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Clicking noise when turning.

FLjeeper

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I went to my dealer with this issue. I showed them the thread that identified the ball joint crown nuts. They said they checked everything and couldnā€™t find anything. It doesnā€™t look like they did anything to the ball joint nut torquing, and of course I still have the clicking noise (see attached video after service).

@JeepCares can you help?
That sound is the lower ball joint. Simple to fix. Remove the cotter pin, advance castellated nut 2 holes, re-insert cotter pin. Sound gone. The torque spec on the lower ball joint is 33ft/lbs but when I had to tighten mine that was not enough to get rid of the clicking.
 

amstel78

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Just wanted to add that my 2021 JLUW developed a clicking noise from the front passenger ball joint. Removing the cotter pin, torquing castle nut to the next slot and installing new cotter pin solved the problem. Driver side occasionally clicked, but passenger was worst. In fact, it clicked a couple of times while tightening the nut.

Replacement lower ball joints call for an initial torque spec of 30 to 37 ft. lbs. Then once that spec is reached, to tighten to the next slot. I think the factory neglected to do that as both passenger and driver side castle nuts were fairly loose.

Jeep Wrangler JL Clicking noise when turning. 5C96A1E3-8360-4072-A4EF-9EF365EDFDC0
 

AnyLameName

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My 2021 JLU Wrangler just started doing this, and google led me here. When I found the first page of the thread and saw it was from 2018 I was sort of bummed. "Ah man," I thought, "if it was that long ago surely the factory is doing it right by now. Must be something else." Then I skipped forward to the most recent post and found it was hours old! I'm moderately handy in general but more around houses than cars, so I'm starting with an appointment at the dealer tomorrow with this link ready to go on the phone. Fingers crossed. I don't like, starting a conversation with, "So, the internet says..." with a mechanic any more than I do with a doctor, but the sheer number of similar stories present in this thread is enough for me to get over that, I think.
 

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I went to my dealer with this issue. I showed them the thread that identified the ball joint crown nuts. They said they checked everything and couldnā€™t find anything. It doesnā€™t look like they did anything to the ball joint nut torquing, and of course I still have the clicking noise (see attached video after service).

@JeepCares can you help?


Thanks for tagging us here, Djzjeep22. Feel free to send us a private message with more details if you need assistance.

Kate
Jeep Cares
 

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AnyLameName

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My 2021 JLU Wrangler just started doing this, and google led me here. When I found the first page of the thread and saw it was from 2018 I was sort of bummed. "Ah man," I thought, "if it was that long ago surely the factory is doing it right by now. Must be something else." Then I skipped forward to the most recent post and found it was hours old! I'm moderately handy in general but more around houses than cars, so I'm starting with an appointment at the dealer tomorrow with this link ready to go on the phone. Fingers crossed. I don't like, starting a conversation with, "So, the internet says..." with a mechanic any more than I do with a doctor, but the sheer number of similar stories present in this thread is enough for me to get over that, I think.
Follow-up after the visit to the dealer. I sat in the waiting room for an hour and was then informed that my ball joints had been tightened and they aren't hearing the noise any more. I'm not either, so this looks like a win.
 

JJsJL

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I have a 2021 JLUR on the Mopar 2ā€ lift. About 4200 miles. Clicking noise started when turning sharp in either direction at low speeds and usually would stop as I straightened the wheel out. Took into dealer today for issue. Informed them that I had read the castle nuts could be the issue. They heard the noise. They tightened all 4 front castle nuts. They indicated they heard the noise as they tightened a few of the castle nuts. I spent time turning circles this evening and so far so good.
 

Djzjeep22

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After third trip to dealer where I said ā€œcustomer states, torque the fā€™ing castle nutsā€, they finally did and the clicking noise is gone. Great to see the solution but p@&$sed that it took 3 visits for them to get it rightā€¦,
 

Bekser

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Just wanted to jump in and say thanks! I was experiencing this exact clicking problem. Made an appt with the Dealer which said they would have to charge me $100+ to diagnose the problem and IF they think the issue wasn't caused by my bigger tires and RK lift, they would warranty the fix. Luckily they had to reschedule my appt to next week and I did some more research on the clicks.

Literally just pulled the lower castle nut cotter pins out (luckily only took me about half-hour for both left and right, just used needle nose pliers and leverage) and the nuts were for sure loose. torqued to slightly over 37ft/lbs to get new cotter pin in. Immediately solved the awfully loud clicking!

A few notes:
- I didn't remove the tire but my deep sockets did NOT fit, you'll need something shorter but careful to make sure it still fits because the actual bolt sticks out relatively far. I just went to home depot and bought a few different ones that might work and tried them. 7/8" was the only one I got that worked, although it wasn't a snug fit but it did the job. If I were to guess, the castle nut needs a 22mm which I've only found in 1/2".
- I used a 3/8 torque wrench which just cleared the wheels. got to 37 ft/lbs and used a 3/8 breaker bar to move it to the next available slot for the new cotter pin.
 

Dr3wDrop

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Well the dealer replaced two ball joints and found the other side was loose.

2EDC835B-F952-4C3C-B8C4-2C9073793E0F.jpeg
 

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runningonemptyy

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this is an old thread but it am posting this for anyone who is searching for this issue as i recently was.

there is a TSB for this issue. the dealer knows about it. if the dealer tries to say otherwise find another dealer. see the RO notes for my 21 2dr JL (2900 miles)
Jeep Wrangler JL Clicking noise when turning. 8C425E53-C6EB-40F5-BCAD-B9C6AC950B42
 

gato

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this is an old thread but it am posting this for anyone who is searching for this issue as i recently was.

there is a TSB for this issue. the dealer knows about it. if the dealer tries to say otherwise find another dealer. see the RO notes for my 21 2dr JL (2900 miles)
Jeep Wrangler JL Clicking noise when turning. 8C425E53-C6EB-40F5-BCAD-B9C6AC950B42
Does anyone have the TSB number? Mine is going to the dealer on Monday. I have already tightened my castle nuts to spec, but the clicking and popping continues.

Having a TSB number would minimize the hassle of convincing the dealer to do anything about it.
 

gato

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Well it finally got bad enough that I took it to an off road shop and the culprit was my oil pan/trans skid was shifting causing the popping and clicking noise when turning. It's quiet as a church mouse now. The noise didn't start until after the MC install so I was just making the assumption that was the problem... Lesson learned
What skid do you have? I have Artec, but not sure how that could be the cause of my clicking. Everything there is tight.
 

andrew4fins

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Amazing this has gone on this long. I have a 2021 Rubicon and just noticed the clicking. Did the search and here I am. Pulled the cotter pins today and sure enough both bottom ball joint nuts were finger tight. Tourqued them down to specs + next hole and no more clicking. I will say a crows foot attachment for the torque wrench is a godsend. That and a hammer and punch to get the stubborn cotter pins out.
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