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habitTrail · **Joined:** Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:56 am **Posts:** 46

Well, the Liberty will go to the shop tomorrow to get the front end checked out.

- Thumping heard and felt. Kind of like when a bubble comes up on a tire, except there are no bumps/bubbles on the Revo's.

- Whinning sound. Not sure how much of the noise can be attributed to normal Revo road noise.

- Steering wheel shake at about 65 mph.

- Believe condition has been there quite some time, but has worsened.

- Have no idea what the problem is. Wheel bearing maybe?

Recently had tires balanced and front end aligned after coincidently having lower ball joint recall completed last month.

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Sun Nov 26, 2006 6:32 pm

Could be a bad balance and alignment?

Wahoo650 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 26, 2006 8:39 pm

It could also be as simple as needing to re-torque the lug nuts. You said it started recently after the front end work, try tightening the lugs again. It seems (and I know I'm not the only one here to experience it) that you will get the thumping if lugs are a little loose. Seems to be with the aluminum wheels, something about the rate of expansion, etc. with heat build up. They should be checked/retightened after 50 miles to be safe.

lucas/liberty · **Posted:** Mon Nov 27, 2006 11:42 pm

call the dealership and tell them about the situation...

habitTrail · **Joined:** Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:56 am **Posts:** 46

Had a five star dealer check the Liberty out.

Results:
- Nothing wrong. Heard/felt the thumpata for maybe five seconds during test drive.
- Wheels balanced perfectly. Front end aligned perfectly.
- No bad wheel bearings or problems with CV joints, front differential or transfer case.
- Did find a little play in the upper control arm on the driver’s side, but advised no cause for concern or alarm at this point.
- On the plus side, did not charge me a cent to check it out.

So ... today, I rotated the tires myself in the backyard [five tire rotation].

Results:
- Problem solved.
- Apparently the front driver tire is defective, but I can find no apparent external damage. Some cords/belts must have given way. [17k miles on the Revo's]. It is now relegated to spare duty only and from here on out on this set, I will only do four tire rotations.
- Found that the upper balljoint boot on the driver side has a small hole in it and is losing some grease very gradually. There is no grease on surrounding parts, just a very small area on the boot around the small tear. Trying to decide what and when I will do something about it. Hmmm ...

tulsa · **Posted:** Mon Dec 04, 2006 11:26 am

Starting about 30 years ago I found doing tire rotations that involved changing the side of the vehicle the tire was on ran the risk of belt failure on radials. Since then straight front to back has worked for me. You need to make plans to junk that tire even as a spare it is a risk.
Lewis

JJsTJ · **Posted:** Mon Dec 04, 2006 12:04 pm

Clean that boot real good w/ some alcohol and seal the hole w/ some RTV to help keep the grease in and dirt/water out for now.

habitTrail · **Joined:** Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:56 am **Posts:** 46

tulsa, I hear you on that one. I had read discussions about how tires of today were engineering so that it was possible to do five tire rotations. Probably, not. I suspect that since one tire quite possibly has internal damage, the others aren't that far behind and I might be wise to consider a complete new set rather than just the one.

Thanks JJsKJ! I was trying to think of the best temp fix for now. I've been wondering if perhaps the dealer messed the boot up while trying to check for play in the steering/suspension components. Maybe, using a device to try and pry around and somehow got into the boot. Oh well, doesn't matter. I just need to deal with the problem.

Jeger · **Posted:** Mon Dec 04, 2006 2:27 pm

tulsa wrote:

Starting about 30 years ago I found doing tire rotations that involved changing the side of the vehicle the tire was on ran the risk of belt failure on radials. Since then straight front to back has worked for me. You need to make plans to junk that tire even as a spare it is a risk.
Lewis

With radials? I knew about the bias ply problems but have always thought radials were fine spinning either direction.

tulsa · **Posted:** Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:31 am

Jeger wrote:

tulsa wrote:

Starting about 30 years ago I found doing tire rotations that involved changing the side of the vehicle the tire was on ran the risk of belt failure on radials. Since then straight front to back has worked for me. You need to make plans to junk that tire even as a spare it is a risk.
Lewis

With radials? I knew about the bias ply problems but have always thought radials were fine spinning either direction.

I never had a problem with bias ply tires in the 60's and early 70's, just radial since then. Manufacturers tell you one tire people the other. I will go with the tire dealers and stick to front to back rotations. I suspect tires rotated in an x pattern more often, say every 5K miles might have a chance, but don't want to risk.
Lewis

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