I have a '94 Cherokee..Appearently the front drive axles are inside the solid steel hollow "axle housing"..Recently it seems my axles are scrapping against this housing in some way as they make a noticable high pitched metalic squeaking especially when backing up or making really sharp slow turns (Like a u-turn with the wheel cut all the way)..I have a lot of miles on the Jeep so is this a common thing for the age or has something possibly gone wrong that needs immediate attention?..Aside from the squeaky grinding just sometimes there seems to be no problem with the way it rides or roles..Thanks in advance for any replies

 

sounds like a u-joint. Mine squeeked on tight turns. try looking there

 

Make sure the backing plates aren't rubbing... they can make a squeeky scraping noise too.

 

id say u-joint, if you axels were rubbing the housing, they would have to be bent, broken, or you would have 0 bearings. Since it rolls fine I would say look at the u-joint. Mine need to be replaced as well.