I thought it may be a front right u-join but it makes no sound when going foward.

 

Probably blew the CV joint apart. Grab ahold of the axle where the CV boot is and give it a good shake. Chances are you will find some play there. If so, I new axle is about $200. If you are handy, go to www.fwdservice.com and you can get a rebuild kit for about $50. Good luck!

 

what would it be when there is no freeplay?

 

The first thing I would do is pull the front hub apart. THere are a few small pieces in there that could have come apart. The hub is pretty easy to disassemble. Just make sure everything goes back together exactly the way it came apart. Also, make sure everything is spotless before you put it back together. If you know for sure that it is coming from the hub, I would say that there is something wrong with the expanding sheath inside the hub that put the quad in and out of 4x4. That's the best advice I can give without seeing or hearing it myself. Good Luck!

 

Seeing how yours is a 97, you don't have CV joints. What you are describing sounds like a U-Jpiont to me. I just changed all of them on a friends 98. The front Drive shaft U-Joint will make that type of noise also.