle shaft gives a significant amount of confidence as I tackle bigger obstacles in the future since I plan on keeping the jeep for at least 15 to 20 years. (note this is my second jeep. I've had my built 95 YJ since 1997 lol. so I like keeping things for a long time. )
I also forgot to mention that for me, I use my jeep for everything so my build meaning height, options. and 38 or possibly 39s is the best all around everything for me. So that axle combo keeps me from having to go tons. I also installed chrome molly shafts in the rear as well.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG Lol. agree, but this little thing called work only let's me get offroad every other month or so. I posted that first video then the accident kept my jeep in the shop for 6 months so I'm behind on wheeling for sure. Have a merry Christmas brother.
Yes I feel the same I do the work on my vehicles. But it’s good to go to the dealer since they can give you specs. And at times. You ring that one guy and know his stuff. ..and yes the flip side you just might get the newby wrench guy. Who just knows to tighten bolts and is missing some ..
Yup exactly lol not saying dealerships aren’t useful or that people working there are not good at their job. I just don’t like taking chances after having a few bad experiences in the past.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG right same here. I had some bad experiences with dealers. As well. I got a brand new truck once by the time I got three blocks away all four tires were flat. ….and yup a newby trainee messed up the tires. I got all four new. And I lucked out on this I got off road ones since it’s all they had by mistake
Off topic but I took a car into the dealer (a new dealership) for a software update. The tsb says put the battery on a maintainer while running the update. Service writer wouldn't admit to it but pretty sure the newb tech didn't think that step was important and they fried something while running the update. They kept swapping out abs modules and other shit. On the phone with tech support, etc. They finally figured it out months later but I never trusted the car or any dealerships after that.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG 50k. Dealer said full warranty. Unknown specific reason but I did research that Fox shocks require maintenance, not that I was neglectful. $3200 each plus 5 hours labour !
Factory torque specs are based of materials involved. You then have to do a very complex engineering calculation to come to the final answer. As an engineer I can tell you torque specs can be tricky, but I don't doubt that it is supposed to be that low. I believe that the problem could actually be the materials they use for the ball joints themselves in addition to other components that are related to the ball joints. But that's all I can say from my knowledge and experience designing things
Where you will see the ball joint issue come up more prominently will be while in 4wd. I didn’t have a problem with them with every day driving but once in 4wd the clicking/clunking is there even after re-torquing (at the dealership specs). I’m curious to see your results in 4wd after going to the next setting on your castle nut then what the dealership sets them at.
dealing with this now! mine has 6k miles on it. ive had the jeep 1 year almost to the day but rarely drive it. no mods, no off roading. Glad to know the dealer would only torque to specs. i figured as much. What do you think about replacing the ball joints with the cast steel ones. i feel like this will continue to be an issue with teh aluminum ones. (needing to retighten it)
I’m personally thinking of going with the synergy mfg HD ball joints and calling it a day. Even after tightening they continue to have the click every so often so I think I’m going to replace mine. I only have 6500km on mine and has only been on mild off road trails a couple times. Picked mine up July 2022
Never had that happen to me even with my 20 year old Jeep that I drive through water and mud holes every weekend so I’m not too concerned about that. I might use it on some light plugs on the bumper and battery terminals since those always corrode
I hope you don't experience this, I know it's an old video. But when you go to someone connected to your factory warranty, they still want their service fee from the manufacturer. So they have to list diagnostic info and possible solutions. their solution will state: customer wants to fix the issue themselve. That documented note can hurt any warranted issue in the future. If you want to fix your own truck of minor issues it is best to go to someone not connected to your warranty. definitely not the place where you purchased the vehicle. This is just legal advice for the future. Nothing to do with a personal preference.
I know my salesperson well and they took me to the back to speak to the lead mechanic. They never entered the vehicle for a service and never even took down any of my information. This was an after closing hours conversation I had with the two of them. Off the books so to speak lol so no worries there
I did and the knocking was still there took it to the dealer. They charged me $3000 to change them again the knocking was still there. Then I tightened a couple swaybar links, and now it hasn’t come back.
Nobody is going to treat your vehicle like you will. It's a gamble, you have no idea what you're going to get nowadays. Attention to detail and pride in workmanship is becoming scarce. I agree that you're better off torqing it yourself. You've gotta be careful at quick change oil places as well, you might leave with out oil!
That’s why I work on my rig myself too. Even when i bought my Jeep I told the dealer the same thing. No warranty but I’m glad I never did the warranty cause dealers also like to put the work into it’s your fault for driving it in the woods loop wholes n hoops to jump through. No thanks. So far simple things on my 2014 jk have broken n it’s all my fault. Lol. But I know this. Dealers are snakes. Sorry but it’s mostly true for all the dealers.
I used Wurth film but you can’t buy that anywhere, it’s only sold to the automotive and trucking industry directly from the manufacturer. I got some at work but it’s the same product as a fluid film or wool wax
It’s next to impossible to hear on camera while driving even if you don’t actually listen for it and you have the windows up you’ll never notice it. You have to have the windows down and you really gotta be trying to hear it.
@rogerp841 I replaced the ball joints myself the noise was still there. I took it to the dealer. They changed them for a second time. The noise was still there. The dealer told me that they tightened the swaybar link and the noise went away now anytime I have the noise. I just tightened my swaybar links, and the noise goes away. I would honestly just go around and tighten everything down. I think you should be fine. I still have the noise every now and then but I think this is just how the vehicle is. It’s always going to do this. I’m done wasting my time and money. I’ve already spent thousands of dollars chasing this problem. It drives perfectly fine and you don’t hear it with the windows up and you don’t feel it when you’re driving so I’m gonna call it a design flaw and that’s just how it is.
Hey do you have any transmission slamming from park, reverse, Neutral & Drive, along with Horrible Death Wobble at speeds over 50 Mph, I have a 2021 jeep Gladiator Overloaded 3.6 v6 with an 8 speed automatic transmission
If you park on a slope and don’t set the e brake then you will get that kind of slamming feeling when shifting. As for death wobble I don’t have any, was doing 80-90mph for a solid 2 hours straight yesterday on my way home and it drove like butter
The main issue i have with my gladiator is the drivers seat wont stay adjusted to max height as i like. It sinks down and i have to raise it back up. Can you think of an easy fix?
Hey there, just a small answer to your question. Unfortunately most all pump height seats will eventually leak down a little. If it’s something you pump up once a week or more it’s something to replace.
What the hell is the deal with Jeeps; are they garbage? New vehicle should not have this much problem from the get go. Ball joints, death wobble, dry starts. Its all garbage engineering. I would not buy another again.
Currently hunting this noise down in my 2018 JLUR and im definitely going to crank down the bottom ball joints down more! I gave all four a "good" turning, but its still present . Hopefully, this last turn fixes it.
Appreciate your videos brother.
glad to know you found the answer. looks like I have a project for this weekend.
I think I remember someone saying the factory ball joints have plastic in them. Probably why the torque specs seem low. Crank them tight and run them until they fail, then replace with a proper part I guess.
Appreciate you taking the time to share. It helps the rest of us out.
I’ll be wrenching on the ball joints of my 2020 Gladiator tomorrow.
After replacing my ball joints by clicking was still there I took it to the dealer they charge me $3000 to change the ball joints again clicking was still there. The dealer told me they tighten the swaybar link in the clicking went away, so check your sway bar links first.
Sorry for the horrible grammar voice to text is really shit
I followed your recommendation: upper ball joints - 1 notch tighter on the castle nut. Lower ball joints - 2 notches tighter on the castle nut. Minor popping noise while tightening. At beginning of test drive I got a few really good pops, like the joints were seating the rest of the way. 3 days of local/minimal driving and the annoying popping noise is gone.
I appreciate you sharing your video.
I have a 2020 Gladiator Rubicon, leveling kit and 37’s.
My previous jeep was a 2002 TJ, 1 Ton on 42’s
Glad to hear you got it solved
I agree with the Engineer below. I had that horrible clunk in 4wd as well on my JLUR as seen in my channel jeepNdirt. I recently upgraded to the spicer Ultimate 44 front axle and no clunking since the ball joints are different than the factory ones.
Why would you get the Ultimate 44 if you have a rubicon may I ask? Only advantage is a stronger ring gear and .5 inches of clearance. But I can’t see any other reason why anyone with a Dana 44 would get the ultimate 44?
@@SmokinMonkeyOG well interesting question. I'm one who agrees and confirmed that the stock ruby m210 axle is plenty strong even with the FAD and intended to keep it that way and just add RCV axle shafts. However an inattentive driver took out my right front wheel and since it was their fault I ended up with this upgrade due to the world parts shortage. I actually take my jeep offroad (as seen in my videos on my channel) but i think Long term I would have done this conversion regardless of the accident because the thicker axle tubes. thicker brackets, increased housing clearance, chrome molly shafts, spicer heavy duty ball joints and those monster 1410 u joints and one piece axle shaft gives a significant amount of confidence as I tackle bigger obstacles in the future since I plan on keeping the jeep for at least 15 to 20 years. (note this is my second jeep. I've had my built 95 YJ since 1997 lol. so I like keeping things for a long time. )
I also forgot to mention that for me, I use my jeep for everything so my build meaning height, options. and 38 or possibly 39s is the best all around everything for me. So that axle combo keeps me from having to go tons. I also installed chrome molly shafts in the rear as well.
Makes sense. You gotta get more than two videos up on your channel man lol I also take both my Jeeps off road.. every singe week.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG Lol. agree, but this little thing called work only let's me get offroad every other month or so. I posted that first video then the accident kept my jeep in the shop for 6 months so I'm behind on wheeling for sure. Have a merry Christmas brother.
Caliper bolts is another Service Bulletin and they fall off. My caliper fell off at 33k miles.
The caliper or the bracket?
Yes I feel the same I do the work on my vehicles. But it’s good to go to the dealer since they can give you specs. And at times. You ring that one guy and know his stuff. ..and yes the flip side you just might get the newby wrench guy. Who just knows to tighten bolts and is missing some ..
Yup exactly lol not saying dealerships aren’t useful or that people working there are not good at their job. I just don’t like taking chances after having a few bad experiences in the past.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG right same here. I had some bad experiences with dealers. As well. I got a brand new truck once by the time I got three blocks away all four tires were flat. ….and yup a newby trainee messed up the tires. I got all four new. And I lucked out on this I got off road ones since it’s all they had by mistake
Off topic but I took a car into the dealer (a new dealership) for a software update. The tsb says put the battery on a maintainer while running the update. Service writer wouldn't admit to it but pretty sure the newb tech didn't think that step was important and they fried something while running the update. They kept swapping out abs modules and other shit. On the phone with tech support, etc. They finally figured it out months later but I never trusted the car or any dealerships after that.
My 21 Mojave in for creaking sound, notice at speeds under 15km. Seems to be more noticeable when below zero.
My front shocks pooched already, Fox
What’s wrong with the shocks? And how much mileage do you have
@@SmokinMonkeyOG 50k. Dealer said full warranty. Unknown specific reason but I did research that Fox shocks require maintenance, not that I was neglectful. $3200 each plus 5 hours labour !
Damn good thing you had it covered
have that exact same problem
Factory torque specs are based of materials involved. You then have to do a very complex engineering calculation to come to the final answer. As an engineer I can tell you torque specs can be tricky, but I don't doubt that it is supposed to be that low.
I believe that the problem could actually be the materials they use for the ball joints themselves in addition to other components that are related to the ball joints. But that's all I can say from my knowledge and experience designing things
I agree that they could be poorly chosen materials that don’t work well with each other for whatever reasons
Great video, thanks for your attention to detail. Merry Christmas
Thanks! Merry Christmas!
It was rumored that the labor shortage is the cause of bolts not being torqued to spec but it seems like the issue was with the engineers lol.
Looking good.
Where you will see the ball joint issue come up more prominently will be while in 4wd. I didn’t have a problem with them with every day driving but once in 4wd the clicking/clunking is there even after re-torquing (at the dealership specs). I’m curious to see your results in 4wd after going to the next setting on your castle nut then what the dealership sets them at.
I’ll update once I take it out
dealing with this now! mine has 6k miles on it. ive had the jeep 1 year almost to the day but rarely drive it. no mods, no off roading.
Glad to know the dealer would only torque to specs. i figured as much.
What do you think about replacing the ball joints with the cast steel ones. i feel like this will continue to be an issue with teh aluminum ones. (needing to retighten it)
I’m personally thinking of going with the synergy mfg HD ball joints and calling it a day. Even after tightening they continue to have the click every so often so I think I’m going to replace mine. I only have 6500km on mine and has only been on mild off road trails a couple times. Picked mine up July 2022
Thank you. Why do you feel the factory specs are so low?
Not sure to be honest, I’ve been wondering the same thing
Pull out the Fuses and giv'em a lil Dielectric Grease B4 they Green Up,,,XOXO
Never had that happen to me even with my 20 year old Jeep that I drive through water and mud holes every weekend so I’m not too concerned about that. I might use it on some light plugs on the bumper and battery terminals since those always corrode
I hope you don't experience this, I know it's an old video. But when you go to someone connected to your factory warranty, they still want their service fee from the manufacturer. So they have to list diagnostic info and possible solutions. their solution will state: customer wants to fix the issue themselve. That documented note can hurt any warranted issue in the future. If you want to fix your own truck of minor issues it is best to go to someone not connected to your warranty. definitely not the place where you purchased the vehicle. This is just legal advice for the future. Nothing to do with a personal preference.
I know my salesperson well and they took me to the back to speak to the lead mechanic. They never entered the vehicle for a service and never even took down any of my information. This was an after closing hours conversation I had with the two of them. Off the books so to speak lol so no worries there
Replace the ball joints with aftermarket heavy duty
I did and the knocking was still there took it to the dealer. They charged me $3000 to change them again the knocking was still there. Then I tightened a couple swaybar links, and now it hasn’t come back.
Nobody is going to treat your vehicle like you will. It's a gamble, you have no idea what you're going to get nowadays. Attention to detail and pride in workmanship is becoming scarce. I agree that you're better off torqing it yourself. You've gotta be careful at quick change oil places as well, you might leave with out oil!
That’s why I work on my rig myself too. Even when i bought my Jeep I told the dealer the same thing. No warranty but I’m glad I never did the warranty cause dealers also like to put the work into it’s your fault for driving it in the woods loop wholes n hoops to jump through. No thanks. So far simple things on my 2014 jk have broken n it’s all my fault. Lol. But I know this. Dealers are snakes. Sorry but it’s mostly true for all the dealers.
What products did you use for the under coating?
I used Wurth film but you can’t buy that anywhere, it’s only sold to the automotive and trucking industry directly from the manufacturer. I got some at work but it’s the same product as a fluid film or wool wax
Do you have a video that we hear the noise? While you’re driving.
It’s next to impossible to hear on camera while driving even if you don’t actually listen for it and you have the windows up you’ll never notice it. You have to have the windows down and you really gotta be trying to hear it.
@@SmokinMonkeyOG I think I’m having the same issues. So should I change my ball joints? And if so which one do you recommend?
Thanks
@rogerp841 I replaced the ball joints myself the noise was still there. I took it to the dealer. They changed them for a second time. The noise was still there. The dealer told me that they tightened the swaybar link and the noise went away now anytime I have the noise. I just tightened my swaybar links, and the noise goes away. I would honestly just go around and tighten everything down. I think you should be fine. I still have the noise every now and then but I think this is just how the vehicle is. It’s always going to do this. I’m done wasting my time and money. I’ve already spent thousands of dollars chasing this problem. It drives perfectly fine and you don’t hear it with the windows up and you don’t feel it when you’re driving so I’m gonna call it a design flaw and that’s just how it is.
@@SmokinMonkeyOGthanks a lot you’ve been helpful
Hey do you have any transmission slamming from park, reverse, Neutral & Drive, along with Horrible Death Wobble at speeds over 50 Mph, I have a 2021 jeep Gladiator Overloaded 3.6 v6 with an 8 speed automatic transmission
If you park on a slope and don’t set the e brake then you will get that kind of slamming feeling when shifting. As for death wobble I don’t have any, was doing 80-90mph for a solid 2 hours straight yesterday on my way home and it drove like butter
The main issue i have with my gladiator is the drivers seat wont stay adjusted to max height as i like. It sinks down and i have to raise it back up. Can you think of an easy fix?
I keep mine at the lowest setting so I can’t say I’ve ever had that issue come up. Wish I had a better answer for you
Hey there, just a small answer to your question. Unfortunately most all pump height seats will eventually leak down a little. If it’s something you pump up once a week or more it’s something to replace.
H I mate my jeep gladiator knock each time i drive pass the speed humps
Could be ball joints need to be tightened, possibly sway bar links also might need to be tightened
@Smokin Monkey OK everything on is new when I bought of the dealer I will check out
Mahindra is a better jeep, Enough Said!!!!
What the hell is the deal with Jeeps; are they garbage? New vehicle should not have this much problem from the get go. Ball joints, death wobble, dry starts. Its all garbage engineering. I would not buy another again.