electricfuzz

I just got my 91 Jeep Cherokee Laredo and am trying to get it road ready (am new to jeeps but already love it even with its faults!). I am hearing a few clunks here and there when I pull off from a stop or sometimes when I hit a dip in the road or pot hole, but my main concern right now is a prevelant clunking/grinding noise when I accelerate and have the wheel turned any degree to the left. It seems the further i turn left, the worse the sound becomes, but it only takes a slight turn of the wheel to start noticing it. The harder I accelerate also effects the severity of the sound. The sound BEHAVES much like a bad cv joint (which of course, I dont have) but the sound has a much deeper and metalic sound than the clicking of a cv joint. It was suggested by a shop that it was the transfer case but the same shop claimed they "fixed" it by putting it in 4 wheel drive then back out into 2 wheel drive and what they really did was charge me to drive my truck around for 3 minutes, all issues where the exact same as when i dropped it off.
Here's where my lack of 4x4 knowledge comes into play, it would seem to me that the transfer case would not know/care which way I am turning the wheel, it provides straight power to the differential which in turn cares which way I am turning. Is it more likely the differential? The sound does have the appearance of coming from right below the driver's feet (where the TC is located) but does the turning of the steering wheel effect it's performance? The front differential is not too far off from this area either though. Remember, this is not an occasional clunk or click, it is a constantly (CV jointish) repeated clunking/grinding only when turning left and accelerating.
I would like to use this vehicle to tow a trailer this summer, but am not comfortable doing that until this issue is resolved. Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions!

on a side note what is the best way to make sure it is fully dissengaging from 4 wheel drive?

chastings

ZaKingHunter

Sounds like front axle u-joints to me (though I could very well be wrong). My '94 was making some terrible noises when turning just recently and had to replace both sides. Go under the Jeep and grab the u-joint and see if it moves at all. If there's movement, you're u-joint needs to be replaced. (Thanks to the members on this forum that taught me that).

96tudor

I get an occasional click on hard, slow turns. I assume it is and will check the front axle u-joints.

electricfuzz

I took mine to an off road specialist place to be diagnosed. They lifted it up in the air and did a pretty thorough inspection using a mechanics stethoscope. With the tires in the air, the sound when turning left was much louder and even shook the whole jeep on the lift. They say it is the transfer case chain needing to be replaced. I have not done this yet but do intend to remove the front drive shaft temporarily first. They say that turning the wheel binds (or puts a load on) the transfer case, without the drive shaft there will be nothing to convey this binding. I just want to see how it acts after that before diving into the transfer case.
Will keep things posted here as they develop, which may be a slow process due to my schedule. Need to get this fixed though.

fishtaconc

did they have it in 4wd when doing this check? that would lead me to believe that you have been driving around in 4wd which is very bad for the t/c and would lead to needing a new chain, you may want to check your linkage for the t/c shifter it could be worn to where you put it in 2wd but are still in 4hi. by the way do you know which t/c you have np231 or 242 just my $ .02

TheGreatGazoo

I had this problem too. my problem was the front axle U-joints. there are 2 u-joints at the steering knuckles on both sides. its a common problem due to nobody ever grease's these. this is a good place to start to find your problem. it worked for me.

electricfuzz

They were checking it in all drive positions and it did it in all. Prior to this diagnosis, I was wondering if the 4 wheel drive selector was not positioning right so i went to a gravel lot where i could observe my tires spinning and all positions seemed to work like they are supposed to. Someone suggested to me to put it in 4 lo and test it in reverse with a fair amount of excelleration, and if I heard loud, repeated snapping sound, it was my TC chain. I tried this, did hit my head on the steering wheel, but did not hear a sound. I don't know if this was just his experience or a true test for a loose TC chain.

My point however, is that I am definitely not driving around in 4 wheel drive.

Mine is the NP242

electricfuzz

All my u-joints feel tight as can be (to me) and I have had two places checking out all that area. I'd like to think they would be able to diagnose that if it were the problem.

Does anyone know, if I remove the front axle AND the TC chain, I should still be able to drive around in 2 wheel drive, correct?

Thanks all.

chastings

I may try and tackle the u-joints this weekend (wife just had a baby last week, may not have time) I'm certain it's nothing to do with the transfer case in mine. It seems almost like a joint binding in the left wheel when I turn, it pops slightly, and makes a grinding sound/sensation while turning and accelerating. Additionally, mine does it while traveling straight if I hit a dip in the road too. I assume it has something to do with the axle/u-joint geometry when changing under a load? Hopefully I'll know more next week.

offroadnut36

Ummm....you do realize you just said remove the front axle? You won't be going anywhere if you remove the front axle. On the other hand if you were talking about the axle shafts, no you still won't be able to go anywhere, unless you take the hub off of the axle shaft, and I've heard that doing that wears the wheel bearings a lot faster...not sure why.

You'd still be able to drive in 2wd if you took the chain off.

troy fritz

My ZJ was doing this the other day so I replced the ps axle u-joint and its gone.

electricfuzz

Good catch, I actually meant the front drive shaft. haha, yeah, not gettin far without an axle!

offroadnut36

lol yeah. But yeah you can drive in 2wd without a front driveshaft and the chain. Realize that the chain is driven off of a gear that's splined to a shaft that's in turn splined to the tranny output shaft, meaning it will still turn whether there is a chain on it or not.

96tudor

I believe that any Cherokee in 4WD will shake with the front wheels off of the ground. I'd advise another opinion or your test without the driveshaft if possible.