WARNING: I'm making no attempt to keep this brief.

Greetings! I'm new to CF, but it's already been a big help to me: my '99 XJ Classic had a cracked exhaust manifold (Surprise, Right?).

Thanks to what I learned here, I ordered a replacement from APN and had it installed by my trusted pro mechanic, who has maintained and repaired this vehicle for me since I bought it about 5 yrs. ago.

And, thanks to what I learned here, I was able to prepare my mechanic for the prospect of having to alter the new piece slightly in order to make it fit on a '99; he wound up not having to grind anything but did have to hammer the #6 pipe a bit. Anyway, it's on there now and seems fine.

So, on to today's question: I told my mechanic that occasionally, when moving off from a stop or turning a corner slowly, I experience a brief feeling in the rear end as if my tires are on sand or gravel. There's no noise associated with this, and no noise from the rear at any other time. And the vehicle drives just fine on the street, trail or highway.

After inspecting it, my mechanic told me I have a "severe amount of play" in my rear pinion bearing. He recommends replacing the differential.

My XJ has around 160k, and I expect to keep it as long as possible. I drive it mostly for fun, or to get to work in snow; otherwise i have another vehicle (a Windstar) to drive to work. I expect to drive it 'til either it dies or I do (I'm 65, so it's a toss-up).

Has anyone else experienced similar symptoms, and does it sound like a pinion bearing to you? I'm not distrusting my mechanic, just curious as to how common this is. Also, if I get a whole new differential assembly from a salvage yard, what are the odds of it having the same problem?

Has anyone ever had one fail altogether, or heard of one failing? Can I expect it to start making noise or otherwise get worse or give more indications of imminent failure before it actually craps out?

Are there aftermarket parts that would constitute an upgrade, and does it pay to go that route? Any suggestions, recommendations or ballpark estimates of repair costs are invited.

Thanks. By the way, I've had a lot of vehicles in my lifetime, and I'm probably more deeply in love with this one than with any other (I used to lease Cherokees to take on vacations, so I was already in love with the model long before I actually owned one). You'd think I would've learned by now not to get emotional over anything with wheels, but I sure love this Jeep!

 

Get a second opinion.