In January I bought my first TJ and paid too much for it... there, said it. It's a 2.5L with 85k original miles and no rust, so I got excited and overlooked too many other things.
That said, the PO told me the ring/pinion in the front diff was missing and the transfer case was disconnected. When I removed 3" of body lift in it, the off-road shop reconnected the T/C. Shortly thereafter, I started noticing a lot of metallic grind/crunch sound at low speed and almost-full rotation left or right. I thought it was likely due to axle/hub issues, so I replaced the hubs along with tie rod, drag link, and sway bar links. Also removed the front driveshaft since it's unnecessary without 4WD gearing.
Grind/crunch is still there, and perhaps more pronounced than ever. I'm assuming this is something to do with the front diff? All new fluids and seals when the hubs were replaced and the front driveshaft removed.
Thoughts? Clearly I'm doing some damage, but unclear on what that damage is and what the next best step is.
That said, the PO told me the ring/pinion in the front diff was missing and the transfer case was disconnected. When I removed 3" of body lift in it, the off-road shop reconnected the T/C. Shortly thereafter, I started noticing a lot of metallic grind/crunch sound at low speed and almost-full rotation left or right. I thought it was likely due to axle/hub issues, so I replaced the hubs along with tie rod, drag link, and sway bar links. Also removed the front driveshaft since it's unnecessary without 4WD gearing.
Grind/crunch is still there, and perhaps more pronounced than ever. I'm assuming this is something to do with the front diff? All new fluids and seals when the hubs were replaced and the front driveshaft removed.
Thoughts? Clearly I'm doing some damage, but unclear on what that damage is and what the next best step is.
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