New member! Rear axle concern?!
 

Hey everyone, I'm new here, I'm just getting into the Jeep scene, bought a 99 Cherokee sport 4.0L auto. And here is the deal.

First off, I bought the thing from my friends Neighbor for dirt cheap. It's got about 182,xxx on the engine, trans, and chassis. It's got the typical XJ rocker rust / rot, and the floor pan has a nice solid hole in it [IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/User/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG] BUT, the thing runs and drives. I paid $650 for the dam thing. So it was pretty much worth it to me no matter what else I needed to put into it.

The first thing I noticed when I test drove it, is that the front wheels seemed to skip while turning (or so I THOUGHT it was the front wheels at the time). So after buying the thing, I replaced the front axle U joints, which were COMPLETELY shot. Figured this would solve the problem. But it still did it. After a few simple tests and diagnostic procedures, it appears that while turning, it's actually the rear end that is causing this skip. As if the rear diff. isn't doing what it's exactly supposed to. Here's the catch though, it's a very odd intermittent problem. Because sometimes it will only occur after I put it into (any) 4wd engagement. but then when I put it back into 2 wheel, it still does it (yes, even after the transfer case FULLY disengages the front wheels). This leads me to think that it's NOT a 4wd specific concern though. And here is the other weird thing. When I'm turning and it's skipping, a way to make it stop doing it, is to spin the rear tires while going straight.

Sorry for such a long 1st post, I just really wanna get this thing registered and on the road legally :)

I'd appreciate any ideas

PS: I've changed both front and rear diff. fluids, but not yet the transfer case. And I have a Dana 30 front and the Chrysler 8.25 rear.

Thanks in advance guys!!!

mine does it when turning sharp from a basic stop. other than that it doesnt. i figured it was a solid axle thing. maybe there is an issue. let me know what you find out.

i thought it was the front axle also. and i think my issue still is front but i havent investigated it much.

see if the front drive shaft will spin by hand it might be still in 4x4 even though the lever isnot

Yea, the front wheels spin freely. I know it's not stuck in 4wd.

any other ideas please?!

Does it have a locker in it? When you changed the rear diff fluid, did you notice anything weird inside the diff? Like maybe some stuff welded together?

haha, nope. it's just a stock 8.25. No locker or anything like that. And no gears are "welded" together. The problem is intermittent. So that wouldn't make any sense.

other ideas? lol