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Wasn't the SYE, what the he!! could it be!?!?!

Safari Ary

Safari Ary

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
For those of you that had been following my "rear axle woes" thread, I originally thought it was my RE hack 'n tap SYE, since there was a noticeable amount of play in the splines between the flange and the output shaft. Well, I replaced the output shaft along with the RE flange, and to my GREAT dismay, the helicopter sound hasn't gone away in the least. What the heck could this be?? Could a U-joint in my rear DS be bad even though I don't see ANY play in it whatsoever?

My patience is wearing thin and my parents' is even thinner(NOT a good thing). Please help!!

Ary
 
Since are vehicles are very simular I would guess your still having issues with the 8.25" and your driveline!The hack/n/tap kit didnt work for me so I went to the JB kit.I still have a "droning" noise above 60mph which I attribute to the 8.25. I need to change gears again and add a ARB so Im seriously thinking about a D44 instead of investing more money on the 8.25!
 
I was talking to Andy at the Carolina Rock Shop and he said it sounded like a carrier bearing. He said I should pull the cover and if the fluid was greenish and foamy, that it was prolly the bearing. The noise seems to have died down with a little bit of driving, I get a clunking off the line, but if I play with it a little once I'm up to speed I can reduce the noise to a simple droning as opposed to the helicopter(thud thud thud thud type whir). I was supposed to drive to washington today, cape hateras on Tuesday, then up to Tech on Friday(the shortest travel time is 4 hours, the longest, 8) so I need to have my Jeep running NOW. I've got the master rebuild kit for the 8.25 as I have an ARB and 4.56s sitting here to be installed, but I'm thinking I can just use the carrier bearings from the kit and change them if that's the problem. Anyone else? Thanks

Ary
 
Update: Looked at the fluid in the rear-end. It appears grey and non-foamy. Maybe SLIGHTLY milky, but not really. The more I think about it the more I think that I had driveline vibes that wore out my SYE and I fixed the symptom but the problem is still there. I wish someone in this town stocked shims, sure would make it easier. I'm gonna try to snap a pic to see if you guys think the angle at the pinion could be the problem. I really don't think it's that bad, I admit it's not ideal, but I didn't think it would cause all of this. I'll post again with a pic
 
103-0357_AUT.JPG


103-0358_AUT.JPG


It's hard to show the angle exactly 'cause I can't get my camera in there very well, but the second pic shows the angle best. It's not really bad at all I don't think, but maybe I just don't know enough to tell the diff. Thanks guys, I'm really countin on you.:eek:

Ary
 
Ary,

At the risk of sounding like a total idiot I'm going to throw this out and see what you think. (I might be way off I know) but...

Are you sure this "helicopter sound" is a sound coming from the driveline? Sometimes when I drive with certain windows open on the freeway I have a perfect "helicopter sound" inside the cab from the wind blowing in.

Also, your pinion angle looks good to me...
 
EricsXJ said:
Ary,

At the risk of sounding like a total idiot I'm going to throw this out and see what you think. (I might be way off I know) but...

Are you sure this "helicopter sound" is a sound coming from the driveline? Sometimes when I drive with certain windows open on the freeway I have a perfect "helicopter sound" inside the cab from the wind blowing in.

Also, your pinion angle looks good to me...
Click to expand...

Y'know, I hadn't thought of that, and it would be me that would be going through all of this when it was simply the window being down. But alas, I'm not so lucky. It does it with the windows up, down, and everywhere in between. It also does this at all speeds. I have tried to check the DS for play but everytime I grab ahold of it and try to wiggle it, there is no play. I've wiggled it so hard that the entire transfercase and transmission move. I'm at a loss. Thanks for your help guys

Ary
 
Ary.... take it for what it's worth...
But it appears to me that from the angle, you could probably go up with the pinion ... roughly 2* (although I'm working from a picture)

As long as your angler finder tells you that you have not exceeded a difference of 1* between the shaft tube and the actual pinion output. You want to keep the pinion 1* less than the number you arrive at as the difference in the two...

That'll keep it from making noise at full acceleration.
 
Deano, I appreciate it, however what really gets me is that this just started and my angle was always like that(started kinda all of a sudden, not gradually). I pulled the rear DS and the ball and cup section of the CV joint seems to be sloppy, I'm in the midst of disassembling the joint right now to see what is needed. There is no grease fitting for the ball and cup, although it seems there should be. I think I found the problem(crossing fingers). Next thing is to order 2* shims. Thanks

Ary
 
Ary'01XJ said:
Deano, I appreciate it, however what really gets me is that this just started and my angle was always like that(started kinda all of a sudden, not gradually). I pulled the rear DS and the ball and cup section of the CV joint seems to be sloppy, I'm in the midst of disassembling the joint right now to see what is needed. There is no grease fitting for the ball and cup, although it seems there should be. I think I found the problem(crossing fingers). Next thing is to order 2* shims. Thanks

Ary
Click to expand...


If it's loose, in a short amount of time, it's compensating for another problem. Just went thru this! :)
 
Well, I redid all the U-joints in the DS, even though they all seemed fine. The ball and cup seemed fine, but I packed them as full as I could with grease. And of course, not a damn thing changed. I took it to my friend who's a trained dodge mechanic, and he said it's gotta be the CV joint still or in the rear-end. I'm going out of town tomorrow, I'll tear open the rear-end on Monday night. Thanks guys, keep the ideas comin!

Ary
 
Ary, try pulling the rear driveshaft and taking a spin in 4wd. This will rule out the possibilty of the rear shaft or pinion angle being your problem. If the noises are gine, it's the driveshaft or pinion angle. If the noise is still there it's the rear end. If you have gears and a locker to go in anyway and the problem turns out to be a bearing you really should go ahead and do all the work at once. The 8.25 rear ends are a bit tricky to work on anyway, might as well get it all done once rather than twice. Also, don't overlook the wheel bearings if you're having the rear end rebuilt.
 
Wes, here's the problem, since the problem only occurs during load, it could still be the rear-end. When I was driving around in 4wd last week the sound was gone. But I'm not entirely convinced that it is the DS. The fluid in the rear-end is a light grey, which my mechanic friend said means there's metal in there. I'm gonna crack the diff on Monday since I'm leaving town right now and see what comes out. I agree about the locker and gears, but I'm stressin on the $$ aspect of it. We'll see how much the 'rents are willing to lend me. Thanks

Ary
 
Ary-
I think carpenter meant remove the rear DS and put it in 4wd hi, effectively driving FWD.

If noise is gone, then problem is the removed DS.

If noise remains, the problem is prolly in the rear axle (which would still be turning in its bearings, albeit with no load on the ring-&-pinon).
 
Ary I am having the same exact problem. A humming/droaning sound at 60+ and it gets worse the faster I go. Does yours get worse the faster you go? Mine does it when I am on the gas and when I am coasting, it just changes the tone.

All of my angles are good, U-joints are good, driveshafts are balanced.

If I take my front shaft off the noise is WAY less noticable. I thought that it was something in the front for the longest time, now I am sure it is coming from the rear. I pulled my rear cover and the fluid looked great.

I have had a couple people tell me it could be either a pinion or carrier bearing in the rear axle. I don't see anything wrong with them though.

Let me know if you figure anything out.
 
rixXJphx said:
Ary-
I think carpenter meant remove the rear DS and put it in 4wd hi, effectively driving FWD.

If noise is gone, then problem is the removed DS.

If noise remains, the problem is prolly in the rear axle (which would still be turning in its bearings, albeit with no load on the ring-&-pinon).
Click to expand...

I know this, but the problem is that the noise only occurs under load, thereby, if I remove the DS the rear diff is not experiencing load and thereby cannot be elimintated as a factor. So it could still be either one.

Matt, the sounds starts right from the second I start moving as a thud thud thud that sounds like a worn u-joint, except it's not, 'cause they're all new. Thanks

Ary
 
Ary'01XJ said:
I know this, but the problem is that the noise only occurs under load, thereby, if I remove the DS the rear diff is not experiencing load and thereby cannot be elimintated as a factor.
Ary
Click to expand...

But you can elimninate everything else Tcase related, as of right now you're still speculating...if there's no noise you know it's either the DS or the Rear....if there is noise you know it's neither of them....

Good luck Bruddah.
 
Where's your cape captain obvious?? :D I know it's not the T-case, I know it's either the DS or rear-end, I'm just speculating as to which one it is. The diff cover comes off bright and early tomorrow to see what's goin on in there. Wish me luck

Ary
 
Like I said before, pull the rear shaft and drive it around in FWD, that will allow you to rule out the driveshaft. If noises are still there, rear end, if not, driveshaft.
 
I have to agree with Carpenter, pull the rear DS out, put it in 4 hi and drive around a few milew, get up to speed, load shouldn't matter. If the noise still occurs with the DS out you know it is the Axel, or were all just way off and its something totally different. If the noise id gone wit the DS out it has to be the DS itself or one of it's components.
 
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