jeeporiwalk

I emigrated to South Africa 3 months ago and took my 99 4.0 CJ with me. Before I left the UK it was running perfect. I put a 3inch Rusty's lift on it, new front discs, new pads, new BFG 31's. Serviced it and all was lovely !!

3 months later and I'm still trying to get the Jeep on the road in SA as Chrysler don't use engine numbers - a fact that the SA red tape guys cannot even begin to understand ! Result is that the vehicle has not had much use.

So, the problems I am having:

1 - In 2 wheel drive, on acceleration (after coming to a stop) there is a clonk coming from the rear of the vehicle. My thoughts are that either the brakes are sticking or there is an issue in the rear diff!

2 - The front brakes seem to be sticking, there is a very strange grinding noise coming from the front of the vehicle and a juddering motion at really slow speeds. This only started tonight when I went to get some petrol. It seems to be worse in 4wd but I'm not sure yet.

3 - The oil gauge is bouncing around, it normally always stuck at about half way. Tonight it was down to about a quarter !!

I'm gutted and any help would be awesome !!

joes99xj

You may have mre than one issue. I recently bought a 99 sport had same clunk when stopping and accelerating. A common problem with the later cherokee is there is no means to lube the rear diff slip yoke. Look at the diff where yoke goes into transfer case. There is a rubber cover, loosen the aft clamp and remove drive shaft. You will see that it is dry no grease on splines. clean an lube with a heavy chassi grease. Or wheel bearing grease install. Should help. It worked for me.

rweaver138

ok, first things first. you have an XJ, not a CJ

1. brakes are a possibility, also check your driveshaft u-joints. does it happen on acceleration, or when you push the brakes?

2. could be a stuck caliper, does it happen at all times, or only when you push the brake? again, check the axleshaft u-joint, or it could be a bad hub.

3. check/change your oil and filter

jeeporiwalk

thanks guys - I know I have an XJ - must have hit the c instead of the x.

You guys have really helped shed some light. Issue 2 may be a dead u joint on the right front (or possibly a bad bearing/hub) as there is quite a bit of play there. I'm going to fix the u joint first and see. Due to costs (and the fact that the dealer saying the u joint or hub going are rarer than hens teeth I am only going to do the right for now; is this something I should avoid?


thanks again

jeeporiwalk

replaced the front u-joint and it seems to have helped the vibration. Clonking is still there, my Dad's 2001 does the same. Weird