ok guys.. iv looked and turned and listened and tightened on everything on front end.. but i still have this horrible pop/spring rub sound when i turn my steering wheel.. i have 4" RC lift.. all hardware tight.. no rubbing anywhere.. could anything be worn out that i cant see? if i jack front end up and turn tires i get no sound.. but when the tires are sitting on the ground i get some funky noises.. ??

 

have someone turn your steering wheel back and forth to replicate the sound while you stand in front of your jeep. as you hear the popping, hold different components with your hand. you should be able to feel what ever is the culprit or at least be able to track it down better. could be your steering box could be a track bar mount tearing, could be a lot of things but you need to locate it first.

 

Could be a u-joint.

 

weve looked and felt.. but cant find anything that it might be.. and it only makes the sound when i turn.. not when the jeep is sitting still and you turn the wheel.. only when the vehicle is in motion..

 

Check your sway bar disconnects. Mine pop at low speeds when I turn. Unhook them and see if you still get the noise.

 

unhooked and still got the popping sound.. :-/

 

Are the coils seated in the groove so they don't spin/shift?

At full lock, both directions, both sides, can you see if anything, a tire, etc...is getting close to another part inboard for example?

When you tightened things up, was it with the rig lifted, or, resting on the tires?

Did you tighten things with a torque wrench to spec? - Or go ever tighter to try to get rid of noises?

 

I have this exact same issue and the same lift too. Also, I have the RC Dual Steering Stabilizer that would keep getting loose and end up resting on the tie rod. Fixed that issue, but the noise continued - almost sounds like a pop/clank noise like a spring snapping, but to date, I'm yet to find something I can put my finger on to tell what's causing it. It almost sounds like it would be very simple to find out, but I've tried everything that's been mentioned - had a buddy turn the steering wheel from end to end to see if anything was loose or moving, checked torque specs on all the suspension/steering components - nothing. I did notice that if I grabbed the drag link and moved it [up and down], I could see some movement on the dropped pitman arm, but the nut is torqued to 185 ft/lbs. Going to replace the pitman arm here soon.

Of course, I have another issue that may or may not be related - my steering wheel is centered dead on, but after every turn to the right and straightening back up, the steering wheel ends up in the 10 'o clock - 4 'o clock position till I make a corresponding left turn and it's back dead center again. Not sure if you have this issue too, but the popping noise always worries me - get this feeling like something's about to break!

 

Check your battery. Mine slid from side to side and I swore I had the dreaded steering "clunk". Put a piece of 1/8" tubing under the hold-down and now it doesn't move.

 

everything on my rig is torqued to spec.. but still got a clunk.. no found cause yet.