I've taken to two different mechanics... this afternoon I will take to the 3rd. I have two problems which are:

1. When I hit the brake at any speed it starts making a "ticking" noise. To describe to ticking noise... when you hit the break it SOUNDS like your pushing air down, well with the ticking... it sounds like it lets the air out slow. It was happening the other night and my ABS light came on. Also... on the brakes. It makes a big popping noise when I come to a complete stop. We thought it was the balljoints and replaced them and that didn't help. I've also turned rotors and replaced brakes but to no avail. ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE.

2. When I turn my wheels it makes an AWFUL squeeke noise... I've had it for about 1 1/2 years now. When I had it checked a while back they said it was the balljoints. They said I didn't have to have them fixed right away but eventually I will... they were $350 at the place so I decided to stay away for a while. Yesterday I had them replaced and the squeek is still there. He then suggested my pitman arm... and that he would look at it at a later time. Any suggestion on this? It does it everytime I turn... both directions. Awful squeek.

I am not a "car" person as in I don't know a lot about cars and trucks. I wish it was something I had gotten into... I still need to because I seem to have a lot of problems. But if you guys could PLEASE help... it would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Steven Dixon from Pocola, OK

 

That squeek sounds like your steering box might be bad. You might try draining the fluid in the box and lines and refilling it with some new PS fluid. When doing this, remember that stuff is supposed to be clear...I bet you'll be surprised.

 

As for the brakes, you could have air in your breaks. I'm not sure how to do it on one of these trucks, but you can take it to a shop and have your brake lines bled. This should purge any air out of the brake lines. You may even be able to do it yourself. I strongly suggest that you purchase a shop manual for your truck, it'll save you a lot of money in repairs because most common repairs aren't tough to do.

If your ABS light is coming on, there is more than likely a problem with your ABS system. If that's the case, you may have to take it to a dealer to have them fix it, but your local shop also may be able to do it.

Do you have enough brake fluid in the resivour?

Hope this helps!!!

 

I have plenty of brake fluid... but its not clear. It looks a green color actually :-\

Air in brakes might be it... I took it to have it looked at again this afternoon and he said he didn't know that he would call the dealer and find out. But the ABS light doens't come on... it just came on once when I was stopping and going stopping and going... trying to figure it out.

The squeek is sooo annoying though... could the pitman arm be it? I don't want to pay to have it changed if thats not the problem.

Again thanks for the help.

 

Hi Steve and welcome to FTE

Do you get any shaking when you put the brakes on?
Can you hear the "air" noise under the dash?
If so it could be from the brake booster.
Does your truck have rear wheel ABS or 4 wheel ABS?

The most common cause of a squeek when turning is the pitman arm. After the pitman arm the next common things would be the ball joints or the tie rod ends. If you have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth while you listen and feel underneath you should be able to find it. I've replaced tons of pitman arms on these.

 

Dave... thanks for the warm welcome... and the advice.

As far as shaking... no none involved. And this stutterting type of noise it does only happens ever so often. If I go out and drive it around right now it won't happen until about 10-15 min. on them... it's like they have to warm up to start doing it. I wish I could really explain the noise it makes.

You push the peddle and it starts ticking... down by the brakes like you can hear it in the dash. The peddle then comes hard to push down... like its tight... then it lets up like it goes all the way to the floor and the ticking stops. But when it lets up it feels like your not stopping... like ABS is kicking in and won't let you brake.

BTW I have Rear Wheel ABS...

Are pitman arms high? He said I also needed new tie rods eventually as well. Price now so I can start saving?

 

Why would the pitman arm squeak? The PA is simply a rigid piece of steel with splines at the end. If anything is wrong there it is simply a metal/metal contact squeak.

Tie rod ends are fairly cheap $40-$60 depending on which ones you need.....the drag link ends are usually a little more. You can call a parts store and ask them. They are easy to replace....just takes some time and you hafta align the truck when you are done. That is also easy.....I still havent figured out why shops charge $100 to do that. It takes me 10 minutes to align my jeep.

 

The pitman arm on these has a tie rod like end on it where it attaches to the center link. They squeek regularly.

 

Oh....I didnt know that. That would make sense then. You might get someone to turn the wheel and get under there and see if you can hear what the problem is.

 

The first week I had my truck the steering wheel had a squeek in it, we thought it was the pitman arm so I got under the truck and had dad turn the wheel, no sounds. He said he could hear the squeeking in the cab though. I got lazy and ignored the problem till it kept getting worse, eventually to a loud clicking that you could feel in the wheel. I finally took it in after I was making a turn and the steering wheel locked in place for a split second.

Turns out it was the bearings in the column, I've had several people tell me that they can't go out, I still have two chewed up rings and a few small bearings left to prove they can. Cost about $220 to replace them, mostly shop labor I think.

 

That is a good point....your steering shaft might be rubbing where it goes through the firewall.

 

Just a thought, Jeremy. I used to work at Firestone, and the alignment rack and computer together cost over $50,000. They need to recoup their investment somehow.

Also, I've seen it take some techs over an hour to do an alignment, depending on the vehicle

 

Are you trying to get me to buy it?!?! If you are trying to insinuate that I am somehow ripping off that company because I am not using their services......then you are wrong.

As for the alignment.....I obviously dont use the laser system......this can be done with a simple tape measure. Of course it wont be as perfect as with using the laser, but I dont get any tire wobble and the alignment is within factory specs.

Trust me, it really is a LOT easier than you think and the first time you do it by yourself, you'll be running around kicking yourself in the *** for paying for it to be done all those times.

 

Your Jeep is easy to align if all you're doing is adjusting the toe-in
The front end on most newer vehicles has adjustable camber and caster as well. A good alignment shop will also check the vehicle's tracking, check the steering axis inclination which tells if any parts are bent etc etc.

 

Steve, back to your brake problem. Your ABS could be kicking in when it's not supposed to. Try unplugging the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) on the top of the rear diff and take it for a spin to see if that makes any difference.