Steering clunk when brakes depressed

[Jazzicon]

21 Rubicon XR 3.6 Pentastar
RK LCA’s, shocks and front trackbar
Caster is about 6.5
BFG 315 KO2’s
Factory tie rod and drag link
Spidertrax 1.75” spacers

When I press the brakes and turn my wheels there is a clunk sound. It does not happen any other time. It just started today.

All RK bolts are torqued to spec and paint marked, so no movement there.

@Roky any ideas?

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[Remorseless]

Can you make it happen at all in park without brakes pressed? Reason I ask is if it's a linkage joint or something, I'd expect being still without the tires rolling being the more important thing. Probably only notice when driving at a stop with the brakes pressed, but would be reproducible in park as well without brakes pressed.

If it's 100% only with the brakes pressed, even in park, that's pretty odd. No give to the ball joints or steering joints if you put the axle on jack stands?

 

[Roky]

21 Rubicon XR 3.6 Pentastar
RK LCA’s, shocks and front trackbar
Caster is about 6.5
BFG 315 KO2’s
Factory tie rod and drag link
Spidertrax 1.75” spacers

When I press the brakes and turn my wheels there is a clunk sound. It does not happen any other time. It just started today.

All RK bolts are torqued to spec and paint marked, so no movement there.

@Roky any ideas?

Check the drag link and tie rod bolts, make sure they’re torqued is where I’d start, then go through all your connecting bolts, shocks, sway links etc…..

 

[Jazzicon]

Can you make it happen at all in park without brakes pressed? Reason I ask is if it's a linkage joint or something, I'd expect being still without the tires rolling being the more important thing. Probably only notice when driving at a stop with the brakes pressed, but would be reproducible in park as well without brakes pressed.

If it's 100% only with the brakes pressed, even in park, that's pretty odd. No give to the ball joints or steering joints if you put the axle on jack stands?

It doesn’t seem to happen with the engine off.

I don’t see any excessive play in the tie rod or drag link. I will need to YouTube how to check ball joints:

I haven’t taken the tires off yet to inspect.

 

[Jazzicon]

Check the drag link and tie rod bolts, make sure they’re torqued is where I’d start, then go through all your connecting bolts, shocks, sway links etc…..

The only bolts not paint marked are the tie rod and drag link….I will check those suckers out.

 

[Roky]

The only bolts not paint marked are the tie rod and drag link….I will check those suckers out.

Also your ss , I think you’re still rocking the stocker ?

 

[Remorseless]

It doesn’t seem to happen with the engine off.

I don’t see any excessive play in the tie rod or drag link. I will need to YouTube how to check ball joints:

I haven’t taken the tires off yet to inspect.

For ball joints (the OEM ones suck, and with as much flex as you get, they're on life support probably) one of the easier ways to check is to grab the bottom inside of the tire with the axle supported and off the ground and try to pull out, away from the Jeep, like you're going to rip it off. If you feel a clunk doing that, odds are your ball joint is out. They pop and clunk a lot when they're going because they've eaten through the plastic bearing surface. But, there's umpteen different things it could be as well. Don't forget the draglink joint at the pitman arm too, that's often overlooked.

Engine on vs off is probably just the amount of force the power steering puts out, it's pretty significant.

 

[Jazzicon]

Also your ss , I think you’re still rocking the stocker ?

Affirmative. Haven't bashed it on a rock yet.

 

[Roky]

and try to pull out, away from the Jeep, like you're going to rip it off. If you feel a clunk doing that, odds are your ball joint is out.

Don’t tell her that, do you remember who you’re talking to…….?

 

[Remorseless]

Don’t tell her that, do you remember who you’re talking to…….?

Well if she tears it off it's free entertainment for me lol

 

[Jazzicon]

Well if she tears it off it's free entertainment for me lol

Okay…tried to she-hulk the tires. No noise. Going to look up torque specs and see if anything is loose.

 

[Remorseless]

Okay…tried to she-hulk the tires. No noise. Going to look up torque specs and see if anything is loose.

For the degress, one flat of a hex nut is 60 degrees. Since most folks don't have a beam style torque wrench that reads degrees, that's a good reference.

 

[Roky]

Okay…tried to she-hulk the tires. No noise. Going to look up torque specs and see if anything is loose.

Jack the tire up about an inch or so and put pry bar or something to pry with under the tire and see if there’s any up and down movement.

 

[Mocopo]

Not sure if the clunk is a big clunk or a small clunk, but if its small, that happened to me once when the metal clip that keeps the break pad in the caliper fell off. The pad was moving freely in the caliper, making noise as moved from side to side.

 

[Jazzicon]

So far everything is in spec torque wise. I haven’t tried the ball joints because I don’t have extra cotter pins yet.

I did hear the clunk turning the wheel without the brakes depressed….it just wasn’t as loud and not as repeatable

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