'81 300TD Front End Noise

[gsamuelson]

Hey Folks, just got a 300TD and have been driving it for a couple of months. Lately, I have noticed a grinding noise from the front end, possibly the right side, when making slow speed turn to the right. The noise is also present when backing up but again only noticeable at slow speed. The noise is not present during the complete turn but only towards the end of rotation.

I put the front end up on jacks and of course with no load there is no noise, so I am assuming the sterring box is OK. I did notice boots on the lower ball joints are torn, could one/both of them be causing the grind?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I did search previous messages but no luck.

PS. the 300TD just past 430,000km, whoohoo!