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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / 4x4 Cars / March 2007Jeep TJ Differential Problem
I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down and opened it up and found no issues. So upon further inspection I spun the rear axle shaft and it spun freely with the wheels on the ground????? I proceeded to tear off the diff cover and noticed that the bolts have sheared off the ring gear. There were several bolts laying in the bottom of the differential case. So my questions are... why would this happen? Can I just replace the ring and pinion and that will be the fix. I was not 4 wheeling or abusing the vehicle, but it does have 120000 miles on it. Any response will be appreciated. >I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end >of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >Any response will be appreciated. Very curious. When you said several bolts where laying in the bottom of case was these sheared bolts or complete ones? If they were complete bolts it would suggest that the ring gear was never properly installed and at some point be it new or later in life and several bolts worked loose and fell out the the remaining bolts sheared off. The nature or condition of the bolts involved would tell more about the story on close inspection and it would show their method of failure. This is a pretty rare occurance. Also, replacing ring and pinion would fix this but given mileage on rear axle I would replace bearings too even if they looked ok. ----------------- TheSnoMan.com > I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end > of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Any response will be appreciated. Wow, that's quite extreme. I've heard under hard use more like sheared teeth from the ring and or pinion, or snapped pinions, but the ring gear bolts failing/ coming out is an unusual case. As SnoMan suggested, what do the bolts look like that were in the bottom of the pumpkin? Were they sheared, or whole bolts that possibly came undone (somehow)? It would be a good idea to have the axle assembly overhauled. With all the extra metal flinging around in there, you can imagine what it would do to bearings. Also, check the diff gears; you might want to replace that at the same time if they are scored. Clay > > I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end > > of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Clay Inside the diff are the heads of a few bolts and some of the bolts sheared leaving about a 1/4 inch of thread on them. So do you guys recommend taking to a professional or can the weekend mechanic take care of this? >>> I have been having some issues with a whirring noise in the rear end >>> of my TJ. I assumed that it was the transfer case so I tore that down [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > So do you guys recommend taking to a professional or can the weekend > mechanic take care of this? I am more than comfortable tearing down an engine in my driveway in a snowbank even (the last one I helped with) but I sure leave the diffs to a machine shop that knows how to do them and has the proper tools. They are so touchy that even a so called local 'Jeep' shop destroyed all the bearings in mine by putting the pinion on incorrectly. That cost me $500.00 to get properly fixed. I highly recommend you go with a pro. I find the local 4x4 specialty shops all think their tools are gold plated and they for sure use gold plated parts by their pricing. A real machine shop that works on big trucks is normally a better deal plus they use steel parts normally... Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2115147590 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page) >Inside the diff are the heads of a few bolts and some of the bolts >sheared leaving about a 1/4 inch of thread on them. The loose head tend to suggest that bolts were overtorque and fatigued and the heads popped off. When that happened, that place additonal stress on remaining bolts which then sheared off with time. >So do you guys recommend taking to a professional or can the weekend >mechanic take care of this? If you are good with tools and have pateince, can follow instructions and maybe by a few tools it is quite doable yourself but if you do not fit this profile it is time to farm it out. It is not hard to do it is just that it may take a few times of tearing it down to change shims and backlash to get it right and this takes time sometimes. Also if you get preload too tight you can burn up new bearings in short order. It is not a job you want to do on a dead line for first time but if you have the time and want to play with it it is not too hatefull. (I would rather do that over a engine swap in a FWD car anyday and I know because I have done both more than once too) ----------------- TheSnoMan.com > >Inside the diff are the heads of a few bolts and some of the bolts > >sheared leaving about a 1/4 inch of thread on them. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > ----------------- > TheSnoMan.com Just a heads up the repair is complete. Everything went like a dream. Someone was obviously watching my pocket book because there was no damage to any gears inside the diff case. Unbelievable! I appreciate everyones advice. |
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