How many peoples front drive shaft failed already?

trailman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:43 pm

I have an 2002 limited with 80000 miles and rear joint on my front driveshaft just decintigrated. Curious to know if my case is common or not. Please post only if you actually wheel your KJ.

jerbacher · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:07 pm

i have an '02 with 97k on it. i have wheeled it a number of times but not every weekend or anything like that. my driveshafts and axle shafts are all in tact. however, i do have an interesting "wumm wumm wumm" rotational sound going on right now. so, could be a joint getting ready. i can only hear this sound at very low speeds <10mph while coasting. otherwise tire and engine noise cover it up

corwyyn · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:09 pm

Mine gave out at the end of a wheeling trip last year, approx. 80K on the OD. Luckily they're not too hard to replace

trailman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:27 pm

yellocoyote wrote:

jerbacher wrote:

i have an '02 with 97k on it. i have wheeled it a number of times but not every weekend or anything like that. my driveshafts and axle shafts are all in tact. however, i do have an interesting "wumm wumm wumm" rotational sound going on right now. so, could be a joint getting ready. i can only hear this sound at very low speeds <10mph while coasting. otherwise tire and engine noise cover it up

I had that too - went away after replacing the CV joints...

That's the first noise I started to hear. Replaced both Half shafts; noise was still there. I was like, crap I didn't have to spend that money. Now I have two spare Half shafts though. I guess a failing CV joint sounds the same no matter what kind it is.

jerbacher · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:36 pm

trailman wrote:

That's the first noise I started to hear. Replaced both Half shafts; noise was still there. I was like, crap I didn't have to spend that money. Now I have two spare Half shafts though. I guess a failing CV joint sounds the same no matter what kind it is.

Interesting. Do you know how I can figure out which CV is going out? will it be hot after driving?
oh by the way, just for anyone's reference, this sound seems to be more pronounced right after driving at highway speeds.

sorry if this is a bit of a hijack, but i thought this info might be useful to anyone reading this and wondering about signs of CV failure or the mileage at which it may occur.

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 4:52 pm

My DS went out as well but in my case the boot was torn. I believe it happened when i was offroading and it took a hit from a tree branch or something. This is why i have been collecting skid plates of late. i had the original front skid plate but so far i have added a mopar transfer skid and fuel tank skid. And, i am waiting for a mopar tranny skid that i ordered from ebay. Hopefully the tranny skid will cover the DS. If not i may make a custom cover for the DS.

Hood297 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:02 pm

mine was gone after about 85,000. rear CV joint had a lot of play, and ruptured boot.

replaced it with a used shaft, been going good ever since.

kskj · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:08 pm

Mine lasted 115000 miles the boot in the rear was gone.

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:39 pm

Took mine out at 46,000 miles but, not because the shaft was bad. The front diff exploded, instead. I'd sell it for the cost of shipping but, I doubt anyone wants it after I tore it apart, not realizing just how easy it is to get out. It'd probably be out of balance for anyone else anyway, I'd guess.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:23 pm

My 6.5 year old front driveshaft was in A+ shape when I removed it due to blowing a the left outer CV joint a few months ago.It was still tight with no signs of wear on the CV boots,sold it to a member on this board(and he posted in this topic).Then again I try to avoid mud like it's the black plague and really wash the under carriage on my KJ every week.

trailman · **Posted:** Wed Oct 15, 2008 9:42 pm

jerbacher wrote:

trailman wrote:

That's the first noise I started to hear. Replaced both Half shafts; noise was still there. I was like, crap I didn't have to spend that money. Now I have two spare Half shafts though. I guess a failing CV joint sounds the same no matter what kind it is.

Interesting. Do you know how I can figure out which CV is going out? will it be hot after driving?
oh by the way, just for anyone's reference, this sound seems to be more pronounced right after driving at highway speeds.

sorry if this is a bit of a hijack, but i thought this info might be useful to anyone reading this and wondering about signs of CV failure or the mileage at which it may occur.

Well with all the different vehicles I've been through, I've only had 2 that the CV half shafts started to fail. One was a 91 Toyota Tercel and the other was a Toyota Avalon. The Tercel's made very loud clicking sound. I drove it for probably 300 miles before I replaced it. No big deal. The Avalon made the same clicking sound but broke pretty soon after that. It left me stranded. The only reason that I thought my KJ's half shaft CV's were failing is because it was the only thing that I even considered it being. I didn't even consider that the drive shaft would fail. Just so you know, the first "real" noise that I heard with the KJ is a clanking sound while in 4WD. At first it was only sometimes while the wheels were turned, because the drive shaft was more in a bind than normal. I still thought it was the half shaft CV's. I didn't realize that my KJ had CV joints in the front drive shaft as I've only owned one other 4WD vehicle.(chevy tahoe) The Tahoe of course had u-joints and I just figured that all drive shafts had u-joints. (and they should in my opinion.) After I replaced the half shafts and the noise didn't stop, I brought my jeep to my Arkansas bred redneck buddy.(he's very familiar with 4wd's) In about 20 seconds under my jeep he found nice grease spray pattern at the rear CV joint of my front drive shaft where a ball bearing had tore a hole through. If I were you that would be the first place that I check. Check for grease and also grip the drive shaft and turn it back and forth with force to check for play and odd noises. A harmonic metal sound is bad. I just got my jeep back from the dealer today and immediatly took it on a trail to check for functionality. Works great now. I put my hand on the front drive shaft and it was really hot. I think it was just from the jeep itself, so I'm not sure if that means anything or not. I wheel about 3 times a week (my stress reliever) so my drive shaft will probably fail again. I hope it's still under warranty when it does. This is as informative as I can think to be for the moment as I am tired of typing.':D'

ecm3667 · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:24 am

My front ds went out near the transfer case too. Heard it first driving in 4WD off the beach and not knowing to much about cars at first thought a branch or something was dragging. Eventually it got where I heard it driving in the 25-40 mph range. Got under the jeep and saw the ripped boot.

jeepskate · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:36 am

170K miles on my '02. No driveshaft problems.

tommudd · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:44 am

112,000 on mine and not one problem, of course I am under mine as much as tjkj checking, cleaning etc

CD · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:27 am

jerbacher wrote:

however, i do have an interesting "wumm wumm wumm" rotational sound going on right now. so, could be a joint getting ready. i can only hear this sound at very low speeds <10mph while coasting.

I've got exactly what your explaining :shock:

Quote:

Check for grease and also grip the drive shaft and turn it back and forth with force to check for play and odd noises. A harmonic metal sound is bad.

I've got no grease anywhere but when I grip the front drive shaft (between engine and transfer case) I have a lot of play. I can easly rotate it from side to side (about 10mm of movement). I can also giggle it and get a rattling noise, I can also side it back and forward enought to get a noise (3 to 5mm of movement).

Any ideas .... suggestions... Dr KJ what's wrong.

In answer to the 1st post, no I've not had this happen and I have an 05 with about 45'000 K's on the clock. I've not wheeled it much of late but have done so in the past.

I should also mention that I have no play or movement at all in the rear drive shaft (trandfer case to rear diff).

corwyyn · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 6:04 am

icarl wrote:

My DS went out as well but in my case the boot was torn. I believe it happened when i was offroading and it took a hit from a tree branch or something. This is why i have been collecting skid plates of late. i had the original front skid plate but so far i have added a mopar transfer skid and fuel tank skid. And, i am waiting for a mopar tranny skid that i ordered from ebay. Hopefully the tranny skid will cover the DS. If not i may make a custom cover for the DS.

yellocoyote wrote:

My tranny skid is just wide enough to go over the transmission pan - it doesn't do much for the driveshaft.

All-Js used to make their superskid which went almost full-width between the uniframe members, and I believe there are one or two manufacturers that sell skids that offer similar coverage (who they are escapes me at the moment). But like Jayme said the Mopar unit doesn't cover much but the width of the transmission.

Wasatch15 · **Joined:** Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:52 am **Posts:** 242

02 with 29,460 miles and mine started making noises over a year ago. I removed it, replaced it with a Tom Wood's drive shaft and never looked back. I do have to grease the u-joints now but I'm under there doing maintenance anyway. This has been a very good upgrade IMHO. Would have to find my notes to see exact miles original drive shaft was removed.

jerbacher · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:29 am

Wasatch15 wrote:

02 with 29,460 miles and mine started making noises over a year ago.

you have an 02 with only 29k miles on it??? :shock:

trailman · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:08 am

CD wrote:

jerbacher wrote:

however, i do have an interesting "wumm wumm wumm" rotational sound going on right now. so, could be a joint getting ready. i can only hear this sound at very low speeds <10mph while coasting.

I've got exactly what your explaining :shock:

Quote:

Check for grease and also grip the drive shaft and turn it back and forth with force to check for play and odd noises. A harmonic metal sound is bad.

I've got no grease anywhere but when I grip the front drive shaft (between engine and transfer case) I have a lot of play. I can easly rotate it from side to side (about 10mm of movement). I can also giggle it and get a rattling noise, I can also side it back and forward enought to get a noise (3 to 5mm of movement).

Any ideas .... suggestions... Dr KJ what's wrong.

In answer to the 1st post, no I've not had this happen and I have an 05 with about 45'000 K's on the clock. I've not wheeled it much of late but have done so in the past.

I should also mention that I have no play or movement at all in the rear drive shaft (trandfer case to rear diff).

On my brand new front drive shaft there is almost no slack in it. I could turn my old one back and forth a good 8th of a turn. From what you descibe yours isn't as bad as mine was. If you don't put your jeep into 4WD, your drive shaft will probably last a good while. Even after I heard my first noises, I wheeled the p!$$ out of mine and finished it off. I can't help it, sometimes I just get that itch. As for your rear driveshaft, I don't know how you don't have any play in it. Mabye 2002's are different than 2005's. My whole drivetrain combined has a decent amount of slack in it. I brought it to the dealer and they told me it was normal.

phxtoad · **Posted:** Thu Oct 16, 2008 11:19 am

My prop shaft was going at 95K when I had it replaced. Lots of play, and an annoying rattle. I had a U-joint shaft put in vs an OEM cv shaft.

How many peoples front drive shaft failed already?

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