**I did use the search function and did not find an answer** Background: 2003 X model 150K miles, all stock. have noticed a humming noise lately that I've been trying to chase down. It sounds like it's coming from the front end. It's almost like tire noise or wheel bearing noise. I had the wheel bearings checked, they're fine. U-joints looked fine. My mechanic ended up replacing a sticky caliper. Btw, it was in the shop not specifically for the noise but for another issue, which of course was the sticky caliper.
Anyway, the noise has been under my skin so I've been scratching my head trying to chase it down because I swear it wasn't there a few months ago. Mechanic did not notice it when he drove it, and my fiance says it's the same noisy Jeep it's always been. So today, I decided to give the diffs fresh fluid, bought some 80W-90 conventional, some brake cleaner, and some RTV and planned to pull the covers and have a look. I had already checked the rear fluid, which appears to have a slow leak. Fluid was not very low at all, no obvious metal shavings, but was definitely dirty.
I started this morning with the front. Whoever did the RTV on this thing was a ******** idiot. It's everywhere. I looks like a toddler on meth went crazy with it. I ran into one problem immediately. The first bolt down from the top on driver's side is unreachable because of the track bar. So I'm going to have to jack it a bit and put the frame on jack stands to get to it. No big deal right? So I break loose the fill plug first because I was worried about not being able to get it out easily and didn't want to mess up the set on the RTV when I replace the cover and go to fill it.
There comes a FLOOD of chocolate milkshake. F*ck. Obviously there's water in the diff. Now when I say flood, I mean the ENTIRE diff housing had to have been full of this contaminated gear oil.
My question is, worst case scenario, if I can't get the clearance I need to get to that one stupid bolt from jacking it (if my jack stands are too short), can I pump the bad fluid out and fill it with fresh fluid, leaving the cover on, and be safe enough to drive it to the shop?
Anyway, the noise has been under my skin so I've been scratching my head trying to chase it down because I swear it wasn't there a few months ago. Mechanic did not notice it when he drove it, and my fiance says it's the same noisy Jeep it's always been. So today, I decided to give the diffs fresh fluid, bought some 80W-90 conventional, some brake cleaner, and some RTV and planned to pull the covers and have a look. I had already checked the rear fluid, which appears to have a slow leak. Fluid was not very low at all, no obvious metal shavings, but was definitely dirty.
I started this morning with the front. Whoever did the RTV on this thing was a ******** idiot. It's everywhere. I looks like a toddler on meth went crazy with it. I ran into one problem immediately. The first bolt down from the top on driver's side is unreachable because of the track bar. So I'm going to have to jack it a bit and put the frame on jack stands to get to it. No big deal right? So I break loose the fill plug first because I was worried about not being able to get it out easily and didn't want to mess up the set on the RTV when I replace the cover and go to fill it.
There comes a FLOOD of chocolate milkshake. F*ck. Obviously there's water in the diff. Now when I say flood, I mean the ENTIRE diff housing had to have been full of this contaminated gear oil.
My question is, worst case scenario, if I can't get the clearance I need to get to that one stupid bolt from jacking it (if my jack stands are too short), can I pump the bad fluid out and fill it with fresh fluid, leaving the cover on, and be safe enough to drive it to the shop?
my grandad is 75 and he’s leading a group on a motorcycle ride along the Rio Grande right now.
