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Chattering/Squealing noise from rear axle

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  mondoniom 
#1 ·
Hey, everybody, I've been lurking around trying to find answers and trying to find the source of this noise but I can't seem to find the exact culprit. I have a 2000 Jeep wrangler sport with the 6 cyl and the dana 35 in the rear. The sound only occurs while not traveling perfectly straight and after its had time to warm up (about 20+ minutes of driving), it's worse on acceleration from a stop. The sound is really awful. It combines popping grinding and squealing all at once. I took off the rear differential cover and the teeth all looked good from what I could see. Any idea what I might be looking at?
 
#4 ·
Ujoints would be on the driveshaft since you say rear axle. That probably wouldnt be associated with a squealing noise. But easy to check, grab the shaft and twist (small play is normal as that is backlash), youll hear any play at the joint itself. Plus you should be able to see if a cap is about to pop off.

I would be looking towards an axle bearing...
 
#6 ·
So after realizing it was a LS dif, I picked up a friction modifying additive and added that to my gear oil. The sound seems to have disappeared. Which would make sense except the sound existed before I opened it up and changed the oil and that sound is the reason the guy I bought this from had the differential rebuilt in the first place, which is why it has the new gears. So I'm thinking the mechanic just didn't know any better and if that's the case I should probably pull it apart and have a look at those clutches. What do you guys think?
 
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