[Hawk27]

HI @Hawk27,

First let me congratulate you. That is about the cleanest underbody on a Cherokee I've seen! Nicely cared for mate!

1. Regarding your noise, it very well could be the driveshaft. That slung grease in photo #1 is most likely a split in the boot. (the boot is held in place by a pinch clamp).

2. What is more concerning is photo #2. Did you remove one of the bearing hanger screws (there's 2 per bearing). If not, that's why your driveshaft is drooping and if so, it probably started drooping, pulled on the boot causing grease to come out and over-angulate causing the noise you're hearing.

If so to all of the above, you may not have an actual problem yet. If you get a screw and put that hanger back, everything may be fine.

If however the driveshaft has sustained damage then the driveshaft would need to be replaced. But that's not really enough grease to cause damage yet I/M/O. There's a lot of grease behind that boot so you may be ok. Note, the bearings can be replaced but they need to be pressed onto the shaft it's a chore. A set of 2 bearings here in the States is USD $100.

Your alternate is replacing the driveshaft. A new Mopar here is ~ USD $900. I actually just replaced my driveshaft last weekend because one of the bearings failed and I was getting a whirring noise. I found one at a junkyard (here in the States we have a website called www.car-parts.com where you can buy parts from wrecked vehicles.) I paid USD $150 for a shaft from a 2016 Latitude and put it on, fixed everything.

ps: If you can elevate your Cherokee on 4 ramps, you can replace the propshaft yourself (single person job, takes 2-3 hours complete). I put my Cherokee on my ramps (they're about 30cm high) and used 2 bungee cords to hold the shaft while I worked on each section. Worked like a charm.

If you didn't remove that screw. step 1 is to get a replacement and get that hanger secured. Again, problem may go away just from that.

Question, can you post a longer-view shot(s). It's tough to see if the shaft is over-angulated from the close-up view. More photos would be helpful.

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View attachment 230231

Thanks for the quick reply Gary, I was hoping you’d chime in
And I was waiting to see if you removed your driveshaft as you said you thinking of but it’s great you managed to fix your noise by just buying a used shaft.
Did you manage to view the video I posted (or tried to)? I’m probably more concerned about the play in that than the grease.
Ive got one more photo of the rear bearing angle but it’s not much different than the first. (Problem with site atm so can’t upload the other photo).
Can you remember if your shaft angled down like that?


And yes thanks the car is in great condition underneath as I don’t think it’s ever seen a dirt road never mind a beach…
We‘ve owned her for almost 3 years and are the second owners and with low klms.

Re putting the car on 4 ramps if I need to replace the shaft is that purely for clearance to get under as I’m pretty slim and think I’d be able to get under to do it without raising it?

cheers

 

[Hawk27]

Firstly no I don’t clean under there it’s just like that
And before you move here don’t forget the huge increase in parts prices over here…

I will get under again tomorrow and take another photo of the rear angle and I’ll also clean off the grease on the boot and clip and see how that looks and take a photo there too. This is the only other one I’ve got for now…

Did you actually run the car with the driveshaft removed or just swap the shaft and hope? ie; is it ok to run the car with no driveshaft, it doesn’t screw up any computer etc?
When you went to get the used shaft was it still on the car so you could check for grease etc or already removed and on a shelf?
Can you now tell from your old shaft which bearing had gone compared to your new used one?

And thanks again for these replies Gary

 

[Hawk27]

Hey @Hawk27,


Re: Did you actually run the car with the driveshaft removed or just swap the shaft and hope? ie; is it ok to run the car with no driveshaft, it doesn’t screw up any computer etc?

No problem at all. I actually ran mine for a week with no drive shaft until I got time off work to pick up the used one. It's no issue and won't cause damage however pull the following fuses:

• Fuse F76 (RDM)
• Fuse F47 (DTCM)
• Fuse F10 (PTU)
• Fuse F69 (SelecTerrain knob)
• Fuse F14 (DTCM/PTU/RDM & Brake System Module (BSM))

Obviously you'll get a bunch of errors about "4WD offline/service", and your parking brake won't work (F14 is dual parking brake and ESC mode for the 4WD) but it will be fine. Remember you're only 2WD at that point so not time to hit the outback


Re: When you went to get the used shaft was it still on the car so you could check for grease etc or already removed and on a shelf?

Already removed. Where I live, there are no local "pick-a-parts" for liability purposes (they don't want people walking about wrecks). Remember, this is the USA. We sue everyone . Can you say, "lawyer"? They pick it and you get it already removed.


Re: Can you now tell from your old shaft which bearing had gone compared to your new used one?

Yes, you can audibly hear the bad one when you spin it. If you take out the four bolts for the hanger bearings you could see if there's enough clearance to spin yours (without removing the RDM screws or taking the yoke off the PTU) however even with the carrier bearings screws out, there may not be enough clearance for the "wings" on the bearing mount to clear the exhaust pipe, frame etc. to spin them on-vehicle but you can try and see.

I cant get any better angle on the joint as the heat shield flare is in the way but I’ve noticed that both ends of the centre shaft have a similar angle so I’m guessing its as it’s meant to be.

I cleaned up the rubber boot with the grease issue and a thin top layer of rubber came way but it looks fine underneath.

I can spin the whole shaft quite easily by hand, not fast obviously but I can’t hear any noise from the bearings at all. I take it it’s normal to be able to spin the shaft like that…?

cheers

 

[Hawk27]

Looks like the rubber is shedding hence the grease under that boot is pushing out. You will continue to lose grease but doesn't look like a huge amount . I'd monitor it over time. Still you have the sound issue, right? I should try spinning mine with all my fuses in (with all the fuses out, my RDM spins freely but not the PTU which sounds 'backward' of what it should be but that's how it is). For you to be certain of whether the shaft is the sound source the only way to really know is disconnect it. If it goes away, you have your answer. If it remains, you have your answer there as well. Note, mine only made noise when it was being powered by the PTU (hard torque being applied. When free spinning, it only lightly made a sound).

Thanks again Gary, I’m thinking maybe putting a jubilee clip over the edge of the boot may stop any more grease coming out?