Hello,

I have a '93 Grand Cherokee Limited with a busted Front Differential. The mechanic is suggesting replacing with a used front axle since trying to rebuild the diff would be very expensive since almost all of the gears in there are completely busted. Current estimate is about $1200 to replace the front end.
The Jeep has about about 194K miles on it.

I was wondering if it was possible to dis-engage the front diff so that it
now becomes a RWD rather than a 4WD. Is this possible? If so, what would a rough estimate be for something like this. I have come across a lot of queries for people looking to convert a 2WD to a 4WD but not the other way round and thought I would ask.

Thanks for all your help,
Roger

 

Pull the front driveshaft and pull the *INNER* axleshafts.


And you're done.



You *must* keep the outer stubs in place. Otherwise ... you might find your wheel and half of the unit bearing bouncing alongside the Jeep as you drive.


The quote to fix sounds high. Can probably get a good JY axle swapped in for less.


Joe

 

If you do that above, you will have to keep your t-case in 4wd. The front driveshaft is live and the t-case gets lubed by the driveshaft spinning. I would find a diff in the junk yard or from craigslist and replace/rebuild with that.

 

Total misinformation in the post above.


The transfer case is lubed by the oil pump in the rear tailcone. The chain simply churns/whips up a little tiny bit (kinda like how a crankshaft foams up the motor oil).



The only exception I can think of would be the full time case (no 2wd option). And that would be because of the viscous coupling inside. Not because of lubrication. And I'm not even 100% sure that you can't do the same thing with the old FT case (a.k.a. QuadraDrive, NP247, etc).




Joe

 

I would look for a used one and just fix it.

 

If it's a full-time system, no 2WD on the select display, you will mess up the t-case driving without a front drive shaft/front axle drive connected. Even with the 2WD option it is not recommended for long distances. This is according to the manual.
Fix it and enjoy it.

 

I figured with the QuadraDrive .. it would be an issue.


But not with the NP231/NP242 ... there is no reason you can't disconnect and leave it all year if you wanted (other than defeating the purpose of 4wd).


Joe

 

Well I'm positive you know more on this subject than I, but let's just hope he's got a limited slip rear end or that 4WD Jeep will turn into a one-leg wonder.

 

Blue .... I'm guessing he's living somewhere warm enough that snow isn't an issue. I'm not saying that I recommend that repair. But if he's trying to get the Jeep moving (daily driver) .... pulling those shafts are a starting point while he looks for a new axle or saves up to have his old one fixed.




Joe

 

I see your point Joe. But personally, if I were short of funds I'd swap in a whole used front axle assy. instead of tearing my axle apart. JMO

 

You're probably right. I just tried to answer the question.


I'll go crawl back in my hole now.




Joe

 

First of all, thank you for all your quick replies. You guys are great.

To answer some of your questions, I live in the Chicago area, so snow is an
issue. I don't plan on keeping the jeep until winter, though, so snow may not be an issue after all.

It is a full-time awd. The only options on the transaxle are Hi, N, Lo.

I just wanted to get it in driving condition for a couple of months and wanted to go the cheapest route possible. I am looking to trade it in under the new CARS program. One of the requirements of this program is that the vehicle must be in drivable condition and that's why I want to get it running in the cheapest way possible.

Based on your replies, it is better to replace the front end rather than doing the conversion. I will go with that and look for a cheaper used unit.

Thanks again, for all your replies,
Roger

 

I think that's your cheapest best bet.

 

Theres a alot of mis-information in this thread but the only thing i'm going to address is... DO NOT remove the front driveshaft on a 93 249 t-case because IT WILL ROLL IN PARK.

Look for a boneyard LP30 from a similar grand with THE SAME gearing as you have now,it should be relatively inexpensive and easy to swap