i have a 1990 jeep wrangler and i have a ticking nois while the car is moving it stops when i stop and it seems to stop when i'm turning ledt or right. my stearing wheel also makes almost a full half revolution befor my front wheels start to move i'm shure i need an alighnment but i cant figer out what is causing the tick any ideas

They key problem is the freeplay in the steering. With the steering wheel unlocked and engine off go under the hood and turn the steering shaft by hand and look at the shaft going into the steering box and note the pitman arm's motion on the bottom.

Some freeplay is ok. Good would be less than 2" motion at the steering wheel or less. Look for the gearbox itself to be loose then the front end parts. Will take a helper to put some force on the wheel to show a bad front end joint which would be dangerously worn to cause a 1/2 turn of the wheel. Gearbox is adjustable but that much is a lot of wear to adjust out and a new or replacement gearbox would be indicated if you find it to be the cause. Not sure about what noises it could make. Driveshaft U-joints can make clicking and ticking sounds but shouldn't cause the freeplay. Steering shaft has small u-joints and a rubber insulator that could be worn and check those out. If they failed it could cause total loss of steering!!

T

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Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest, Boston
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