areeves65

I know this is lengthy, but PLEASE take the time to read and help me out. Im stressed out beyond belief right now.

Ok, so here is the story. I went wheeling in late October and we went pretty hard. When I got home I realized I had ripped off my evap canister, which was no big deal to me, I knew it was coming some day. I replaced the canister cleaned up the jeep and back to everyday use I went.

Now a few weeks back I did a major curb check when making a left turn (yes I am admitting this, I was distracted by something and it just happened...) it hit the front driver tire pretty hard, I wasn't too concerned. I mean it's a jeep for crying out loud, I almost went back to check and make sure the curb was ok...

Well a few days after the legendary curb check I started noticing a bad "clunking" noise when driving around (mainly when driving slow). This last week I decided to make myself get under the jeep and figure out the "clunking" noise. I was successful! The driver side axle U Joint had a cap that popped off and had been clunking back and forth while driving. I bought a new U Joint and replaced it.

Here in North Texas (Dallas area) we had a pretty epic ice storm, which deemed me a taxi service for my company (we are a 24hr non-stop semiconductor) I was shuttling people back and forth from work. I went to use my 4wd and a HORRIBLE grinding noise started. It makes this noise in both 4-hi and 4-lo. When im not in 4wd there is no grinding noise.

This is where I need help/advice:

Separate from all this crap that has happened, I am scheduled to take my Jeep into 4wheel parts in Plano for some 5.13 gears, new rubicon express front drive shaft, and some new shocks on the 20th. I wanted all of this done and had it scheduled before I noticed the grinding noises in 4wd.

Here are the questions I have:
1.) Do you think the grinding noise is from a broken tooth? This could have happened while that U Joint cap was missing and probably causing a lot of wobble or something?
2.) Hopefully its not the transfer case. (not really a question... Just want someone to tell me that)
3.) Maybe the TCASE linkage from the 4wd shifter is broken? Not fully engaging would cause a grinding noise?

Last but not least, should I be concerned about my front axle shafts and U Joints since I am upgrading to 5.13 gears? I currently have about 33" overall tires but plan on going to 35" soon (no higher than 35" desired).

AlexjeepVb

Does your Jeep make the grinding noise when jeep is in 4wd and not moving or only when moving. If its only doing it when you moving I would prob rule out the T case, if its doing it when you put the jeep in 4wd and not moving then the T case might have an issue. It sound like you might have done some damage to something on that side, maybe axle shaft or something around the knuckle. If you were already going in for gears I would just let them know your issue and they could probably resolve everything at one time.

areeves65

I am going to head out in about 30minutes to go eat, I will check and see if it makes the grinding noise when not moving (at work right now). I didn't pay attention to that before. Thanks for the reply. I figured the most common response would be to just inform the shop I'm taking it to since I am getting work done already, but I want to know what the problem is or at least have an idea. This way I can hopefully keep them for spending several hours searching around racking up labor costs ha-ha.

What is your opinion on upgrading to 5.13 gears and 35' tires with my poor little D30 up front? Do you think I should go ahead and invest in some better axle shafts? Any recommendations?

areeves65

Ok so it only grinds when accelerating. At dead stop there is no noise.

AlexjeepVb

Ok well it seems like your tcase is prob fine then, might have messed up something in the hub or a bearing or maybe something with the axle shaft on that side, kinda hard to guess without being able to see-hear in first hand. As for upgrading the shafts on your D30 with 35's, kinda depends what your going to be putting your jeep through. I had 35's on my old 2010 sport with a stock D30 and it held up just fine for me, but I never really went to hard on it( did some hatteras trips beach driving ect but no rocks or hard wheeling.) If you do plan on doing a decent amount of wheeling it might be a good investment while you have everything apart and save some money. Good luck at the shop and hope all goes well!

LidLess07X

I am not qualified to offer any tech advice but..........

I would postpone any mods you have scheduled until you resolve this problem. With mods always comes some degree of issues. It may make figuring everything out very difficult. Additionally, the repairs could hit your wallet pretty hard. May want to save the money until repaired. Good luck.

Erok

Depends on your engine, with the 3.6 pentastar (2012 and newer) you only really need 4.56 or 4.88 for 35". I have 4.56 on mine and it's perfectly geared for my 35s and I'm also running a D30.

areeves65

Thank you for the reply and concern, I see your point. My intention however is to have the problem resolved through the shop and continue on with the mods. My hopes are that replacing the gears (a mod I wanted done anyway) will eliminate the grinding noise I am hearing (i.e. I have a chipped gear, stripped gears, etc.). Thanks again!

areeves65

Mine is a 2008 JKU Sahara edition, it has the 3.8L V6.... I wish I had your engine!

areeves65

Sorry for the probably dumb question (im new to doing my own mods/maintenance) but how does knowing there is no grinding noise while sitting still possibly tell me that my tcase is fine? Nothing is moving or spinning when sitting still? Or am I missing something?!