CAEMI

You've got a way in...call a cab. It ain't cheap but at least you won't lose the job. Or take the bus.

XJeepWerks

Easiest thing to do is to just tear everything down and inspect it all. Stupid question, but have you checked your front driveshaft u joints? Pull the axles out and inspect them; You've replaced wheel bearings before so pulling out the axles should be a breeze. Also check the axle u joints while your there. Opening the front diff would be a great idea, plus putting new fluid in it is always an improvement. Get underneath the front end and shake the hell out of all your steering components looking for anything that's even remotely loose. The slightest amount of play can cause a lot of noise down the road. The more things you check, the less possibilities remain. We can't help much without seeing the problem, but we can try our best. Good luck

SpacedOutXj

Ok I finally got to snap some pics, but only got a few because the sky just ripped open and is now pouring buckets. Everything in the diff looks fine to me, then again I've never worked on them before. I greased all my point to in the front and it seems like every grease boot is shot, grease came out after only one pump. On my pass side drag link some strange brown fluid came out. once it stops raining ill try and grab some pics of the pinion and everything else. Atleast now I have new diff fluid, the old stuff smelt burnt and nasty.

n_csmith

man i hope you figure this out and i wish i had some insight for you but everyone has pretty much covered it. although just out of sheer curiousity have you checked your shock bushings? I blew mine out and it was pretty sketchy..

XJeepWerks

Pretty much anybody who has any mechanical knowledge can check a diff and be able to tell if it's good or bad. If you looked at it and nothing seemed strange to you then you should be good. The basic rule of thumb for checking a diff is to check the gears to make sure they aren't too badly worn and none are broken or chipped. From what I've heard from the older mechanics I know, if the teeth in your diff are visibly worn at all you have a problem. They told me the gears in a diff should look brand new all the time, even with 200,000 miles. From looking at the pics you provided, I can't tell if it's just the glare or if the tips of the gear teeth are rounded a bit. If they are rounded I would have somebody with experience in working on differentials look at it and help you find the culpret. As for the smelly gear fluid, all gear fluid smells burnt and nasty lol. If their was a problem with your gear fluid it would be a strange consistancy you would most likely be able to notice it right away and it would be a strange consistancy.

My buddy picked up an old ford a couple years ago for dirt cheap because it wouldn't drive and the owner didn't know anything about cars. We opened up the front and rear diffs and they were both filled with a fudge brownie consistancy fluid. Both axles were basically trash. So pretty much, if it looks normal then your not in bad shape, even if you've never seen one before. They get real ugly when there is a problem. I don't remember what your original problem was, but that is the help I have to offer for your recent post. I'm viewing this page from my phone because some idiot took out a pole at the bottom of the mountain and I no longer have internet or cable because of it. Hopefully that will get fixed soon, but I hope this post offers you a little bit of help.

Iant333

I live like 20 minutes away from you, if you really cant figure it out I can come up and take a look at it for you.

SpacedOutXj

FOUND THE PROBLEM. This is just another case of sounds done alway come from where you think they do. I had my friend come take a look at it and it got really bad when he came riding with me. He said it was defineately in the rear like a bearing. It got so bad we had to push it home a mile. Pull the tire and the drum...The emergency brake cable broke inside and gummed everything up. The drum was falling apart and the shoes were worn to the rivets. There was probably 15-20 dime sized pieces in the drum. Im pretty sure the pieces is the rattling I heard. and the pop was the cable snapping. Thanks for all of the help guys. I feel kinda retarded for thinking it was the front end, but then again he thought it was too at first impressions.

1987 new toy

at least you found it thats what counts.

lefty84

Let's see some pics of the damage. Never seen anything like that so share some pics

XJeepWerks

It's pretty crazy how deceiving sounds can be driving down the road. That's why it's always best to take somebody along with you for a short ride to get a second set of ears on it. Be careful with the springs in the rear drum when you install new brakes. If they are anything like my original ones were, you are in for a surprise. I've changed countless drum brakes but never had a spring shoot across the street until this Jeep. That job got me to finally buy a set of brake spring pliers which make the job much easier and safer. Highly recommend getting a pair, they aren't expensive, buy an eye is.

mcgoaw

hey, looking at those photos, I notice something that looks like a torn up seal hanging over the U-joint in the axle shaft. Whats going on there? BTW, glad to hear you found your problem. Uh, forgot to specify, that's in the second pic. sorry.

XJeepWerks

Good eye! I didn't even notice that, lol.

Dugualla

I have had two differentials fail, the last one on my XJ you could rattle the carrier back and forth, both carrier bearings, the pinion bearing, the wheel bearings were all bad, but none of the seals leaked. The first one that failed was on a 77 ford F250, that had never displayed any symptoms of a bad differential, no noise (that could be heard over the 460) or anything. One day I was driving like a bat out of hell down some side roads, came around a corner onto a straight climb when the lock pin sheared and the differential gears all came out of the carrier in different directions, both rear axle shafts locked up solid and I laid down two black stripes of rubber about 150 ft long. Once I came to a stop I was able to roll backwards to a pull out on the side of the road. When I looked under the back of the truck I saw where one of the differential gears exited through the differential cover. So yeah, in my experience, differential problems become very apparent very quickly.

XJeepWerks

Haha, yea I bet. I alway try to check mine regularly. Easy thing to do that can save you a lot in the long run