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Front driveshaft spins in 2wd with unlocked hubs

Do the vibes disappear with the DS removed?

Yes. Very smooth without the front shaft.

Sounds like the driveshaft needs better balancing possibly.
Just to clarify, you are driving in 2wd right?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes of course. I'm using 2wd not 4FT.

Make sure you can freely spin the front driveshaft by hand. After that I wouldn't worry about it. Probably surface tension from the oil film creating drag for the chain drive.

Yeah I can spin it by hand no problem
Hmm ok thanks.
 
OEM staft? At 4" of lift with aftermarket LCAs and a 242 t-case in my 94, the measurement I gave when getting the new one was nearly 2" longer than the OEM spec. There's only 3" of travel... Smooth as butter at all speeds now after wasting money having the OEM one straightened, balanced and rebuilt.
 
OEM staft? At 4" of lift with aftermarket LCAs and a 242 t-case in my 94, the measurement I gave when getting the new one was nearly 2" longer than the OEM spec. There's only 3" of travel... Smooth as butter at all speeds now after wasting money having the OEM one straightened, balanced and rebuilt.

I ordered a custom shaft. I don't remember the length. It's a long travel drive shaft.
 
I used two of the thick plastic tie wraps to hold the driveshaft from spinning. So far it as worked. I've had the Jeep up to 75mph which is about the max I like to do. Problem solved, I suppose.
 
If you have a new custom D/S in the front, and it still does it, you either have issues internal to the tcase @ the front output, or you have issues in the diff.


Either way, they need to get fixed.


Or you can do like I did for a long time in the truck in my avatar.....keep the front D/S inside the truck with all the tools to install it when needed. I did that for MPG, as it was a FT 4wd truck back then.
 
I have the Warn lockouts and my driveshaft does not spin in 2WD. When the hubs are unlocked the front wheels spin on the bearing whithin the hubs. I have seen Dodge and Ford trucks with manual lock outs that have enough drag to spin the front DS very slowly but nothing fast enough to create driveline vibes. The best way to test is get underneath the jeep with all 4 tires on the ground with it in 2WD and grab the front drive shaft with 1 hand and spin it, it should spin freely if it does not then with your hubs are not working properly or your transfer case is stuck in part time or full time 4wd.
 
On a second note I have a 6" lift and run stock front drive shafts with no issues. I also run stock front drive shafts in the rear with no issues. I have an NP242 TCase. You don't need a custom drive shaft stock shafts will do however you may need to change the flanges depending on your set up.
 
Ok...according to the grimmreaper site, 35" tires, AW4 trans, NP231 tcase, you should be doing 81 mph @ 3000 rpm down the highway

IF you stay in 3rd gear, it should be 61 mph @ 3000 rpm


65 mph with those tires & gears should be 2400 rpm, not 3000............

Does you trans actually go into lockup & OD anymore ??

I know I had issues with mine in the past, and it didn't lockup or stay in OD, and even with 31's, I was spinning 2400 @ 65 mph
 
Hmm so the case has been making bad noises. Now when I try to spin either drive shaft in neutral or 2wd it tries to spin the other. There seems to be a lot of resistance when trying to spin the front shaft. Are there bearings that allow the chain sprocket to freewheel on the main shaft?
 
There are needle bearings between the chain sprocket and the main shaft. The 231 uses caged needle bearings while the 242 uses loose bearings. I've never read anything indicating one being better than the other in this regard.
 
The chain is always engaged with the sprockets. The front output sprocket is fixed to the front output shaft. The sprocket on the main shaft moves around as you engage the different modes--2WD the sprocket is disengaged and freespins on the shaft (needle bearings), FT/AWD it engages the planetary differential and power is distributed to the front or rear as needed, PT/4WD it locks the planetary differential and forces the front and rear to spin at the same speed.
 
Hmm thanks.

Maybe these cases are not designed to be operated with disconnected front hubs?
Maybe the needles bearings can't handle that much rpm?
 
HUh ?????

RPM is no different than if you are actually IN 4wd high....................

Front driveshaft not spinning, main shaft in transfer case spinning. Arn't the needle bearings going to spin as the chain sprocket freewheels on the main shaft?
 
Front driveshaft not spinning, main shaft in transfer case spinning. Arn't the needle bearings going to spin as the chain sprocket freewheels on the main shaft?

They do that all the time when not in 4wd......as long as you have the correct amount of fluid in the tcase, it 'll be ok.

It's no different than being in 2wd and doing a power brake maneuver on dirt or snow or ice where the rear wheels are churning away and the front wheels are locked by the brakes.
 
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