Dave51

Even without the driveshaft in, the ring and pinion still turn so that won't help.

Used front axle assemblies are about $125 $250 or so. Not a bad job, need some muscle tho. Got toolz and skilz?

Dave51

3 of them right now at the auto recycler I use for $322.56. Check gear ratio and whether you have ABS.

Dave51

But IIWY, I'd pull off the cover and take a look-see to get your plan together. Grab the pinion yoke and rattle it around to see what it does.

Kahoona360

We seem to have decided that it is the front dif. I am going to take it to an expert ASAP so as not to damage it more and see what they say. They can tell me what I need. I can talk to them about used. I can't afford to do it but I can't afford not to so off we go! I'll let you know what happens.

Kahoona360

Well you guys know your stuff for sure. It is bearings in the front dif. Gears are fine. For some reason the bearings cost $250 and seven hours of labor to take the front axle and dif out to work on it. That is not within my ability to do so I will have them do it. This is a Jeep specialty rental and repair place in Key West and one of the few who can be trusted with the dif repair I am told.
I love the Cherokee but I have to tell you I could have had the dif out of my Tracker in half an hour and the insides out if it in another. Then again the Tracker could barely maintain 70mph and was noisy as hell at that speed. This Cherokee will be more fun. Thanks for all of the help.

boxburn

Good to hear you found the issue, not as good for the repair cost. This is where a 2nd hand axle could have been an option but if you're paying someone to do the job anyway, it's probably not much more to fix yours and you get new bearings.

Kahoona360

I had the dif out of our Tracker and inspected the gears last year and renewed the Permatex seal and it did not take long at all. Did it on the floor with jackstands. This is another beast entirely now that we haven't got another car and are permanently on the road. The other interesting thing is that they used a system with sensors mounted on the undercarriage at five points (i think) that locates all noise and tells them where it comes from. I now know that the rest of the drivetrain is in good shape so I can confidently explore Death Valley or do the off road loop in Big Bend National Park without having to walk back. Now I can spend my time doing the other things it needs to be more dependable. Got the new full instrument cluster, will flush the coolant and trans, check the injectors and put in the new stereo and speakers. Have to wire it for towing with brakes and lights. Need to flush the brake lines and see if they improve. If not then better pads/shoes all around. Lots to do. Leaving in 2 weeks to head West.

paddler

If you are going to flat-tow, you might consider rebuilding with locking hubs. Stock, your hubs are permanently locked and the tires spin the axleshaft U-joints, differential, and front driveshaft in 2WD. Wear and tear on driveline and tires, and reduced fuel mileage. Switch to locking hubs, you unlock the hubs for 2WD so the front tires don't spin everything back to the differential case, then lock the hubs when using 4WD. The cost should basically just be the parts. The kits aren't cheap, but you're already paying for nearly all the labor just to get to the differential bearings. With everything already apart, mostly you're just putting different parts back on for reassembly. There is some additional labor relative to stock (changing U-joints, placing new seals, adjusting wheel bearings, a few more pieces to stack together), but most of the labor is already covered for the differential bearings.

A big part of the art of minimizing costs on an old vehicle while maintaining reliability is deciding "what else should I do while I'm in there". If you're already paying most of the labor for disassembly and reassembly to access something else, replacing other life-limited parts in that path may be prudent. Even if you don't do a locking hub kit or axleshaft U-joints, I would strongly consider axleshaft seals on the differential. They are right next to the bearings, and take the same disassembly to access. You mentioned brakes... if you're going to open up the system, maybe "flush" it by draining, replacing all lines, refilling, and bleeding. Take the long-term view; preventing one breakdown in the boonies could be worth some investment now.

Disclaimer: I'm new to Jeeps and am rehabing a '96 to mostly leave on my eventual retirement property. It may go on some long road trips... so I'm in the process of doing the locking hub conversion. My property has an old mountainside logging road to access the top, so good brakes are a must. The brake lines looked old, so it got all new stainless hard and soft lines before anything failed, and while it was convenient. And some other things done and to do.

Kahoona360

I had wondered about that. The Dif Bearing kit includes the seals so that will be good. If I had thought to ask before the work was done I would have definitely done the locking hubs. The fuel mileage is atrocious. I will look into it later though. I have had locking hubs on our Tracker. I also will replace all of the hoses and the belt. I plan to add cooling system cleaner then flush, add Trans Medic to clean and then fresh trans fluid. The trans cooler has been added already. I agree on the brake system. Just got an instrument panel with the gauges to replace the old one with idiot lights too. Those logging roads are exactly where I plan to go.

Kahoona360

Weeellll.... It is not over yet it appears. The work took four days because it is, after all Key West. I went and picked it up slightly after hours. They said it was test driven and was perfect. They showed me the outer races (I believe that is the term, which were pitted in one or two areas on each bearing and each roller bearing set has several rollers that were pitted. They said that it had been repaired at some point and assembled without any shims. When I left with it It sounded very quiet. On the way home I pulled onto a side road and put it in 4wd and it was noisy. As soon as I accelerated at all it made lots of noise. Every time I talked to them before this I had to ask them if they tried 4 wheel drive and they said no, nobody used 4 wheel drive here. Then they would retry it and hear the noise. I guess they didn't put the 4wd on when they test drove it this time. It has to go back again. I'll call them Monday AM.
it sounds like something is grinding. There is some vibration. Could it be the front drive shaft u joint? Otherwise I suspect the transfer case. Is that chain drive? Could that get loose? Should I be throwing in a used one if I can find one? I have nowhere to live after the next ten days so maybe I need to just take it out West where I suspect that used parts are more available.

Kahoona360

I made a discovery yesterday. I played with the lever a bit and found that getting it properly into 4wd had to be done carefully or I could think it was in but not fully in and it would grind. I have the hang of it now and it does not grind. It gets into 4wd and works well and without noise for a minute or so then begins to make a screeching noise when rolling. It is as if something needs to heat up then begins binding. I will take it out this morning and see what else I can find out. It works when this happens. It just screeches. I'll get under it this morning and check for things rubbing on the chassis and see if I can check the front drive shaft. This could be a separate problem from the earlier one and I just never ran it in 4wd long enough to hear it. Has anyone ever had this happen?

boxburn

It's a no from me on the screeching sound.

It'll be worth checking out the shift linkage for excessive movement which may cause issues selecting 4WD. I'm still on stock linkage and bushings and don't have to take care making sure it's where I want it to be.

However, for shifting, I follow Cruisers steps religiously without fault: http://cruiser54.com/?p=117

RockyMtn96XJ

See, I told you we are a friendly bunch!