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Rough feeling when In 4HI, Help?

T

TheEddie

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Minooka, IL
Looking for some insight here.

98 XJ
4.0
Np231
122K miles
It gets wheeled, but not abused.

In 2WD it feels smooth as glass throughout all gears, like it should

In 4LO it feels normal, with no roughness at all.

In 4HI it feels like there is a roughness, kind of like what a bad Ujoint feels like in a drive shaft. It is a bit hard to describe but it only does it when on the throttle, when coasting it is very smooth. At 2mph and 40mph the feeling is basically the same, so it seems unchanged by speed.

Any ideas guys? Is my 231 toast?
 
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After some further examination under brake load the same feeling happens in 4LO and the front diff made a grinding noise upon every rotation of the driveshaft, so I''m thinking spiders gears maybe. I'll tear into it tomorrow. This thread can be deleted if need be.
 
Maybe it's just not engaging entirely, or properly? I would think if its something to do with the axle itself, it would be doing it both in 4HI and 4LO...
 
TheEddie said:
same feeling happens in 4LO
Click to expand...


didn't see this before. Yeah, might be a sloppy chain? or maybe something as simple as you need to adjust your linkage? With a 98, your shafts/gears/driveshaft are always turning, in 2wd and 4wd. So I would think that if it had to do with the axle, the problem would be showing itself in 2wd as well... I think I'd be looking to the t-case first.
 
I feel like I have narrowed it down the the front diff. Like I said it only does it under load, not while coasting.

The sound is consistent with a rotation of the front driveshaft. I wiggled the ds and the Ujoints seem alright, but they havent been changed as far as I know. (bought it at 108k). The slip yoke has a tiny bit of play in it, is that normal? I noticed the front ds that I'm running in the rear is tight.
 
Hmm. 31s shouldn't be too much strain... I guess tear into the front and see what you can see. I'm intrigued by this situation. Hope its a quick/easy fix for ya :)
 
Im tellin ya, been there done that, your symptoms sound identical to my brothers old 231, Sloppy chain. Over time it happens.
 
I would agree... Definitely seems like something to do with the t-case, chain makes sense to me. but if he's sure its got to do with the axle, it won't hurt to pop the cover and take a look-see. worst case is he just changes his diff fluid and moves on :)
 
nw-xj-scott said:
Im tellin ya, been there done that, your symptoms sound identical to my brothers old 231, Sloppy chain. Over time it happens.
Click to expand...

How tough was the job/what'd it set him back?

I dont think Tcase shifter was moved until I bought it. (was a Florida truck)

I've been wheeling it for a year or so, but I'm not that hard on it, and it only has 31s on it. You think that little of use can stretch the chain?
 
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I'm about to run out there and throw it up on jackstands and run it in 4wd with a stethoscope to see where the noise is coming from, but its 12:30AM and the neighbors probably wouldn't like the Flowmaster Super 50..haha.
 
On a 98 the chain always turns no matter what. Its an easy change but I bet thats not it, I changed mine at 190K and it was just fine.
 
TheEddie said:
The sound is consistent with a rotation of the front drive shaft. The slip yoke has a tiny bit of play in it, is that normal?
Click to expand...

I would suspect u-joints first or a worn centering ball on the CV joint, but play in the slip yoke is not right and that can cause vibrations.

I would replace the front drive shaft or rebuild the CV as routine preventative maintenance before I would tear into the Tcase.
 
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If it is the 231, we found it easier and cheaper to R&R the unit. But, the "new" one was from a used vehicle. so its possible to continue on with your headache by going that route, luckly for us, it solved the problem.

I dont believe its caused by tire size, im sure its possible but 31"s are not that big.


The job took us about 2 hours to R&R the whole unit.
 
Alright, with the front DS pulled it is normal again both in 4HI and 4LO. So this means my chain is okay, correct?

One ujoint was pretty dry. I'm going to replace the ujoints and see how far that gets me, they look like the factory spicers. What do you guys recommend? I have some autocraps in my rear and have had to replace one twice already, just because I needed them right away.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1310...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories << That should be good, right?

Do you guys think I should replace the front DS completely? The slip yoke only has the tiniest amount of play that you can feel by wiggling it.

Thanks alot for all the help. This is where the Tech is at. I posted the same thread on Jeepforum.com and have yet to get a single reply.
 
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TheEddie said:
Alright, with the front DS pulled it is normal again both in 4HI and 4LO. So this means my chain is okay, correct?.
Click to expand...

I would think so.

TheEddie said:
. I'm going to replace the ujoints and see how far that gets me
Click to expand...

Even Spicer u-joints are cheaper than drive shafts.

TheEddie said:
Do you guys think I should replace the front DS completely? The slip yoke only has the tiniest amount of play that you can feel by wiggling it..
Click to expand...

Unless you get a new one, any used one is going to be a crap shoot. With new u-joints, see if you can live with it. When you grease the slip yoke use 8-12 pumps and push all the old grease completely out of the shaft.
 
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