I NEED HELP!!
Any Drivetrain experts wanna help me troubleshoot this issue?
Ive had some pretty gnarly noises coming from driveshafts/transfer case. Clicking and popping in 2WD and even worse in 4WD. Below is a list of what Ive done so far and a link to a video of the rear driveshaft/Tcase joint while I'm driving.

• Removed front driveshaft because CV boot was toast and no grease. I will either replace the joint with the high angle or replace driveshaft. But currently not installed.
• One fastener on the diff end of the rear DS was broken and I couldnt extract, so only 7 of 8 fasteners and several were loose.
• Removed diff end of rear driveshaft and chased threads and re- attached the 7 good fasteners.
• Changed the diff oil in both front and back. Oil was really bad and I found a few small chunks of metal from the rear but front was ok.
• Changed the transfer case fluid and the fluid looked clean and no metal or shavings.After all this the noise is still there and seems to be getting worse.

Any help would be appreciated.

You Tube

 

Sounds like you should take the rear diff cover off and have a look. Check ring and pinion and spider gears.

 

David, sorry to ask a question in your post but you mentioned about front driveshaft CV boot was toast and you will either replace joint with high angle. My question is that I didnt' think that was possible. I thought you had to replace the entire DS. Did I miss something or misunderstand someone on here? My son wants to lift his jeep but doesn't have enough money for the new driveshaft, so I am making him wait. Is this option a little less expensive than the entire shaft? Thanks

 

I've been down this path a few times. Sixty is right, pull that diff cover and take a close look. Good possibility you'll find something like this ...

 

Wow that is bad!

 

that bad pinion was caused by crush sleeve that gave up?

 

Gadawg31 - Tera Flex makes a high angle Rzeppa CV joint rebuild kit. Bolt on kit to replace the factory CV joint. I have one on the rear drive shaft. I replaced my front driveshaft with a standard double cardon from Tom Woods to account for high drive shaft angle caused by lift.

 

Did you give that diff some surgery and have a look? Would be nice to be a driveshaft issue but the way you describe and the chunks of metal lead me to the worst case scenario similar to what Mark had shown you. Superior diff oil like Synthetic helps somewhat but is not foolproof in all cases.

 

The real cause was much too heavy a Jeep for a built Dana 30 front and stock 44 rear. Two blown rears, one blown front. Which is why a Dynatrac 44 front and Dynatrac 62 (60 variant) are going in right now.