Rear End

[murray_xj]

hey all, I figured my first post here might as well be asking for some help. :bang: I was driving my XJ on saturday and noticed a clicking from the rear end at low speed. so I checked the lube, everything was fine so like most little ticks and clicks I ignored it. Drove it to work today and on the way home I noticed a much more pronounced metallic clicking from the rear end. I put it up on jack stands tonight, dropped it in drive and only the driver side tire spun freely. the passenger side would jerk like it wanted to spin but wouldn't unless I pushed it by hand. I don't have any experience working with differentials, so please be specific in replying to help me figure out what's wrong and what's going to need replacing. Thanks!!

1992 XJ, 4.0, 4x4, Automatic, Chrysler 8.25 rear end

[slvmart]

Sounds like brakes to me ........:popcorn:

[OldFaurt]

hey all, I figured my first post here might as well be asking for some help. :bang: I was driving my XJ on saturday and noticed a clicking from the rear end at low speed. so I checked the lube, everything was fine so like most little ticks and clicks I ignored it. Drove it to work today and on the way home I noticed a much more pronounced metallic clicking from the rear end. I put it up on jack stands tonight, dropped it in drive and only the driver side tire spun freely. the passenger side would jerk like it wanted to spin but wouldn't unless I pushed it by hand. I don't have any experience working with differentials, so please be specific in replying to help me figure out what's wrong and what's going to need replacing. Thanks!!

1992 XJ, 4.0, 4x4, Automatic, Chrysler 8.25 rear end

Howdy!

First, just because one side does not turn does not mean it is Kurput!
In neutral, feel each side for rotation force.
Drag could be as simple as a small piece of gravel in your brakes.
So next, put the transmission in park and turn one side then the other.
This will let you see/feel if there is any defects in the Spider gears. if one side catches then you may have a bad spider gear!

Give that a try and get back to us! Oh and Good Luck!
Who knows, maybe you just cracked a drum! They are cheep so lets hope for that!
Average Brake drum at Autozone (http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1995-Jeep-Cherokee-4WD/Brake-Drum-Rear/_/N-j1sfeZ8knp2?filterByKeyWord=Brake+drum&fromString=search)
A dragging brake on one side can overheat/crack a drum.

[OldFaurt]

Sounds like brakes to me ........:popcorn:
Yup Let's hope!

[JeepFreak]

This web page may help you understand your differential a little better. From what you have described, it sounds like you have a LSD (Limited Slip Differential). Go ahead and take a look at this page and see if it gives you any idea of what could be happening:

http://www.grimmjeeper.com/lockers.html

[murray_xj]

thanks guys... I did pull both drums off to see if anything came apart in the brakes or if I had something dragging and no luck there. I was hopeful being that it's winter with lots of road salt and sinders. still tinkering and checking the recommendations above. will check back in

[murray_xj]

Howdy!

First, just because one side does not turn does not mean it is Kurput!
In neutral, feel each side for rotation force.
Drag could be as simple as a small piece of gravel in your brakes.
So next, put the transmission in park and turn one side then the other.
This will let you see/feel if there is any defects in the Spider gears. if one side catches then you may have a bad spider gear!

Give that a try and get back to us! Oh and Good Luck!
Who knows, maybe you just cracked a drum! They are cheep so lets hope for that!
Average Brake drum at Autozone (http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1995-Jeep-Cherokee-4WD/Brake-Drum-Rear/_/N-j1sfeZ8knp2?filterByKeyWord=Brake+drum&fromString=search)
A dragging brake on one side can overheat/crack a drum.

Okay, so checked as you said above:

In neutral both tires spin freely with very little drag, however while in neutral I can hear the clicking/chattering from under the Jeep.

In park it felt very similar to spinning the tires in neutral but I didn't hear the clicking/chattering sound. I'm not sure what you meant by one side catching here, did you mean not spin? because they both spun with no problem.

Thanks again, I appreciate the help

[drakan1908]

Sounds like a bad universal joint. Can you get someone to turn the tires while in neutral and you listen for exactly where the noise is coming from?

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[4.3LXJ]

I would ne checking those U joints.

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[murray_xj]

Sounds like a bad universal joint. Can you get someone to turn the tires while in neutral and you listen for exactly where the noise is coming from?

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

I can roll the tires with my foot while laying under the jeep, clearly coming from the diff area. As far as the u joints, there is no play in the driveshaft at all. And if my memory serves me right, the rear u joint I replaced last June. Grrr

[4.3LXJ]

They don't have to be destroyed to make noise. Just dry. But if you rule that out, then you had better pull the diff cover

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[murray_xj]

They don't have to be destroyed to make noise. Just dry. But if you rule that out, then you had better pull the diff cover

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Right... I greased everything up and called it a night lol. I'll see what tomorrow brings. Thanks again, I'll update

[slvmart]

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but I've had clicking noises come from the self-adjusters on the rear drums.

[murray_xj]

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but I've had clicking noises come from the self-adjusters on the rear drums.

no worries, that's what we are all here for is to get each other's opinions. However, I'm 110% sure it's not the brakes. I pulled both drums last night and thoroughly inspected both sides. Also, when rolling the tires under the Jeep the sound is clearly from the differential and not out at the drums. Diff cover is coming off tonight.

my only confusion was hearing the clicking when rolling the tires in nuetral and not when it was in park. hoping to get some thoughts on that. u-joints were greased up last night so it's not a dry joint, still made the sound this morning.

[JeepFreak]

Maybe this pic will help you better understand what could be making the clicking sounds.

https://public.sn2.livefilestore.com/y1pRmu3zyHDeNu9Ofs_4_wEhakO_3xIZyPZWsIP8d7x6wBQHvg 0hI9ZaAidhzIsaFbKCYz65Nrv5t8l46asaOOcBQ/open-differential-parts-id.jpg%3Fpsid%3D1

To me it seems as if your gears are either not lubricated enough thus causing an audible sound as it moves in the differential (mine does that because it has a diff leak thanks to les schwab). I just fill it up every couple hundred miles and the noise goes away. Just don't drive it if it's your gears or else you'll do what one of our other Jeepers did and blew his diff out of the case lol

[OldFaurt]

no worries, that's what we are all here for is to get each other's opinions. However, I'm 110% sure it's not the brakes. I pulled both drums last night and thoroughly inspected both sides. Also, when rolling the tires under the Jeep the sound is clearly from the differential and not out at the drums. Diff cover is coming off tonight.

my only confusion was hearing the clicking when rolling the tires in neutral and not when it was in park. hoping to get some thoughts on that. u-joints were greased up last night so it's not a dry joint, still made the sound this morning.

When in park, your pinion gear / u-joint do not rotate! in neutral, they do. This could indicate a chipped pinion/ring gear but that would take a lot of force. Again it points to that rear u-joint or maybe the one by the slip yoke at the transfer case. The next easy step without pulling diff cover is unstrap the rear u-joint and see if the noise goes away. That pretty much isolates it to the differential at that point!

I am thinking good thoughts for you!

[OldFaurt]

Maybe this pic will help you better understand what could be making the clicking sounds.

To me it seems as if your gears are either not lubricated enough thus causing an audible sound as it moves in the differential (mine does that because it has a diff leak thanks to les schwab). I just fill it up every couple hundred miles and the noise goes away. Just don't drive it if it's your gears or else you'll do what one of our other Jeepers did and blew his diff out of the case lol

Nice Graphics! Good show!

[murray_xj]

When in park, your pinion gear / u-joint do not rotate! in neutral, they do. This could indicate a chipped pinion/ring gear but that would take a lot of force. Again it points to that rear u-joint or maybe the one by the slip yoke at the transfer case. The next easy step without pulling diff cover is unstrap the rear u-joint and see if the noise goes away. That pretty much isolates it to the differential at that point!

I am thinking good thoughts for you!

Thanks bud!! I will give this a shot tonight! If it is the rear u-joint it's going back to Monroe for warranty work. I had it replaced there this last summer because I didn't have the means to do the work myself at that point. And I believe that it was a Moog u-joint with a lifetime warranty. :D

[OldFaurt]

Thanks bud!! I will give this a shot tonight! If it is the rear u-joint it's going back to Monroe for warranty work. I had it replaced there this last summer because I didn't have the means to do the work myself at that point. And I believe that it was a Moog u-joint with a lifetime warranty. :D
My pleasure,

I love to wrench so I blather on worse than most,
But if I can help someone fix their stuff, I will glow for days!

Good Luck!

[murray_xj]

My pleasure,

I love to wrench so I blather on worse than most,
But if I can help someone fix their stuff, I will glow for days!

Good Luck!

well, I can't say that I found a solution. Went home last night where the XJ had been up on stands for the past couple of days. Disconnected the driveshaft and rolled the tires. No sound at all, strapped it back up... rolled the tires and no sound. LOL! Took it for a 15 mile drive, starting and stopping repeatedly on some back roads and nothing. So I went home and threw on the Bilstein 5100s I just ordered and left it as is. (which by the way are a great swap out for the old POS rough country shocks and I have some BFG MTs that are cupping, so hopefully it solves that)

I drove it to work today and still nothing. So other than greasing everything up, which I can only assume solved the problem for the time being, I really didn't do much. As a couple had mentioned with the diff, I checked the lube levels and it was topped off so couldn't have been a dry gear because I couldn't have squeezed another drop it. It was right at the opening in the case.

Thanks all, if it jumps up again I'll be sure to dig up this thread. :D

[XJ Wheeler]

well, I can't say that I found a solution. Went home last night where the XJ had been up on stands for the past couple of days. Disconnected the driveshaft and rolled the tires. No sound at all, strapped it back up... rolled the tires and no sound. LOL! Took it for a 15 mile drive, starting and stopping repeatedly on some back roads and nothing. So I went home and threw on the Bilstein 5100s I just ordered and left it as is. (which by the way are a great swap out for the old POS rough country shocks and I have some BFG MTs that are cupping, so hopefully it solves that)

I drove it to work today and still nothing. So other than greasing everything up, which I can only assume solved the problem for the time being, I really didn't do much. As a couple had mentioned with the diff, I checked the lube levels and it was topped off so couldn't have been a dry gear because I couldn't have squeezed another drop it. It was right at the opening in the case.

Thanks all, if it jumps up again I'll be sure to dig up this thread. :D

So, did those Bilsteins take care of that rough ride you were talking about?

Btw, glad you made it over here! :thumbsup:

[murray_xj]

So, did those Bilsteins take care of that rough ride you were talking about?

Btw, glad you made it over here! :thumbsup:

Hey man! Happy to be here for sure.

The Bilsteins certainly helped, once the tire cupping smooths out I should be set there. Next I'm ditching the rough ride rough country coils for some 3.5-4" Rubicon Express coils. Making it a Frankenstein! :D

[XJ Wheeler]

Hey man! Happy to be here for sure.

The Bilsteins certainly helped, once the tire cupping smooths out I should be set there. Next I'm ditching the rough ride rough country coils for some 3.5-4" Rubicon Express coils. Making it a Frankenstein! :D

Good to hear! And glad they helped... I may have to find the $$$ for some.

On the coils I know Rubicon Express makes a 3.5" and a 4.5". I've heard and can testify also the 4.5s are a bit stiff, plus their coils always come out higher than rated so a set of 3.5"s should net the lift right where you want it.

[murray_xj]

Good to hear! And glad they helped... I may have to find the $$$ for some.

On the coils I know Rubicon Express makes a 3.5" and a 4.5". I've heard and can testify also the 4.5s are a bit stiff, plus their coils always come out higher than rated so a set of 3.5"s should net the lift right where you want it.

Thanks again, I may run it a while with the current setup before I snag the coils then if they are known to be a bit stiff as well. Because I am satisfied with the ride today. Which, isn't saying much because the RC's were shot lol!

[XJ Wheeler]

Thanks again, I may run it a while with the current setup before I snag the coils then if they are known to be a bit stiff as well. Because I am satisfied with the ride today. Which, isn't saying much because the RC's were shot lol!

Anytime! I agree, give it some time and see how you like it now.

[murray_xj]

I don't feel that the cupping is going to resolve itself and from what I have been reading... I don't see where anyone else has had much luck in it either. So... off to have some BFG Rugged Terrains thrown on tomorrow morning. Being that it's a daily driver now, I need ride quality. :D

Should be riding like a dream tomorrow afternoon.

[murray_xj]

I don't feel that the cupping is going to resolve itself and from what I have been reading... I don't see where anyone else has had much luck in it either. So... off to have some BFG Rugged Terrains thrown on tomorrow morning. Being that it's a daily driver now, I need ride quality. :D

Should be riding like a dream tomorrow afternoon.

scratch that... going with Goodyear All-Terrain Adventures with Kevlar. Found a killer sale at a local shop. okay... quiet time now.

[murray_xj]

Just to follow up quickly so that anyone with a similar problem can have my experience to help when looking for a resolution.

*despite the rear ds u-joint feeling tight it ended up being shot upon further inspection after taking it out.

*pinion bearing also needed to be replaced. it was mild in comparison to the u-joint, but I'm not one to let a problem 'fester' until it fails. I just like getting things fixed up.

- to conclude, swapping the rough country shocks for Bilstein 5100s, ditching the BFG MTs for the Goodyear Wrangler Adventures w/Kevlar and the noted fixes above... this is the smoothest, quietest and most comfortable the ole XJ has ridden in years.

[OldFaurt]

Just to follow up quickly so that anyone with a similar problem can have my experience to help when looking for a resolution.

*despite the rear ds u-joint feeling tight it ended up being shot upon further inspection after taking it out.

*pinion bearing also needed to be replaced. it was mild in comparison to the u-joint, but I'm not one to let a problem 'fester' until it fails. I just like getting things fixed up.

- to conclude, swapping the rough country shocks for Bilstein 5100s, ditching the BFG MTs for the Goodyear Wrangler Adventures w/Kevlar and the noted fixes above... this is the smoothest, quietest and most comfortable the ole XJ has ridden in years.

That is fantastic to hear & Congrats on your "New" Daily Driver!

It's good when an old friend (Jeep) comes together.