Noises when steering in 4WD

Hello everyone, 
So I’ve recently been hearing noises and they’re getting worse whenever I turn almost the maximum, I’d say anything above 70% steer. 
I don’t know how to describe it but it sounds like something is grinding with ticking. 
When I steer in 2WD it’s ok even when my lockers are on 4x4. 

Any ideas? Thanks 

Sounds suspiciously like a cv joint. It being quieter with the hubs in 4x2 suggests the when the wheels are turning the cv joints they are not running on the worn parts of the joint balls.

i agree with Lambert also would advise fixing it soon
cos when it breaks you will struggle to turn making it almost impossible to drive home

A clicking or even a sort of cracking sound at full lock is a sure sign of a cv joint on the way out. Is it coming from both wheels or just one?

The only other thing, are you running bigger tyres, they might be catching on the wheel arch, especially if like me the front bumper was pushed back after dropping in to a rut whilst off roading, usually the sound of a cv is different?

Checking the obvious, are you on a loose or slippery surface?

 It being quieter with the hubs in 4x2 suggests the when the wheels are turning the cv joints they are not running on the worn parts of the joint balls.

The thing is that I have fixed hubs so they’re always on 4x4 and it makes noise only when I’m actually in 4WD but when the lever is on 2H and I steer it doesn’t make the noise even with the hubs locked



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Is it coming from both wheels or just one?

I believe its only the left one but I will lift both front wheels up and check



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are you running bigger tyres

Normal tyres, just bigger engine which I believe contributes to wearing CVs right?



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are you on a loose or slippery surface?

I heard it many times on asphalt, I’m not entirely sure about slippery surfaces, if I don’t hear it on slippery surface what does that mean?



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advise fixing it soon
cos when it breaks you will struggle to turn making it almost impossible to drive home

I see, hope I can find a CV joint without having to buy the whole rod

Thanks everyone

You shouldn't be using 4WD on asphalt unless it's very slippy (snow/ice).  It will make noises and cause difficulties with steering as you get windup between front and rear axles.

rogerzilla wrote:

You shouldn't be using 4WD on asphalt unless it's very slippy (snow/ice).  It will make noises and cause difficulties with steering as you get windup between front and rear axles.

 

I see, I just wanted to test to see where it’s coming from, because I heard it first time while offroading so actually yes I just remembered that it does make the noise on slippery surfaces

That's ok then - just wanted to check it wasn't only on asphalt, as that wouldn't indicate a fault.

Been driving my Jimny on asfalt in 4x4 lately and surprised how little noise I get. (4x4 is frozen stuck.)

Are the noises intermittent, connected to wheel revs, accelerating or braking or coasting?
Or in/out flexing?
Open diffs?

a "friend" of mine put a large cable tie on my drive shaft once. That ticked
That sound was so obvious so I had more or less determined what it was before I looked under the car

Well I hear it whenever I’m in 4WD and streering almost to the max

I recently also started hearing cracking noise sometimes when going in reverse in 4WD, but not always, not sure if it’s related

I’ll try replacing the CV joint and see how it goes, thanks

What I meant was with locked hubs or drive flanges when you are in 4x2 the wheels are pushing the cv joints and drive shafts round as opposed to when in 4x4 the drive is being sent to the wheels from the transmission. It is therefore possible in the early stages of excess wear in the cv joint that the direction the drive is coming from will cause different noises in different directions.