I recently had to run my 2000 WJ in 4WD (selec-trac) due to snow. After disengaging the 4WD system, the front end continued to pop when the tires were turned to near lock position like the hubs had not disengaged. A brief time later, there was a grinding noise coming from the front axle area, as if the differential was only partially disengaged. There is no noise if you put the transfer case in 4Lo. Any body experienced this? any suggestions?

 

Welcome to CF!

First of all, with the 242 Selectrac t/case, there are 2 options for 4WD. There is full time and part time. Full time is designed to be used on any surface at any time while Part time is only to be used when there are slippery or loose surfaces. If you ran in part time long enough on dry surfaces, you could have overstressed your front hub CV joints. They are the weakest link in the powertrain.

The way this t/case works is in part time, both axles are connected to the transmission at the same speed with no slippage. In full time, there is a differential in the t/case that allows the axles to change speed with varying conditions and cornering. Neither option likes extreme lock turns and will "hunt&peck" when doing so.

Right now, I'm delivering newspapers in the worst conditions I've seen in many years. When I'm on totally snow-covered roads, I use part time. Any time I need to make a u-turn, I switch to full time and just roll thru it with little or no power. When it gets really nasty, I punch it and drift the turn in part time. It's lots or fun, but you have to be careful and know your jeep. When I get to a road that's been plowed completely, I switch to full time. In only 2 occasions, my jeep hasn't been out of full time in a month.

 

Well......Looks like it is the CV joint on the driver side. Finally got a chance to get underneath and have a look. Both boots are non-existant and the driver side axle shaft is just hanging ...SMH...can't believe I haven't thought about this before.