You believe ...

2wd and 4wd front axle issue 2wd only transfer case issue. Pretty simple.

Simple for some of us, yes. But the OP said that the mechanic said the front diff is pooched, but then I thought the OP mentioned it only happened in 4WD, hence my confusion.

Not directed at you ,was at op to make it simple...

Def the mechanic is trying to screw him. If he has been driving for months with no issue but tried shifting and it didn't, could be and issue of something not lining up. The DS and diff are always spinning in the front Axle if you have the non vacuum style axle. So of anything wasnwrong you would have head it.

Op, what does you TC shifted say. Does it say 2 hi, 4hi, n, 4lo -or- 2,4hi, 4 full, n, 4lo. Please te us what TC you have. Also you should be moving at any legal speed and on slippery roads without your foot on the gas to properly shift on the fly. Never have your foot on the gas when doing it and doing it when your stopped can make it hard to shift or "bang" when you haven't use it for months.

And removing the front driveshaft is easy as removing several bolts

Now im going back to drinking so enjoy and happy jeeping

2wd and 4wd

They are saying the whole front differential needs replaced 2k -3k

So answer this please. Before you switched to 4wd, did It drive normal, no noise etc. Wanna have a blunt easy to read answer.

just go get yourself a front non disconnect axle from the junkyard. try using car-part.com if you need help finding one. they shouldn't be any more than 150 bux tops. just be sure the gear ratio is the same as your rear.

they are very straight forward to swap and can be done in an afternoon, total time should be about 10-15 beer with basic garage tools.

there isn't really and particular order of removal for front end components, just be sure to bolt it all back up.

honestly, pulling the axle shafts and carrier is probably more work than swapping the whole axle. but it's always an option.

Give it up guys. You guys and the OP are talking past each other....

Here is my simple advice to the OP: Get a second opinion. That should be easy enough...

In the first post, OP, you said you shifted into 4WD while stopped.

That is NOT how you shift into 4WD in a Jeep and that is how you break things.

In the following posts, you seemed like you wanted to fully listen to a mechanic and get a brand new axle, done in a shop, costing more than your entire Jeep is worth... without getting a second opinion, looking at it yourself, or finding a junkyard axle.

OP, sell your Jeep.

.....

Anyway, not sure why everyone is so hell bent on pulling the driveshaft & axles, if you just pull the outer axles, the front d/s won't ever spin unless you put the case in 4wd.

then, head down to the junkyard, pull a new diff for like $50, and swap it out. If you're lucky, the spider gears will be whats F'd up and you can just swap em out which would be a simpler procedure; since reusing your existing carrier would ensure that backlash would not be changed.

Pull front cover and take a look inside might just need spiders its a easy fix and a good start into self repairs. Post pictures up of what you see. There plenty of good people here that can walk you thru it.

Don't drive with out outer axles in hubs ....

Exactly ....