my brothers 89 xj with the 2.5l 4spd manual made a loud clunking noise today when he was leaving school in 2wd and then quit moving. He had it towed home and i got in it and put it in 4wd lo and hi and it moves just fine, but when you put it in 2wd it acts like it is in nuetral. i read that those tcases have a plastic bushing in there that wears out? any ideas on if it could be this or what else it could be would be great. thanks

 

theres a bushing on the shift linkage that goes bad climb under neath and see if it gone

 

ok so i checked the shift linkage and its all up to par. im thinking its gotta be something internal...

 

My TJ did that when I snapped the ring gear/pinion gear.
4wd got me home since it essentially was a front wheel drive at that point.
I'd suggest pulling the rear diff cover and checking for metal scraps

 

yeah happened to me too

 

interesting... i was wondering if this is what it was but seeing as he just had the rear end rebuilt less then 5k miles ago, probably less then 2k even, i was kinda ruling it out, although it wouldnt surprise me if the shop didnt line everything up just right and it seixed on him. Ill have to take a look at it for him in the morning. thanks for the replies

 

In 2wd look under and see if the drive line is spinning.

 

If its a non c-clip axle he could on snapped an axle.
Of the spiders are blown to pieces. knowing if the driveline spins when in 2wd and in gear will tell you if your rear is done.

 

X2