nvp1971

Also forgot to add that I am unclear if the squeak is gone yet. We shall see. Need a longer drive. Looks like 'clank' has disappeared when shifting and that gears engage better in general but I won't be able (willing!) to perform a regression test until the brackets get replaced.

Muaddib420

If you mean you broke a bolt in the yoke, that happened to me. It's not a difficult job to drill it out. Get a good titanium drill bit. Convert to U bolt and ditch the poorly designed c clips.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/re...version-28141/

Muaddib420

As for the squeak, I thought it was my drive train also. Turns out it was my rear latch moving around on the striker plate. A few dabs of lithium grease and a squirt of WD-40 into the latch fixed that.

nvp1971

And by 'brackets' I'd actually meant ujoint straps.

Here's to wondering if I could use a vice grip on the busted bolt to get it out. We shall see.

Oh yeah, and I noticed that giving a quick regression test (1st gear, reverse, up and down the driveway, 4-5 times) the vehicle fails to go into reverse about 50% of the time. This I assume is because of the busted bolt on the ujoint strap and when I'm in reverse the strap moves enough that the drive shaft in turn moves out of place and I cannot get into reverse reliably given the position of the drive shaft at the time when I try to get into gear.

The short of it is no more driving *anywhere* until I get the bolt swapped out given what I suspect could happen. Heck, I'm gonna change them all and add to new ujoint straps (Napa sells them for $7 or so).

nvp1971

Regular bit or left-handed?

nvp1971

Oh yeah and thanks for the link. That's exactly what I was talking about.

Muaddib420

Regular bit. Best way to drill out the bolt. Get a set of titanium regular drill bits. Start with a couple of sizes smaller than 5/8. Drill a hole into the broken bolt. You may need to file it down and use a punch to make a center starter hole. Drill into it maybe a quarter inch. Step up to the next larger bit. Repeat. With the 5/8 go all the way thru. Enlarge the four other holes using the 5/8 bit. You may need to do some hole enlarging to make sure the new U bolts go in flush.

nvp1971

Thanks again -- so much -- for this.

I didn't end up needing to drill the broken bolt out thankfully. I hit the back side of the hole on the yoke with WD-40 (that can has a nozzle on it that fit perfect) and then I used a vice grip to turn the bolt out; there was about 3/16" sticking out so I could get a good grip. It was mercifully simple. I didn't use PB in this case because it doesn't have a nozzle and I didn't want a lubricant anywhere near where I'd have to make a a series of precision holes a few minutes later.

In Maine, Portland area, these parts (ujoint straps) can be found at AutoZone in South Portland. They are actually branded for "Ford" but with the instructional above you can make this happen. I just bought the last two so you all in the area who also want to go to that store will have to wait. :-)

I also picked up a set of titanium bits and used the 5/16".

I finished up half the job tonight and tested the first strap and it fit perfectly. I may need to coax it forward in the hole a bit when I attach the drive shaft (its ujoint and cap) by using a rubber hammer. We shall see. I just ran out of daylight so I couldn't continue. I have a light and all but with safety glasses on (those darned metal shards make glasses a requirement!) it made it really hard to see things clearly. Tomorrow I will regroup yet again and finish the other half. Hopefully this will put an end to this project and I can start driving again, even more hopefully without all the racket.

The first half of drilling took maybe half hour in total. I took very incremental steps in doing this, checking how far the new strap fit in after each run with the drill. It could've been 10 minutes in total but after all this drama I didn't want to over-commit.

nvp1971

OK, so I lied. My wife went to visit a girl from work who'd had a birthday so I grabbed my light and hit the driveway. Perfect night to work outside in New England. Plus my wife has a Prius V and while I dig the car from a technological and smooth ride / efficiency standpoint... it's not the Jeep!

I did the last two holes in about 15 and fitted both straps with and without the drive shaft to make sure they both fit. I had to augment the top holes a little bit with the drill. Ah well.

I ended up doing the top strap first, just finger tight with the washers and 1/2" nuts. Then I did the bottom, same way.

I tightened everything to the extent it should be. Didn't want to over tighten then break the bearings inside of the caps. I will probably revisit tightening over the next couple of days to ensure that I can't move the 1/2" nuts with my fingers. If I can I will tighten again. A LOT more.

Then I cleaned up my gear and took the Jeep for a spin. First I re-did the regression test (up and down driveway, first gear, then reverse) and that all worked out. Listened for ee-ee-ee-ee squeaks and heard none. It was time for a road test and I went a few miles, maybe 4, making sure to toggle through gears 1-4 and reverse as well.

Not only is shifting smooth now (no more clanks when shifting), I don't seem to hear the ee-ee-ee-ee squeak anymore. The brakes themselves probably need to be cleaned (I hear a separate brake squeak now when I brake and that's familiar sound to me) but otherwise ee-ee-ee-ee seems to be gone for the moment and the clanks are gone during shifts and when going over bumps, so I am satisfied that I met the original need.

In retrospect, two of the caps weren't so hot. Their pins were OK to a point (they weren't that corroded or bent) but they required a ton of work to get out. Had I just taken the drive shaft out and lubricated everything with PB a few times I bet I could've avoided swapping the ujoints for now. The ujoint bodies were actually in pretty good shape, no corrosion or anything.

Muaddib420

Nice job. Yeah gotta watch for those metal shavings! Eye protection is a must.

nvp1971

*sigh*

So after two good Jeep days after the fix, squeak and clanks have returned, pretty much the same as before.

Yesterday morning was particularly ugly (since it followed the first really cold night of the season here) when a new noise started coming from the transfer case followed by a burning smell. As it turns out I needed to re-tighten the bolts on the pinion yoke (I think they'll be fine going forward) and also re-greased the zerks and re-clamped the boot. That made these issues go away.

Unfortunately, tho, the squeaks. Oh, the squeaks, and the clanks.

What would you recommend next? Maybe some lithium grease on the ujoints?

Muaddib420

Just for giggles, put lithium grease on your rear latch and striker. This fixed my squeaks and could help yours idk.

XJ.89.Limited

I have a squeak when I back up and go forward also. Usually only happens under 15mph, but it's annoying as hell. It goes faster as the wheels spin faster until you can't hear it anymore.