Picked up a 97' Cherokee for my son. 95,000 miles, and the body & interior are in unbelievably good condition (other than a bent front bumper). Only really obvious problem is a loud drivetrain. Sounds to me like its coming from the rear (really howls when you get above 60mph, and stops immediately when you let off the gas pedal). And if you're backing up with the wheel turned hard right (so backing up to the right), you'll hear some clunking noise. Wheel bearings? Rear end? Any ideas on where to start? I also hear faint clunking noise when you stomp on the gas from a dead stop.

 

Crawl under and see if there is play on the driveshafts. Bad u joints can get noisy. Also check and make sure all the fluids are good. Front and rear diff, tcase, transmission...

 

Thanks for the tip. Definitely plan on changing out all the fluids. Will check the drive shafts this weekend.