ThatPurpleXJ

I guess I'll pull the cover again tomorrow and check my pinion, I bet that's what it is then I just see how it can make such a sound.

Yes all tires match and at 26psi

firehawk618

That sounds horrible. I would think with that racket it shouldn't be too hard to pinpoint the issue.....

884x4

I don't see how the up in could make that noise unless it wasn't even meshing with the ring gear anymore or the bearings are so trashed it can wobble around.
Pull the cover anyways though, maybe the center pin is loose and just clinking around? Idk man good luck

ThatPurpleXJ

Well I figured it out. When my cross shaft blew up a couple weeks ago, the spider gears ended up chipping just one of the teeth on my pinion. Now I thought it just chipped it but instead it actually pushed out the mating surface between the pinion and the ring gear causing wear and noise on every rotation. That's why my axle almost jumped at low speeds.

So as a temporary fix I took a die grinder and smoothed out the pinion tooth so it would as flat as possible. This isn't permanent as I'm putting in a dana 60 and 14 bolt in the coming months.

Thanks everyone for your help though!

93_xjcherokee

My spartan pops like crazy on u turns and you can definitely hear it lock up. Glad you solved your problem

884x4

Not really what you wanted to find I bet...but at least you figured it out, good luck with the tons!