Concur that u joint is most likely cause. Did or does it bind up or pulse at all when turning hard to the left? That part isn't expensive. About $40 for a new u joint. Is it easy... depends on the tools, general mechanical knowledge and/or desire to learn. Is it expensive? Probably $350ish if you go to a shop. And $40 for a u joint, $10 for a quart of diff oil and rtv seal if u do it. What's the year and mileage on your Jeep and ur general skill set? Do you have a press? The first time I had to pull axles and take my front end apart it took me 6 hours. I decided to buy a press then and do it myself. Now that I've done it 3 times I can do it in1.5 hours. However get someone else to make sure you diagnose where it is coming from first. Hubs tend to make a grinding noise. U joints tend to click. However if your not feeling a bind of the wheel or pulsing at full left turn there is a possibility it is ur front driveshaft u joint ur hearing on that side. Although U would definitely feel a drift shaft vibration at speed. Just make sure u know what it is first. There is certainly no shortage of how to videos on the tube.

 

No reason for gear oil or RTV for this job on a JK.

I'd bet you're looking ~ $200-250 for a shop to do it, but that's just a guess.

 

2011 with 96K. I don’t feel binding at a full left turn. The click you hear in the video is much louder in 4WD. Definitely sounds like it’s coming from the wheel area though.

 

sounds like a bad u-joint

 

I hear the click but it also sounds like "angry sparrows". If you search for that terminology, you'll get a plethora of bad u-joints come up. If you've got the time/ energy, you can remove that front axle shaft and run the hub without the shaft. That should help you rule in/ out the axle shaft, which would be u-joint. It's a bit of work, but won't cost you anything.

 

Is it better to change both u joints at the same time?

 

There is no overlapping labor, so outside of peace of mind in knowing they were both done, it's not necessary. I'd just fix the bad one for now, and if you have the opportunity to do the other side some time when that axle shaft is out for a different reason, do it then. They have a nice way to letting you know they're bad, so it's not like that 2nd one will go kaput with no warning. Just my opinion.

 

[quote=resharp001]No reason for gear oil or RTV for this job on a JK.

I always clean out the tube, brake clean the housing and replace the fluid if I have to pull an axle. I have lube lockers so don't have to mess with rtv. But for me the extra $15 for cleaner and fluid is piece of mind I didn't push sand into the housing putting the axle back in.

I had the passenger side u joint go bad on my 13 at 57k. At 100K the other one is fine. So yeah not necessary to replace both as how long they last seems to be a crap shoot.

 

Found the problem...

 

so it was the driveshaft huh, and was just sounding like the front wheel. yup, bad CV joint will sound clickity too. What size lift do you have? Had the boot at the TC side ripped and purged the grease? Maybe you should have looked at the TF high angle replacement rather than a factory replacement??