wwilkjr@gmail.com

I have a typical growling/grinding sound of bad wheel bearings coming from the rear end. This has been going on for the entire two weeks That I have had the vehicle. Just today, when I go over a bump, there is a clunk sound. I'm changing the bearings the weekend, but I'm nervous now because I have never heard this type of noise when I had bad bearings before. Any ideas? She's a 2000 grand Cherokee loredo. L6 with select track.

Bustedback

It could be anything, like a loose shock or bad sway bar links. Jack the rear up and see if there is any up and down movement in the axle shafts, if there is you're going to need a bearing and an axle shaft. The shaft acts as the inner bearing race and if there is any wear at the portion where the bearing rides it will destroy the new bearing in no time. A tell tail sign of a bad axle bearing is a leaky axle seal.

wwilkjr@gmail.com

Well, I'm 90% sure the rear bearings are bad. I'm hoping the clunking is related. When I change the bearing, I'll be sure to inspect the axle shaft for wear.

wwilkjr@gmail.com

I'm no longer sure about anything, including my own competence. The growling noise is coming from the rear differential. I want to pull the cover and check It out, but nobody can tell me how much fluid is required to refill it. ROAR!!!

ol"blue

The clunking could be the shocks or shock bushings. Or it could be interference/dry fit between the rear drive shaft and the output shaft seal on the t-case. They had an issue with that. My brother took his '04 WJ w/4.0 in and they removed the shaft, greased it and reinstalled it because it was still under warranty. It would make that noise, and also after stopping, it would clunk after he'd release the brake. After the service visit the noise went away.

94zjdriver

It takes over a quart to refill a rear end. Looked it up 56oz or 1.6 L Dana 35.

dwcupcakes

Also check the torque on the tire bolts. Look for any stretching. I had a tire over torqued 2 years ago. When I called the shop to make an appointment - the mechanic said it sounded like the sway bar. When I pulled out of my driveway to take it to the shop - my tire fell off!

wwilkjr@gmail.com

I replaced the shocks, and the clung went away. On to the next malfunction. Lol

wwilkjr@gmail.com

I checked the nuts and bolts on the tire. Thanks.

holyman1973

This thread pointed me to where to look for the same problem. one shock was fine and the other was fried. replace both and now rides like a dream. I love forums like this!!!

dave1123

Okay, for future reference, your rear bearings are a completely caged bearing with an inner and outer race. The axle doesn't have c-clips so you can pull an axle without opening the rear diff. The bearings are a press fit on the axle with a "soft" collar behind them. Most of the press fit is in this collar. There are 4 bolts behind the brake disc holding the bearing and seal in. To remove the soft collar, you drill a hole most of the way thru it and split it with a chisel. The new bearing is a light tap fit on the axle and the collar requires using a piece of pipe to drive it on, or a press.

On the lube, if you buy 2 containers, you'll have some left over. The diff cover is usually sealed with RTV. Gaskets are available, but hard to find and aren't really necessary.

I just went thru this with my 2000 WJ because of a leaking rear seal. I replaced both bearings and seals and flushed and inspected the diff, checking gear wear pattern and bearing condition. at 150K, everything was normal. It seems my vent was plugged and that caused my seal leak.