Dana 25 Clunk When Turning

Its interesting that you get the noise even when stationary, just steering to the limits. The dry balls in your axle joint very likely were the cause of the noise/binding you are experiencing. Also, check the condition of the bronze bushing in the spindle that centers the short side of the axle.
As far as lubes, I use a thin grease (lubriplate) in my lockout hubs to coat the internal moving parts, but don't "pack" them.
I also pack the kingpin bearings, especially the upper ones, with wheel bearing grease. The actual knuckle needs something thin enough to circulate, but thick enough not to leak past the globe seals. I'm an outlier in that I use molydisulphide CV grease mixed with a little 140 gear lube. Most others use their cornhead grease. The differential uses gear lube, usually 140 weight for my conditions.
-Donny

 

I have thought about using the CV lube, as that is designed for the same purpose.

I know many use it, and I am not going to argue about it, but IMHO "Cornhead grease" is fine for what it was designed for, but not an appropriate lube for steering knuckles or steering boxes. I think the use of it for stuff like this came from farmers with leaking steering boxes on their tractors using it, because they had it on hand and thought it would solve their problem. It won't leak out, but it won't flow to lubricate the joint in a knuckle, or the cam and worm in a steering box. That is my opinion, others have a different opinion. It is your Jeep, and you can use whatever you want to.

 

Thanks again guys.
I am going to tear into things a bit this weekend and get to the bottom of it!
Lubricant conversations are always entertaining. I own a few diesels and the "best oil" arguments go on for days!!!

I think the first step will just be to remove the tie rods again and see if I can feel something binding by hand and verify that the transfer case is getting out of 4WD. It's been a long time since I have worked on a Jeep, so it's all coming back to me slowly.

Herm the Overdrive Guy has great pricing on Dana 25 parts and rebuild kits. I have a feeling I will be making a few purchases from him in the near future.

 

You may want to PM Daryl on this site for parts.

 

Okay, so good news!
The static clunk was the drivers side leaf spring "popping". I set up a tripod with my iphone and took videos with the camera pointing at everything I could think of. I finally caught a small movement at the front leaf spring hanger.
Sure enough, I had my wife turn the wheel and I put my hand on the spring and I could feel the 3rd leaf "pop" and shift maybe 1/16" and then return to position as the wheel was unwound.

Whew! Now to find out what's binding up around corners

While the front end was up on jack stands I played around with the knuckles. I don't think it's an axle binding any more, but I am going to pull the knuckle pins this weekend still to find out just what's in there.

 

The banging noise and lock ups are more than spring chatter.

 

I spent a bit more time on this the other day. I removed the front lower axle bearing caps off and there is a whole bunch of fresh pink #2 grease in there. I know this is the wrong grease for the knuckles, but it has less than 100 miles on it probably since the Jeep was "rebuilt".
I removed the front driveshaft and took it for another spin while my wife tried to get a video from the parking lot. It's harder than it looks... I tried too and got dizzy right away!
I did also stumble across the rear parking drum is a bit loose. You can grab the U-joint and jiggle it around a bit. I think that's the Companion Shaft being loose since it's the whole drum + U-joint that can move.

Anyways, hopefully this video link works:
iCloud

 

If there is a better way to share a video, I am all ears!

 

if you post it on youtube you can put it right on this page.

 

Do your tires rub the body, frame, or springs?
Does this happening when turning either direction? Tighten the parking brake and make sure it is all together correctly.
What brakes does it have?

sounds like it's driveshaft rpm to me so the parking brake is my bet.

 

look at this, for instance. all i did was copy the link and paste it here, and it shows up.

 

Okay, lets try this:

 

Here is the play in the companion flange, at least I think it's that.
There is definitely gear oil coming out of the parking brake area, so my guess is the seal back there is also bad.

I really need a Go-Pro or a little tripod... this video is terrible!

Oh, and thank you Mr. Vaughan!

 

"I removed the front lower axle bearing caps off and there is a whole bunch of fresh pink #2 grease in there. I know this is the wrong grease for the knuckles"

If you are talking about the king pin bearings they are supposed to be packed with grease. The "knuckle" lubricant is what goes inside the ball or cup of the knuckle where the axle joint is. There is a pipe thread plug on the knuckle you can remove with the square drive of a 1/2" ratchet to check the knuckle lube.

 

Sounds kind of like my lunchbox locker. I didn’t read this whole thread but is that maybe a cause?

 

I do have a Powertrax lock-right locker in the back. Could that really cause such a big banging noise?
I guess it could be a small clunk that is being amplified into a much larger clunk by the loose companion flange?

I don't know what kind of gear oil was put in the rear differential, but changing to an 85W-140 might quiet things down IF it's the locker.

Thanks again guys!

 

Mine is a loudish click. I can also feel it in my seat.

 

OldPappy,

I removed the pipe plug on the knuckle too. There was nothing remotely liquid in there, but I did see plenty of pink grease on the joint. I will have the Jeep back up on stands this weekend.
I am thinking of filling the knuckles with Grade 00 grease, locking the lubs and running the differential with a drill to mix it up since the driveshaft is already off.

 

Some of the “automatic lockers” especially slip in lockers can make a fair amount of noise, especially if they aren’t shimmed just right. Also if they get stopped in just the right position they can make a fairly loud pop when you take off again.

 

A lot of folks use the wrong stuff in the knuckles, some swear by "Cornhead Grease" but it is simply not appropriate for the knuckles.

Another misconception, which is widely prevalent, is the king pin bearings get lubricated by the knuckle lube, and that is not correct. King pin bearings need to be packed with wheel bearing grease. It is a part of routine maintenance that is usually neglected, but I grease mine at least once in a while, and more often if I have used a Jeep in stream crossings.

With Spicer joints you can get away with grease in the knuckles for a while but the joint won't get lubricated as it should, and won't last as long as it could. With the other types you definitely need something that will flow. I mix "knuckle pudding" with the recipe from the Novak site, but have considered using that nasty lube made for CV joints which is really what we have in there, other than the Spicer joints.