rear wheelbearing help

[championjeep]

my 98 xj is making a grinding noise that sounds like its coming from the rear. also when i turn left it makes a whining noise too. ive checked for play in the wheels but they all seem fine. my question is how hard are they to change in the rear? anything special i need? thanks.

 

[joe_peters]

Check your driveshaft's u joints while your under there.

 

[championjeep]

Check your driveshaft's u joints while your under there.

I already checked all of those, this is for sure wheelbearings or the differential.

 

[championjeep]

ok here is what i did. i jacked the rearend up in the air, had my girlfriend get in it and put it in drive and give it a little gas. i can hear the grinding noise but cant tell exactly if its from the wheels or differential, i stuck my ear to the wheels and the passenger side wheel which was not spinning seems to be where the noise is coming from and when i pushed in on the wheel the grinding got alot louder. so is this a wheelbearing or a axel bearing or what. i really need help with this its my dd and im to broke to spend money on the wrong things right now. please help somebody!!!

 

[joelevelis]

Sound similiar to a problem I had. Look up a post titled "differential question" about two days ago and it may help.
If you can not isolate to a wheel bearing take the cover off the differential and look around. Above all do not ignore untill you know exactly what it is.
Joe

 

[championjeep]

Sound similiar to a problem I had. Look up a post titled "differential question" about two days ago and it may help.
If you can not isolate to a wheel bearing take the cover off the differential and look around. Above all do not ignore untill you know exactly what it is.
Joe

im going to go ahead and replace both side wheelbearings and hope that cures it if not do you know a good write up for replacing carrier bearings? i could probably do it if i know what all ill need and a little instruction. thanks alot.

 

[joelevelis]

You will need to remove the differential cover in order to remove axles and change rear wheel bearings and SEALS.
That will give you a good picture of exactly what is wrong and what parts are required.
The only good info I ever found is in the FSM.
Joe

 

[lawsoncl]

With it jacked up, assuming no locker or limited slip, hold one wheel at a time and let the other idle. (sounds like what you did). If the noise is specific to one wheel spinning its probably the wheel bearing on that side. If it won't go away then maybe pinion, carrier, or even spiders inside the diff.

They aren't too hard to replace. Its a c-clip axle, so you need to pull the diff cover to get to the c-clips and then you slide the axles out. Do bearings and seals on both sides.

 

[championjeep]

well i put new wheelbearings in on both sides last night and it didnt help a thing. damn it! the gear teeth looked fine to me , no chips or anything so im thinking pinion bearing or carrier bearings or both. i dont think i want to get into something like that so can anyone give me a rough estimate what it might or should cost me to get the pinion and carrier bearings replaced? thanks