Last week I posted about a noise from my front end and received some good replies. Grateful for that.
I was finally able to get the Jeep over a pit so that I could maneuver under it and I think that I have found the exact source. Some help here would be useful as I am still just learning.
The Jeep is a 2005 TJ X, all stock.
You can see the action and hear the noise with this video. I will, however, describe what I found.
When I grabbed and wiggled the front drive shaft, it moved just a tiny bit and I could hear a metallic knocking sound. The sound was coming from the passenger side of the axle right near the wheel. When I wiggled the drive shaft, there was very slight movement in the differential that seemed to transferr to the passenger side drive axle. The axle u-joint there did not move, but the noise was definitely seemed to be coming from right there.
Looking closely, I saw that the inner axle shaft oil slinger is loose. (On the driver's side it is fixed.) I have attached a rough drawing below to indicate where the piece is. It looks like it should act as a seal to keep contaminants out of the axle shaft. There is no oil leakage there, but something is definitely knocking around inside.
I have been looking for exploded diagrams of the front axle but have yet to find anything helpful. I would assume that there would be an axle bearing there where the axle comes out of the housing, so I'm thinking that this bearing is shot. Or does the front axle just ride on the wheel bearing? Can anybody give me some solid indication as to what is or is likely happening here?
If so, what kind of pain an I looking at in terms of parts cost, labor time and so forth. I'll head into town in the next few days and either look into doing it myself or finding a competent mechanic.
Also, is this likely something that could cause major sudden catastrophic failure such that I should be careful about driving, or is it more likely something that won't blow up but that just needs to be addressed ASAP?
Many thanks for your help...
I was finally able to get the Jeep over a pit so that I could maneuver under it and I think that I have found the exact source. Some help here would be useful as I am still just learning.
The Jeep is a 2005 TJ X, all stock.
You can see the action and hear the noise with this video. I will, however, describe what I found.
When I grabbed and wiggled the front drive shaft, it moved just a tiny bit and I could hear a metallic knocking sound. The sound was coming from the passenger side of the axle right near the wheel. When I wiggled the drive shaft, there was very slight movement in the differential that seemed to transferr to the passenger side drive axle. The axle u-joint there did not move, but the noise was definitely seemed to be coming from right there.
Looking closely, I saw that the inner axle shaft oil slinger is loose. (On the driver's side it is fixed.) I have attached a rough drawing below to indicate where the piece is. It looks like it should act as a seal to keep contaminants out of the axle shaft. There is no oil leakage there, but something is definitely knocking around inside.
I have been looking for exploded diagrams of the front axle but have yet to find anything helpful. I would assume that there would be an axle bearing there where the axle comes out of the housing, so I'm thinking that this bearing is shot. Or does the front axle just ride on the wheel bearing? Can anybody give me some solid indication as to what is or is likely happening here?
If so, what kind of pain an I looking at in terms of parts cost, labor time and so forth. I'll head into town in the next few days and either look into doing it myself or finding a competent mechanic.
Also, is this likely something that could cause major sudden catastrophic failure such that I should be careful about driving, or is it more likely something that won't blow up but that just needs to be addressed ASAP?
Many thanks for your help...
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