1991 cherokee briarwood
today after putting in new wheel cylinders and shoes on i noticed some axle oil in the brakes. wondering if theres just a bad o ring somewhere or what. any thoughts?

 

yes there are outer axle shaft seals

 

bad seals with the cause being possibly bad bearings which can cause axle grooving... ask me how i kno..

 

Check this out.> http://go.jeep-xj.info/HowtoAxleSeal.htm

 

haha. what can i do to determine if the rear bearings are bad? and i never heard of axle grooving, whats that?

 

i love gojeep.com.

 

you gotta pull everything apart and install new seals do both sides its beat. I do a billion grand cherokee rear axle seals all the time i just did one last week on a 03 it took a few hours

 

mines a 8.25. make a difference?

 

Slight differences but the idea's the same. I'm not sure the 8.25 has c-clips.

 

i didnt think it does.

 

if u are going to do the seal as stated above check the axle shafts to see if they have any grooving in them.

 

if they do they need replaced?

 

yeah because it would be pointless to replace the seal. The seal will get ruined in a few thousand miles. not only that but they could be VERY prone to snapping because the groove goes past the heat treated metal. if you replace the bearing it will still be pointless because the axle will ride on the seal and bust it. axle shafts can be expensive unless u pull it yourself at a junkyard. most of the time a full service junkyard will charge u less for the whole rearend than just the axle shafts. and if i were to do that i would just get a D44 just because lol

 

ok cool thanks. ive thought about a d44 before if i ever found an xj with one at the jk id grab it im sure. i would want to sink much work in it tho my jeeps pretty much stock. no lift.

 

Cost me $500 to repair mine.