• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

R/E REAR D/SHAFT "ANGRY SPARROWS

JD'S-XJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Placentia
Hey guys I just wondered if anyone else has had this problem i am experiencing. Ok first thing first:

1998 XJ 4.0
R/E 4.5" short arm lift kit w/ Rear 3.5 Extreme Duty Leafs (has 4 degree shims for pinion angle)
4.56 gears + rear Detroit Tru-Trac

Ok I just recently got a squeeking noise coming from under the jeep at slow speeds. I thought maybe I had gotten the angry sparrows coming out of the front shaft, but I had my wife drive the jeep and walked next to it and the sound is coming from the rear shaft.

It is an R/E shaft (that was rebuilt once 2 years ago after not having shims in the axle and and it ate through the driveshaft prematurely)
I have the R/E hack-n-tap on my np242 t-case. I know I haven't been greasing it all the time but I also have not been offroading in awhile either. All i drive is freeway miles and try (key word "try") to keep it under 70mph.

Any one else have this same problem on the rear driveshaft? Could the fact that the rear R/E leaf spring bushings are shot and gone on both ends lead to some form of axle wrap and making the driveshaft wear out premature?

Thanks in advance for any help
 
Rubicon Rear Driveshaft "Angry Sparrows"

So no one has ever had a rear driveshaft go out? Or had the rear bushings on the R/E leaf springs go out? I can't be the only one that runs a R/E driveshaft and has had an angry sparrows type noise. Any one?

Oh and if you guys are upset about the capital letters in the title my work computer is pre-set to use caps and that is all we use at work, so i forgot to change it when I first typed it up. If anyone can fix the title to lower case it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Am I reading that correctly? It has been 2 years and a joint is failing? If that is the only issue, I don't know what the issue really is. What kind of joints are in there? I had some gold cap joints in mine for a while that went out in about 6 months or less, and got some spicers that have had no issues. Even without much off roading, the joints need to stay as full of grease as possible at all times. If you ended up driving in heavy rain/slush or in a lot if dust and a little got in there, it will eat up the joint in time. Get some spicers (if you don't have them), and lube the joints at each oil change, and you will probably be fine, unless you are experiencing vibes on the road. Once we are lifted, the DS tends to need more frequent greasing.

Also, if a bushing is wearing out and causing the pinion angle to be in a position that is damaging to the DS angles, you will be getting vibration, followed by eventual failure. If there is no vibration on the freeway from the driveline, this is probably not causing driveline failure.
 
Had my RE shaft for 4 years now, without changing a joint, or touching it, and I've never had any "angry sparrows type noise."
 
Yeah the jeep does have a vibration at about 70mph and up. I know its the u-joints going out and I have greased it probaly every oil change. i run royal purple so i go about 7k miles between changes. I think the crappy bushings in the leaf springs are the reason for premature wear.

If you have had the same shaft for 4 years with out issue I applaud your luck. This is the second time mine has gone out, although the first time was because I did not have the correct shims installed.

I don't know what joints are in there but the driveline shop generally used dana spicer joints when we sent them work out of our shop. I guess its just one of those things I need to grease every other week.
 
Back
Top