wj2002

Hey everyone, so I recently bought a 2002 wj 4.0 select-trac with 119,000 miles. I do have some concerns about it though. Maybe you can help me with some of them. To start when Im taking off from a dead stop it almost seems like the back tires are hesitant to start moving but it only happens sometimes and isnt much of a big deal. My other problem is with the select-trac. When I bought this 2002 Wj it had a small oil leak so it was brought in for a new rear main seal shortly after buying, but upon pick up my mechanic told me that I should no longer use 4x4 unless it is incase of a emergency because he told me that the front driveshaft had about 1/8 of play in it and when engaged it makes the front differential begin to leak oil where the driveshaft meets it.
Any info on these problems would be great!
Thanks!!

wj2002

Also the hesitation I was talking about would probably best be described as a shudder also. Thanks!

ol"blue

Welcome to CF.
1. Sounds like the rear brakes may be hanging up sometimes. Check the calipers, and their mounting pins. Also check the emergency brakes inside the rear brake rotors. Sometimes the braking material can come loose from the backing plates, and become lodged between the plate and rotor surface, causing problems when the wheel tries to turn. This would be accompanied by a noise though. JMO
2. The front pinion bearing could be bad causing the play, and the seal is bad allowing the leak.

Bustedback

The second problem can be causing the first problem. Your mechanic is missing the fact that the front driveshaft is spinning anytime the vehicle is moving, even in 2WD. The front diff may be binding up and causing the feeling of hesitation when taking off and the shudder that you're feeling. I would have the dealer check it out just to be sure.

wj2002

I drove around quite abit today and the shudder im feeling lasted maybe at the most 2 seconds from take off at a dead stop otherwise its smooth. I talked to the mechanic today to see about the front driveshaft movement and they said to find out the problem there going to have to drop the whole front end and its gunna cost alot of money.
Does this sound right?
Thanks!

Bustedback

Find a new mechanic, all he has to do is pull the cover off of the front of the diff and see what the problem is.

ol"blue

X2. He sounds like he just wants to milk you for lots of money. Or worse yet, he's an airhead.

sunkenjeep

I would definitely look into the brake problem. I have had constant brake trouble( Especially sticking) out of my gc

wj2002

Okay so this morning I tried something different to see if the shudder would go away and it did surprisingly. Its not a fix or anything to the actual problem but maybe a hint to what it might be... If at a complete stop and I begin to take off by releasing the brake and letting the vehicle roll with out my foot on the gas petal and just let it roll for about 5 ft , then begin to press the gas , the shudder dosnt seem to happen at all. But if i immediatly press the gas from a stop it shudders.
Maybe someone can chime in on this.
Thanks!

ol"blue

Might not be your issue, but this happened on my brothers '04 WJ w/the 4.0L w/Selec-Trac in 2WD. After stopping, he'd get some noise/shaking upon take off. He took it to the dealer, as it only had 35,000 miles and was still under warranty. Turns out the rear drive shaft yoke was going inside the t-case a little upon braking and hanging up there because of lack of lubrication, or so they claimed. They replaced the whole drive shaft, and lubed the yoke, saying bring it in for lube at interval I don't know. It cured the problem for a few months. Then he took it back. They re-lubed it, problem went away.
My V8 Quadra-Trac equipped '04 WJ has 109,000+ miles and never has had that happen.

wj2002

Thanks Ole blue and everyone for your help, im still investigating the shudder problem. As for a oil leak , I had a mechanic fix them today but another problem arose today. I pressed the gas a little hard around a dirt road turn today and within a couple minutes after my rpms started bouncing up and down and it began to shift sometimes. I stopped the car and let it sit and then to my surprise the rpm bounced one time and then went away. Im clueless as to what this could be as the transmission was rebuilt less then 15,000 miles ago? My mechanic told me when they put the new trans in they forget to tighten some bolt and thats where the oil leak was coming from. He said he tightened it but it was a pain because they had to take the trans apart or something. Well anyways im wondering if the work he did could of caused this....
Thanks

Pa2002WJ

It sounds like I have the same jeep. Same year same problems. Looks like he has not been on here since 2012. Would love to know how things turned out and if the one I have now is the same jeep....