Noise coming from Dana 35 rear axle

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pocojo

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 3, 2017
Messages
229
Location
Stroudsburg, PA, United States
Hello fellow Jeepsters,
I have a 98' Wrangler Tj with 158k miles and 15' wheels with a Dana 35 rear. Last year the pinion yoke let go and I had it replaced with a Spicer yoke. However, it was rookies who replaced it and I don't think they knew about the proper procedure for doing this by the book; i.e.; as far as replacing that washer/ring seal and proper torquing procedure for doing it the proper way. What I don't know about this, I can write a book about. Now I hear a jung jung jung noise coming from said rear and wonder if this diff is about to fail. I drained it and put in a good synthetic oil. I only use this Jeep for short local trips and rarely if I go on the Interstate it would be only for 20 minutes or less at 55-60 mph. Maybe because I spent 50 years in power plants and developed the the ability to walk by a fan,pump,motor or other rotating piece of equipment and know there is a problem with it simply because it was out of tune to what I knew it should be. Am I worrying too much ? Im 70 years old and this Jeep is running like a Swiss sewing machine. Any response from the great members of this forum would be greatly appreciated. May you all have a merry Christmas and a great 2019. Thanks for listening,
Joe L
 
Why not just source a second hand Dana 35 and swap them out. They are fairly inexpensive and it really isn't that difficult to swap.
 
I forgot to mention that when my pinion yoke failed, it was directly in front of a Mavis tire center. The guys came out and pushed me into the parking lot, got me a Spicer yoke and installed it. I am only posting this so none of you will ever make the mistakes I did that day. If I was thinking clearly, I would have pulled out the rear drive shaft (as it was already laying down on the ground) put it in the rear of the Jeep, put it in 4WD i.e.; now front wheel drive and driven it to my favorite mechanic who knows what he is doing. So what happened was: a group of tire changers replaced the yoke and probably torqued the hell out of it, never having any knowledge of the crush washer and seal involved in this operation. Im simply posting this thread so none of you guys and gals make the same mistake that I did. By the way, Im 70 and am entitled to some mistakes at this mileage. Merry Christmas and a great 2019 to all of you. Thanks for listening,
Joel
 
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Thanks for sharing that @pocojo. Those nuts do indeed have a torque spec, and you have to be very careful not to over-torque them.

Sounds like a lesson learned. If I were to have the same thing happen to me, the majority of the people at my local tire shop are all high school age kids. I wouldn't trust them to do anything on my TJ other than change the tires. At that age you just don't have the wisdom that you would gain from working on vehicles for decades.
 
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Chris said:
Thanks for sharing that @pocojo. Those nuts do indeed have a torque spec, and you have to be very careful not to over-torque them.

Sounds like a lesson learned. If I were to have the same thing happen to me, the majority of the people at my local tire shop are all high school age kids. I wouldn't trust them to do anything on my TJ other than change the tires. At that age you just don't have the wisdom that you would gain from working on vehicles for decades.
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Thats a very wise reply because thats exactly the way I feel. Thanks for reading and taking the time to reply.
Joel
 
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