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Fockin jeeps....

Fabrimacator21

Fabrimacator21

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I was out wheeling in the heep today and started to cross a creek when I decided it was too deep... Tried to back out and something snapped in the front end... long story short I walked home and the cherokee is sitting in the creek. My question is what should I look for? Is there a notorious weak spot on them? I've never changed an axle shaft but I have a feeling thats what snapped. I'm hoping for a driveling failure though... either way I have no 4 wheel drive anymore and no way to tell what broke until I get pulled out of the creek tomorrow. I heard someting "pop" up front but didn't think I actually broke something. Turns out I did though.:crazy:

Worst case scenario: what do I need to do to swap an axle shaft on a 97 cherokee?
 
Who knows? That's why we don't drive Jeeps around here.:D

I think those axles had unit bearings, so the "hubs" should be easy to get off, but they could be tricky. I just don't know. Other than that, I'm pretty sure they just have C-clips like a 10 bolt has that hold the shafts in place.

Good luck. Maybe someone else on this site knows something. You may have to get on pirate4x4.com to find out.:mad:
 
andyblack said:
Who knows? That's why we don't drive Jeeps around here.:D

I think those axles had unit bearings, so the "hubs" should be easy to get off, but they could be tricky. I just don't know. Other than that, I'm pretty sure they just have C-clips like a 10 bolt has that hold the shafts in place.

Good luck. Maybe someone else on this site knows something. You may have to get on pirate4x4.com to find out.:mad:
Click to expand...

No front axle has cclips in the pumkin, period.
 
Stomis said:
No front axle has cclips in the pumkin, period.
Click to expand...

Beat me to it.:rolleyes:

That being said, if it is a unit bearing set up (like the one on my dodge) pulling an axle is not too bad. Remove the big nut from the end of the axle shaft, remove the unit bearing assembly, pull out the axle. Obviously there is more to it then that, remove the wheel first :p: and the brakes will need to get out of the way, but if it is the same set up that's on my ram it's pretty easy.
 
I don't know what I was thinking about the C-clip. There's no need in the front axle for them. Guess my mind was thinking about how much fun it is to get them off a rear axle. Sorry. I still think the Jeep has unit bearings though. Those are supposed to be easier to remove than a traditional hub/spindle setup, or so I've been told. Never had to do it yet.
 
I cant remember what years had the POS vaccume axle disconnect but it may be as simple as one of the cheezy plastic vac lines tore off and it disengauged the front end. Other than that Ive had 4 Cherokees,there pretty tough vehicles,made the TJ I had look like a absoloute pile of SxxT in comparison which it was.
 
ford runs c clip on pass side in the front on twin ibeam trucks.

and i bet you had a bad ujoint like most have i see and then your stressed it and blew the joint out.

and the axle disconect on some can give lots of problems.

and up here in the big rust belt have fun getting that rusted in unitized hub/bearing unit out of the knuckle.
 
apache said:
I cant remember what years had the POS vaccume axle disconnect but it may be as simple as one of the cheezy plastic vac lines tore off and it disengauged the front end. Other than that Ive had 4 Cherokees,there pretty tough vehicles,made the TJ I had look like a absoloute pile of SxxT in comparison which it was.
Click to expand...


x2, vac disco really sucks
 
no CAD on a 97, if the front wheels stopped turning then you probably broke something. I've had the CV on the front shaft pop pretty loud and sound like something broke, but nothing was.

the link front end can bind up every now and again especialy if it's lifted..
 
so, you were turning and then heard a "pop" - sounds like a u-joint to me, or the ears on the axle shafts if the u-joint had already broke..... dana 30 axles are very easy to breakdown.
- remove your front wheel
- if you have a spare axle to swap-in......
remove the axle nut with a 36mm socket (might have a cotter pin and spring loaded dust cover over it)
- remove the 2 bolts securing your disc brake calipers using a 1/2" socket. Then, pull off the entire caliper, set it on top of your lower control arm and then zip tie it on so that it doesn't accidentally fall and break the line
- [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]look at the back of the spindle, you should see 3 bolts that have a 12 pointed head Remove these bolts using a 12 point 1/2" socket
- now [/FONT]you should be able to pull your axle shaft straight out of the axle housing with ease

if you don't have a spare shaft to swap-in then keep the 36mm nut on the outer stub shaft, you have to keep that outer stub shaft installed, it's what keeps the bearings together. if it's the u-joint that broke, just pull the shafts, replace the u-joint then re-install, or you can just pull the shafts, remove the inner shaft and re-install the outer stub and stuff the axle tube w/ a shirt or rag to keep oil from escaping.

I don't recall what the 97 d30's had for u-joints, if it's the Spicer 5-260x, then you should look for d30 TJ shafts to swap in, it has spicer 5-297x (like D44's and GM 10 bolts) and you can upgrade the TJ shafts to the better Spicer 5-760x u-joints

hope this helps......... try www.jeepforum.com for further questions ;)

oh, and try not to turn all the way while your rig is under a load, that's a u-joint killer
 
Thanks for the writeup. It's fulltime 4x4 so vac disco is off the list.

Just got it out 20 min ago and there was some BAD popping when turning... not much noise while driving, just a slight clicking. Whatever broke I know it's in the left front.

I'll pull it apart tomorrow.:mad:

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Vee said:
:dunno:maybe your spider gears
Click to expand...


The popping was coming from the left front... Sounded like something was bound up and it just let go. I'm hoping for a ujoint.

If I did break an axleshaft is it possible to damage other parts driving home (1/4 mile at 30 mph)? Felt pretty good on the road and didn't pop unless I had the tires cranked.
 
Sounds like the U-joint, possibly damage to the yoke ears when it went. The sucky part is if there is damage to the unti bearing it's not cheap...unless you can find a good used one.

Rene
 
What kind of Jeep is this? A full-time 4wd Jeep Grand Cherokee actually has CV shafts up front. They would make a clicking noise.
 
Fabrimacator21 said:
It's a 97 zj cherokee limited http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Spec_Glance.aspx?year=1997&make=Jeep&model=Grand%20Cherokee&trimid=-1

Thought I did see cv's but wasn't sure.
Click to expand...

Those definitely come with CV axle shafts. Ask me how I know. I put a HP 44 under mine though. You can replace your CV shafts with normal ujointed D30 shafts out of a 96-01 Jeep Cherokee (not grand cherokee). They have the same size ujoint as a D44 and are a direct replacement. You will still have CV driveshaft though (which isn't awful). I would say swap the whole axle but finding one with 3.73 gears (V8 ZJ) is PITA. And it is still just a D30. It is a good axle for up to 33" tires though.
 
I'm in the middle of the teardown right now... hard to get anything done. Trying to watch the race, drink a few beers, webwheel, and work on the rig at the same time:crazy:.

It's a DD that getting pounded on until my blazer is up and running so I don't mind the d30 or cv driveshaft.


Looking more and more like a ujoint.
 
Fabrimacator21 said:
I'm in the middle of the teardown right now... hard to get anything done. Trying to watch the race, drink a few beers, webwheel, and work on the rig at the same time:crazy:.

It's a DD that getting pounded on until my blazer is up and running so I don't mind the d30 or cv driveshaft.

Blazers are a lot more fun to build. :waytogo:

Looking more and more like a ujoint.

:confused: Thought we discovered that it is a CV axle shaft.
Click to expand...

The D30 shafts are easy enough to find (at least around here). I actually bought a whole D30 for $80 before I went with the HP44.
 
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