Problem: Car will not move when shifter is in Drive or Park and gas is applied. Front drive shaft spins and makes a loud whirring noise. When the car is put back into park the drive-shaft stops with a series of clicking noises (end of video 1).
106K on the clock
ABS light is on, Traction Control Light is on, Service Electrical Brake System message.
I originally assumed it was a failed front drivers wheel speed sensor which I replaced with an OEM unit from the dealer. I disconnected the battery for overnight to reset the codes but that didn't do the trick.
Note: At highway speeds 50 - 60 MPH I have been getting a shuddering noise when the transmission is in 4th gear -like I'm driving on rumble strips. The rumbling comes and goes intermittently over the past 6 months.
I will have access to a code reader by the end of the week.
Recent work:
1. Bilstein Shocks / Struts
2. New Lower Control Arms
3. Front Drivers side speed sensor
4. Front Drivers side outer CV boot.
5. Front drive shaft CV Joint
6. New Starter (OEM)
7. Front Diff / Rear Diff Fluid Change
8. Torque Converter Fluid Change
9. Coolant flush
10. 4 Wheel Alignment / Wheels balanced
11. Mopar battery
12. Spider Traxx 1.25" Spacers
Welcome to the garage.
There are two strange things going on i believe:
1) Front propeller shaft spins, but what about the rear propeller shaft? Eventhough the front can have a problem, the rear shaft should move the jeep.
2) When the front propeller shaft spins and the jeep doesn´t move, then or there is a problem in the front differential, or with one of the axles. Since a front CV joint was replaced, there is a change that the axle is not well inserted into the diff. Did you only replace the CV joint, or the complete axle? On the WJ i know that you can get different sizes of axles and that the shorter one just doesn´t engage into the diff. In that case the differential rotates internally, but doesn´t give any output to the wheels.
The clicking noises when putting the selector in P is normall, since the front propeller shaft still rotates, but the park pawl is trying to engage the lock
1) Front propeller shaft spins (loudly) and the rear propeller shaft does not spin at all.
2) I replaced the CV joint on the front propeller shaft about 1,500 miles ago. I replaced it because I have a vibration I am trying to diagnose at highway speeds that is intermittent (like driving on rumble strips). Unfortunately, the new CV joint did not solve the problem. I dont think the new CV joint is causing my current trouble since I drove on it for 1 month+ with no issue.
Welcome to the garage.
There are two strange things going on i believe:
1) Front propeller shaft spins, but what about the rear propeller shaft? Eventhough the front can have a problem, the rear shaft should move the jeep.
2) When the front propeller shaft spins and the jeep doesn´t move, then or there is a problem in the front differential, or with one of the axles. Since a front CV joint was replaced, there is a change that the axle is not well inserted into the diff. Did you only replace the CV joint, or the complete axle? On the WJ i know that you can get different sizes of axles and that the shorter one just doesn´t engage into the diff. In that case the differential rotates internally, but doesn´t give any output to the wheels.
The clicking noises when putting the selector in P is normall, since the front propeller shaft still rotates, but the park pawl is trying to engage the lock
So if the rear propeller shaft doesn´t rotate, then it seems that you have (also) a problem in the T-case. There is normally a direct connection from the transmission to the rear propeller shaft.
Regarding the front differential, i would remove the differential cover, to see what is going on in there. Since the front prop shaft rotates, but the jeep doesn´t move, there must be a problem or inside the differential, or with one of the drive shafts. I would look especially to the connection of the drive shaft to the differential gear.
Do you know which 4 wheel drive system the jeep has?
So if the rear propeller shaft doesn´t rotate, then it seems that you have (also) a problem in the T-case. There is normally a direct connection from the transmission to the rear propeller shaft.
Regarding the front differential, i would remove the differential cover, to see what is going on in there. Since the front prop shaft rotates, but the jeep doesn´t move, there must be a problem or inside the differential, or with one of the drive shafts. I would look especially to the connection of the drive shaft to the differential gear.
Do you know which 4 wheel drive system the jeep has?
You will have to open up the front differential, because there is something wrong in there.
I also suspect something wrong inside the T-case, because the rear propeller shaft should be directly driven.
Turns out the drivers side half shaft popped out of the outer CV joint. Apparently, when I had the wheel cut all the way and the car rolling in reverse it was enough to release the shaft from the joint -that was the loud clunk I heard)
When I replaced the CV boot on that joint, I reused the C clip because the one from the Crown automotive (aftermarket) CV Boot Kit I ordered did not fit on the shaft (white C clip pictured). The clamp was also poor quality and I had to use a band style universal clamp in place of the one that came with the kit.
I inspected the shaft and there was some wear on the splines. I am have ordered a re-manfuctered half-shaft from the dealer, $200
The half shaft was removed from the front differential with a heavy metal wedge / chisel and a mini-sledge. I attempted to use the factory service manual method of prying it out (with two pry-bars going at once) and no luck. A couple good whack's with sledge dislodged it.
Lesson learned:
1. Dont buy aftermarket CV boot kits
2. Dont reuse the C clip's on the axle shafts
Ok, at least that explains part of the story. But eventhough the front wheel drive was affected by that, why didn't the rear wheels propel the vehicle? Not familiar with the Quadra trac1 T-case, which should have the NV140. But looking at its design, it should divide almost 50/50 the torque between front and rear prop shafts with the help of an open differential. But isn't it so that the rear wheels should be connected to the transmission at all times? (NV140 doesn't have the possibility of 4-lo nor Neutral, right?)
I know there was a discussion a while ago about whether it was possible to remove the front drive shaft to allow for dyno testing of the rear wheels. Consensus was that the rear wheels would not be powered.
I think the power will go to wherever there is the least resistance. If the front driveshaft is disconnected (or in this case, if there is an axle that can freely spin), all the torque will end up there. That's why the QT1 has a brake controlled traction system, to try and slow a spinning wheel to allow torque to go elsewhere. This would also explain why the traction control system was freaking out a bit, as well.
Replaced the drivers side half-shaft with a re-manufactured one from the dealer and it drives! Codes cleared themselves after driving only a couple of yards.