repairing Front Diff?

What does it normally cost to have the front Diff repaired?

I bought my XJ with no front driveshaft and now that I have one installed I ahve a lot of clunking in the frontend. I"m guessng the ring and pinion or something in there is hosed. Any idea what ususally goes out in them and what it usually costs to have a shop repair it?

Todd

Need year and engine size.

Take the drive shaft back out for the time being as you may do more damage than what there already is.

Forget the issue of cost until you know what the problem is. If you don't know what and how to check the front end, you should be able to get an estimate at a reasonable cost.

As far as to what could be wrong. If you didn't have any noise with the drive shaft out then in all likelyhood, there is nothing wrong with the front axle. The problem may well be the drive shaft or the front bearing in the transfer case.

Sound like you have a non-disco axle which means it's a live axle, everything turns when the wheels turn.

rstarch345 said:

Need year and engine size.

Take the drive shaft back out for the time being as you may do more damage than what there already is.

Forget the issue of cost until you know what the problem is. If you don't know what and how to check the front end, you should be able to get an estimate at a reasonable cost.

As far as to what could be wrong. If you didn't have any noise with the drive shaft out then in all likelyhood, there is nothing wrong with the front axle. The problem may well be the drive shaft or the front bearing in the transfer case.

Sound like you have a non-disco axle which means it's a live axle, everything turns when the wheels turn.

Click to expand...

It is a 1987 with the 4.0 6 cylinder.

it doesn't make the noise with it in 2wd, but , I noticed that the shift vacuum motor on the front axle was plugged in wrong and the front wheels would not spin at that point, but I remember hearing a slight similar noise that way. That would back up your idea that is may be in the transfer case (only the part that moves when in 4WD). But after getting the shift motor workign and the front wheels actually turning, the noise was quite a bit more pronounced, but that would be the case with more of a load agrivating the transfer case like that.

What all normally goes wrong with the transfer case in this type of situation?

Thanks
Todd

Since you DO have a Disco axle, that kinda puts a different perspective on the issue.

I'd still pull the DS until you know for sure if the axle has problems.

Do you know for fact that the vacuum unit on the axle is engaging. The best was is to put the front axle on jack stands. (Presuming the DS is disconnected) start the engine and engage 4WD. Now, by hand, rotate one front tire. If the other one turns, you are engaged and continue with the following. While turning the tire, listen for any unusual noise. Now turn the steering wheel all the way to the left, repeat the turning of the tire and listening for noise. Turn the steering wheel all the way to the right and repeat process.

While this method won't be 100% accurate because you don't have the axle under stress, it will eliminate obvious issues.

With the steering wheel straight, check your axle ujoints. Take a very large screwdrive or prybar and slip it through the knuckle and under one side of the axle ujoint and pry upward. If you see any movement in the ujoint other than rotational, it is probably bad.

While you have the DS out, check the ujoints. If they are sloppy or overly tight, they are probably bad.

On the TC, as I mentioned, the only thing that would come to mind would be the front yoke bearing. There could be more, but I wouldn't want to bet on it at this point.

could also be the cardan joint at the top of the driveshaft.
it's not hard to rebuild, just two u joints and the centering assembly.

Easiest thing is to pop the cover yourself and take a look.
Broken ring gear teeh will be easy to spot, and large amounts of silver in the oil is a dead giveaway that something is grinding.
If the front axle is toasty, consider just going to the junkyard and finding a good replacement that matches your gears.
Not only can you get rid of the problematic CAD motor, but you'll get larger u-joints, and an axle with less wear and tear in general. I'd bet it would be cheaper than having the original repaired.