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Front driveshaft disengage?

C

Cordtus

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Canada
Does the front driveshaft on my 1986 XJ disengage when in 2WD mode or is it always rotating with the rear one?
I ask because there is a metal grinding sound in 4hi/lo only and I'm wondering if this could possibly be just the driveshaft and not the differential/T case
 
That depends. If it has the stock vacuum disconnect axle and NP231 transfer case (only part time 4x4) it should disconnect when in 2wd. However if somebody swapped the front axle for a non disconnect Dana30 (91 or 92+ for XJ's) OR if you have the full time NP242 transfer case, the front will not disengage.
 
Blaine B. said:
That depends. If it has the stock vacuum disconnect axle and NP231 transfer case (only part time 4x4) it should disconnect when in 2wd. However if somebody swapped the front axle for a non disconnect Dana30 (91 or 92+ for XJ's) OR if you have the full time NP242 transfer case, the front will not disengage.
Click to expand...

NP207 part-time or NP228/229 for full-time in 86.

And the D30 CAD only disengages the passenger side axle. The drivers side axle will still be turning, same as the passenger side inner axle, so the front driveshaft will be turned by the drivers side axle when rolling. The only system to eliminate that would be locking front hubs in the unlocked position.
 
Cordtus said:
Does the front driveshaft on my 1986 XJ disengage when in 2WD mode or is it always rotating with the rear one?
I ask because there is a metal grinding sound in 4hi/lo only and I'm wondering if this could possibly be just the driveshaft and not the differential/T case
Click to expand...

it could grind if the shift fork is not engaging the the two parts of the axle fully.

disconnect the vacuum line to shift motor. put in four wheel drive. drive. see if grinding goes away.

on my 84 i just removed the vacuum system and used some washers to hold the shift fork to keep the axle engaged permanently.
 
Not true, if it disconnects the passenger side axle shaft the driveshaft will not spin. Unless it is locked of course.

Open diff = side of least resistance receives power....which would be the passenger side since it is disconnected....which would mean that the driveshaft would not receive the "power" from the driver's side axleshaft.

That's the entire reason they did the disconnecting axle deal; to stop the driveshaft when spinning while in 2wd. To save fuel or something. But it doesn't do that much and is more prone to failure!
 
also if you have the cv joints instead of the u-joints ... one may be bad.

i swapped mine out for another set of disconnect axles with u joints.
 
so basically the driveshaft is turning all the time when i'm moving? i'm guessing this rules out everything but the transfer case for making the noise...it's a metal scraping sound kind of like running a fork up the side of a tin can, and it pulses increasingly with speed increase..
 
i don't think there is a CV joint on my jeep all i see are U-joints for the driveshafts and the shafts that drive the front wheels..i read in the manual that U-joint bearings wearing out could be the cause but this seems unlikely i suppose as all Ujoints are moving all the time, and the noise only happens in 4wd
 
My 86 has CV's at the axles and on the front driveshaft at the T-case. More comon than most people know because there aren't too many 1st gens out there running original driveline components.:)
 
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