front diff??

scout · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:03 am

Well I've said it once and I will say it again, if its not one thing its another. A month ago I started having strange grinding noises coming from my front drive shaft. The noise only happened in 2 wheel drive and not in 4. At first when the noises started I put it in 4 wheel drive to see if it would go away and it did. The noises would continue when it was in 2 wheel drive. One day in the snow I was stopped at a red light in 4 wheel drive. When I started to take off I was loosing traction on the ice when all of a sudden I heard and felt these intense pops and bangs when ever the front wheels were spinning. It also happened while I was making a sharp turn in 4 wheel drive. When these pops occured my vehicle started lurching forward as if the CV shafts were slipping in my diff. I took out my front drive shaft and was driving around when I started hearing the grinding noise again. My drive shaft was out so I know the noise wasn't coming from that. I replaced the front drive shaft and I noticed I was able to turn the entire shaft around and around. Now I don't know if this is normal but I figured I would throw that in. Oh and of course I couldn't spin it when it was locked in 4 wheel. Today I was driving to the store when the grinding started again, I put it in 4 wheel drive and the grinding stopped. I got about a mile when it started to make faint grinding noises in 4 wheel. My only guess is that my front diff is going bad. Other than that I am completely stumped. What do you all think? If it is my front diff how much would it be to fix it? Also how hard would it be to do yourself? If I were to take it in to get fixed should I go to a jeep dealership or a automotive shop? Thanks

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 12:18 am

How longs it been since you've had the right side CV and Intermediate shaft out ?
If its stripped it'll pop and crack some
But could also be the gears
Have you drained the fluid and looked at it? Color of it etc ??
Front diff is fairly easy to swap out
Might be time to swap some 4.10s in :wink:

ihatemybike · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 9:20 am

ryanee182 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 11:30 am

^
X3

Almost the exact same scenario happened to me a few years ago.

scout · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 2:16 pm

ryanee182 wrote:

^
X3

Almost the exact same scenario happened to me a few years ago.

So what ended up being the issue and how much did it run you? This couldn't have happened at a worse time due to the holidays wiping me out.

As far as the color of the diff fluid what should I be looking for?

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 2:54 pm

You know what color diff fluid is when new and used ? Right?
So if it has a silvery tint to it means lots of metal wear etc

ryanee182 · **Posted:** Fri Dec 28, 2012 3:23 pm

scout wrote:

ryanee182 wrote:

^
X3

Almost the exact same scenario happened to me a few years ago.

So what ended up being the issue and how much did it run you? This couldn't have happened at a worse time due to the holidays wiping me out.

As far as the color of the diff fluid what should I be looking for?

Here's the link to the post about when mine failed.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48660

I don't remember the exact cost to repair, but I remember the dealer charged $200+ for just the intermediate shaft. The Napa remanned CV axle was about $75. Then about $200 in labor if I remember correctly.

scout · **Posted:** Sun Dec 30, 2012 1:36 am

Today I decided to take a look at the font drive train since the weather was a little warmer today (well at first). The first thing I noticed while walking up to my rig was the angle of the right CV shaft. Something did not look right so I took a closer look and found that the inner shaft had popped out. I would say it was sticking out about an inch. I'm guessing that is most likely the cause of all the noise I was hearing :oops:

the weather took a turn towards the cooler side so I didn't get a chance to work on it. I just wonder what kind of damage could this have caused to anything else other than the CV shaft. I know this is a stupid question just like the one I asked about the diff fluid but I'm going to ask anyway. Can I pop the shaft back in with out having to disassemble anything? I'm guessing it would be better if I took it out and looked at it huh.... Guess I answered my own question.

TwoBobsKJ · **Joined:** Fri May 11, 2012 8:03 pm **Posts:** 463

scout wrote:

Today I decided to take a look at the font drive train since the weather was a little warmer today (well at first). The first thing I noticed while walking up to my rig was the angle of the right CV shaft. Something did not look right so I took a closer look and found that the inner shaft had popped out. I would say it was sticking out about an inch. I'm guessing that is most likely the cause of all the noise I was hearing :oops:

the weather took a turn towards the cooler side so I didn't get a chance to work on it. I just wonder what kind of damage could this have caused to anything else other than the CV shaft. I know this is a stupid question just like the one I asked about the diff fluid but I'm going to ask anyway. Can I pop the shaft back in with out having to disassemble anything? I'm guessing it would be better if I took it out and looked at it huh.... Guess I answered my own question.

I'm trying to figure out how the shaft could've popped out of the diff unless your CV axle is completely toast and just flopping around or if the intermediate shaft is broken.

To be clear, you're talking about the passenger side where the CV connects to the intermediate shaft, right? If the CV is sticking out that far I'd say it's possible the intermediate shaft somehow got destroyed or broken in half and there's nothing for the CV to hold on to. Can you grab the inner CV housing and move it around? Do you have some oil drips from the end of the diff housing?

Post some pics to give us a better idea of what is going on there.

Bob

ryanee182 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:58 am

I'm not an expert, but I think the c-clip that holds the intermediate shaft in, rusts and breaks over time allowing the shaft to pop out. When mine failed, I noticed the inner side of the CV axle was loose and flopping around just as you describe.

Here's pictures of what mine looked like.

scout · **Posted:** Wed Jan 02, 2013 2:49 pm

ryanee182 wrote:

I'm not an expert, but I think the c-clip that holds the intermediate shaft in, rusts and breaks over time allowing the shaft to pop out. When mine failed, I noticed the inner side of the CV axle was loose and flopping around just as you describe.

Here's pictures of what mine looked like.

Exactly!! That is what my CV axle looks like right now. So what did you have to do or replace? I'm going to be pulling mine out here in a couple of hours and was going to post pics to help explain what I was talking about. Thanks for that pic.

scout · **Posted:** Wed Jan 02, 2013 2:56 pm

Dumb question, forgot about your link. I'm going to look at that and if I have questions I will PM you.

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:45 am

subscribing for udpates.......

scout · **Posted:** Fri Jan 04, 2013 10:19 pm

Fixed the KJ today. It ended up being the Intermediate shaft. Now when you take a look at the pictures you will have probably never seen a intermediate shaft as bad as mine. What I do not understand is how I let it get so bad. The initial noise sounded like a drive shaft so I took it out and replaced the head. That did not solve the problem and a faint grinding sound continued with the shaft out. The sound sounded like it was coming from the center of my Jeep and not the CV. The condition of the shaft clearly shows that something was wrong for quite some. My only guess would be when the OME CRD 790's were installed the CV shaft disconnected from the intermediate shaft. I didn’t really notice anything until I was in 4 wheel on the ice when the loud pops and bangs occurred as the wheels were slipping. Seeing how I was fixated on the drive shaft going out I did not take the time to look at my CV axles until it was to late and the damage was done. Thanks for all of your help to get me back on the road.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Jan 04, 2013 11:52 pm

Never saw one that bad! :shock:

Its had to of been making noise for a long time :ROTFL:

Nothing to do with the 790s just a bad intermediate shaft that was never checked
( I've been running 790s for over 50,000 miles )

TwoBobsKJ · **Joined:** Fri May 11, 2012 8:03 pm **Posts:** 463

That's a beautiful cone shape on the end of the shaft - wonder where the clip and metal shavings went...?

Glad you got it fixed. Good news is you didn't have to worry about the shaft and CV being rusted together and trying to get them apart... :lol:

Bob

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Jan 05, 2013 11:35 am

Ya know where all the metal shavings/ dust went
Thats why I pull mine every so often and check it,
relube and reinstall :wink:

Preventive maintenance goes a long ways

scout · **Posted:** Sat Jan 05, 2013 2:48 pm

The clip was in set in the CV axle as well as the metal shavings. The clip wasn't even broken. Oh and I'm not blaming the 790s I'm just saying during the install it might be possible that the shaft was popped loose. I must say I have learned a lot working on it yesterday.

tommudd · **Posted:** Sat Jan 05, 2013 3:48 pm

Doubt if it came out during that time.
That is just wear from being dry, partly rusted / stuck on the shaft and then wearing out

front diff??

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