Checking u joints last night and found out I have a little play on my pinion bearing. It's not much at all but you can move it just a little. Going to tow it on a trip . Thinking about disconnecting drive shaft incase bearing goes completely out,it would save transfer case maybe. Any one have any dealings with running one aways with slack in bearing. I did just purchased this jeep recently. Checked fluid it was low,filled it up . I can't really hear it making any noise,but I can't hear that good either.
Play in rear pinion bearing
- Thread starter Sandcrab
- Start date
Being the pinion spins when the jeep is in motion you'll still have parts flying if the bearing goes. Pull the DS and you'll lose the T case fluid, or most of it if you dont "cap it off" or come up with something to address that one.
Is the slack/play rotational or in and out?
As said above, all of that still spins when you tow it so if you’re concerned, that’s not really a solution.
As said above, all of that still spins when you tow it so if you’re concerned, that’s not really a solution.
The TJ won’t lose transfer case fluid as they sealed the transfer case outputs starting in 97 (which is why TJs have shorter driveshafts comparatively to YJs). Agreed on the pinion portion though. Still not sure there is an issue, the play he’s concerned about could just be backlash until clarified.
When I grabbed the rear u joints to check play the yokecoming out of the third member would move up or down just a little. It wasn't like twisting or turning on drive shaft where you would get back lash play.
.If I disconnect the drive shaft and I will have the transfer case in neutral the shat shouldn't turn correct? I could strap it up.
.If I disconnect the drive shaft and I will have the transfer case in neutral the shat shouldn't turn correct? I could strap it up.
I see. Need to replace pinion bearings and reset the pinion bearing preload with a new crush sleeve if you have a dana 35.
No matter what, wheels on the ground with the jeep moving will spin the axle yoke. That may or may not be a problem, but when the pinion bearings go bad, there is a chance for the pinion to sink down and chew up the carrier which could grenade the diff. You want to avoid that.
Typically, people don't remove the driveshaft for towing. The driveshaft spins due to the wheels on the ground, but you put the transfer case in neutral and transmission in Park or in gear depending on auto/manual. The purpose of that is for lubrication, tcase will lube itself in N, trans won't need to lube itself due to being in gear or park. But the driveshaft is going to spin no matter what if the wheels are on the ground, and so will the yoke. So you may want to tow with all the wheels off the ground, or fix the problem before you leave with new bearings/seal and a crush sleeve if needed.
Well don't have time to fix before I leave. I guess I will disconnect drive shaft and strap it up and hope for the best. At least it won't tear up transfer case. Guess I should have checked out everything sooner,just to much to do with camper and all. Thanks for your input.
Well thought about it some more just decided to get a rent car and leave tj at home. Fix it when I get when I get back.
Thanks for your input.
