PatHenry

Also try spinning the drive-shaft by hand and see if you can get the sound. Put your hand towards the transfer case side of the driveshaft and turn it - do you see any play between the main part of the shaft and the slip part of the shaft near the front axle?

mcmopar

I will try to rotate the front drive shaft, I have grabbed it and tried to shake it and rotate it back and forth and all seemed good, not loose and no slop. That would not cause the wheel to jump would it? When I had the transfer case in 4 wheel drive and the front wheels rotating the driver side was rotating and the right side was only trying to rotate. When the wheel/tire bounces it is only the left front. I have rotated both by hand and both rotate freely, can't rotate by hand as well as when in gear and rotating and that is when the clunk starts and upon some acceleration clunk gets very loud and when turning wheels to left is when wheel jumps and the clunk gets scary loud.

mcmopar

Also it does not make any sound in 2 wheel drive while up on jack stands and rear wheels rotating, so I don't think it is engine or fan related.

dzywicki

In my situation with the seized ujoint, it only made the noise and locked up when the wheel was turned. when it's straight ahead, the axle ujoint doesn't really move at all. It only really moves when the front wheels are turned. In my case, when the wheel was turned it made a horrible clunking kind of noise as it worked through the seized section. If you put the front on jack stands and turn the wheel, I would think you could feel something if it's the ujoint. When I diagnosed my problem, I drove very slowly in the cul de sac witht he wheel turned. That finally isolated the regular noise as the wheel moved while turned.

PatHenry

I guess it's unavoidable that the axle shaft has to come out - I'd just hate for you to go to the effort only for it to be a tranfer case issue or problem with the driveshaft.

Pay close attention to the brakes and ball joints as you take stuff apart - it's unlikely that either one is the culprit - but if you pull the axle and the joints are not bad - the next thing to look at is the diff, so if it's a loose caliper or bad ball joint sort of thing, well, that's better news than diff problems.

mcmopar

Would the front diff make that loud clunking noise? The clunk is with every rotation of the front wheels, worse when wheels turned to the left, you can feel it through the floor, steering wheel etc. I had an old chevy that the ring and pinion went bad but the noise was a constant kind of crowl and snapping noise. This is kinda taking the "fun factor" out of owning this Cherokee.

PatHenry

I'm not trying to scare you - the D30 is a solid and reliable axle, it's unlikely the diff is bad, but if you've eliminated everything else, you'd have to consider it.

Pull the axle shaft and see where you're at before worrying.

Clunking that corresponds to wheel speed is almost always u-joint related.

mcmopar

I spent all day yesterday trying to determine where the clunk/noise is coming from. I am pretty sure I have a problem with the transfer case. While Jeep was on jack stands and engine running and in 4 wheel drive and trans in D, I layed on the floor next to it. The clunk and very loud noise was coming from the transfer case. Pulled front wheels off and the clunk was very noticeable at the middle of the vehicle. Made this clunk rapidly and louder as acceleration was increased. I saw no u-joint issues, however when wheels turned hard left or right the clunking got much worse.

PatHenry

Does it sound like the chain hitting the case? That's usually the most common failure in the transfer case it seems.

Your best bet is probably just to pick up as low a mileage transfer case as you can find at the junkyard and swap it out.

mcmopar

Thanks for all your help on this issue , how difficult of a job is it to remove/replace the transfer case?

PatHenry

In terms of complexity, it's pretty simple - drain the fluid, remove the driveshafts, remove the linkage, remove any electrical connectors and unbolt it from the transmission and pull it off. If you have a manual transmission you'd want to drain the transmission first - on an automatic I'm not sure if this is required.

It weighs about 70lbs, so it's manageable to remove directly (there are folks that recommend pulling it off while underneath it - I would not - I'd use my transmission jack to support it and possibly have a second person).

The trouble may be with getting the bolts off or getting at the bolts at certain angles such that you'd want to remove the crossmember and lower the transmission a couple inches.

I'd refer to the FSM for the year - It's much easier than rebuilding an axle.

mcmopar

Thanks for reply, I have found 4 transfer cases, New Process 231 command-trac, NV231. 23 spline short input. Not sure what the short input is about? They range from $200 to $350, $350.00 has a guarantee for 1 year. Is there any thing I am missing before I purchase one of these?
PatHenry, you have been very very helpful and I sure do appreciate it.!!

PatHenry

Anytime man!

As far as the input length - see this post on the Wrangler forum - https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/...ferences.9828/

There are also clocking differences, so if the case came out of a Wrangler it might be different. I think you can change the input gear and clocking, but it might be best to pick whichever one is out of an XJ with the same tranny or pull the old one first and match it up before purchasing the newly used one. That way you can be sure it's just a "plug and play" job rather than having to do the extra work. 350 seems high, but with a warranty is probably reasonable. You can probably get a rebuilt unit for 1100-1300 as well if you want through your local parts retailer (Napa, Autozone, etc.)

Before you go to the work of changing the transfer case - have you removed the front driveshaft and really examined the double-cardan joint part?? The double cardan part of the driveshaft has 2 u-joints and a centering yoke (all of which can seize or lose needle bearings) and since it's right up against the transfer case front output, a problem in that area would definitely appear to be coming from the transfer case. The driveshaft is really easy to remove, just 4 bolts on the transfer case side and 2 straps at the axle.
If it turns out to be one of those u-joints, a Spicer rebuild kit (3 new joints and a new centering yoke) is only $100.

PatHenry

Also, just to warn you - the output part of the 96 and earlier transfer cases use a different design than the 97+ ones (yours has a boot, older style has a housing and seal). I don't know if the rear drive-shafts are interchangeable, but they probably are.

mcmopar

Thanks again for your guidance, I have not removed the drive shaft. I have tried to shake it, turn it by hand and it sure seems tight. Removing it may be much easier than a transfer case so that will be my next move. Thank you and I will advise when I get this test done. I am assuming that with the front drive shaft removed I would only need to jack up the rear, is that correct?