Sudden Binding and Grinding

Bought this xj a month ago. Replaced the tranny, t-case, rear diff fluid right when I got it.


Drove it all morning then went to bestbuy. Pulled out of the bestbuy parking lot and all of a sudden it just started binding up and being super jerky. I stopped and reveresed thinking I had caught something up in the drivetrain. Looked under the Jeep quick but didn't see anything. Drove around the parking lot a bit and it didn't do it near as bad.

Seems like its just a touch noisier than normal.

Jeep is a stock 01 with 68,000 miles on it. 75w90 royal purple fluid.

Pulled the cap off the rear diff and fluid was full. Wasn't pretty purple anymore but still filled ot the top of the fill hole.


Any ideas? I've had a cople problems with this Jeep already and giving some serious thought to trading it in already.

When I did my rebuild, the o2 sensor would periodically smack into the front driveshaft, producing a binding and banging

I dont think thats it. It caused the entire truck to lurch.


Anybody else have any ideas?

Front axle U-joints? Crunching noises? Or a hub going to lunch...

I'm gonna jack it up in a bit to see what i can figure out.

I'm thinking maybe a tranny mount or something? It hasn't bound up near as bad and rolls freely in neutral but in gear theres a noticeable vibration and grind. It sounds like its coming from my right rear when driving


I'm just gettin back into jeeps but can anybody give me some diagnostic help with this thing?

Like how to tell if its a bad u joint, tranny mount, etc...

Thanks for the help.

Sounds like bad u-joint in front end. rotate your front driveshaft a bit and watch for play at the knuckles (right behind the wheels). It's a cheap fix, as are almost all problems on these things.

If you perform a complete run through of the vehicle they are decently reliable, but I run them because I know them. They're easy and cheap to fix. But the newest ones are 8 years old, so if you want reliable you have to make it reliable.

alright jacked it up and didn't notice anything that jumped out at me.

U joints look to be originals or at least very aged.

I'm getting a growl at low speeds. Like in 1st gear area. Seems to go away as I get into second. Especially noticable when coming to a stop. Once the growl starts if I put it into neutral then it stops.

Any help?

You didn't ID the t-case.

Could you be in 4wd?

pikey77 said:

alright jacked it up and didn't notice anything that jumped out at me.

U joints look to be originals or at least very aged.

I'm getting a growl at low speeds. Like in 1st gear area. Seems to go away as I get into second. Especially noticable when coming to a stop. Once the growl starts if I put it into neutral then it stops.

Any help?

Click to expand...

While parked, throw your jeep in neutral and apply the e-brake. Crawl under your jeep and push up and pull down on the rear driveshaft. You're looking for any play. The ds is supposed to be solid with no vertical movement. If you're able to move your ds up and down the slightest bit, you have a bad u joint. I just replaced my rear u joint last night. I had those same symptoms.

231 t case Definately not in 4wd.

I'll check the DS in a bit.

did ya diagnose the problem yet?