[Jeep Freak83]

Today my 1997 TJ 2.5 was driving perfectly. Then as I backed out of a parking space I heard what sounded like a scraping noise. It went away so I thought I was hearing things. Drove to my next destination and went to leave an hour later. As I drove through the parking lot I decelerated at a stop sign. Suddenly the entire Jeep started shaking. Stopped her looked underneath and couldn't find anything wrong. Drove 20 miles towards home and had no issues. Stopped at one more place and it started doing ti again after I shut her down and started back up. It had a grinding sound and jumping on deceleration. WTF could this be? I have to drive the Jeep 3 hours one way and 3 hours back this weekend but am terrified to take her out because of this.

 

[Jeep Freak83]

After taking it for spin around the neighborhood with no traffic, I was able to listen and it sounds like its coming from underneath and to the rear of the jeep. Any ideas?

 

[Jeep Freak83]

Anyone?

 

[00silverTJ]

All I can suggest is to pull the rear driveshaft. Divide and conquer. See how that might change things. Also inspecting the rear brakes might be a good idea. At some point pulling the front driveshaft might be warranted. Just trying to throw something out there for you.

 

[Hiatus83]

Inspect your u joint on the rear driveshaft. Does it feel sloppy. If so drop the rear shaft and drive in 4hi see if your problems seems to go away. If so you need a new U joint in the rear drive shaft. Also make sure your yoke isn't loose. If symtoms still persists with 4 hi probably need to have rear axle rebuilt or swapped with one from the junk yard. Good luck

 

[00silverTJ]

Pull the diff cover? You really have to poke around some.

 

[Jeep Freak83]

Just updating so any future searches can have a potential answer. (I hate it when people don't post their results). I tracked down the issue and found it to be a u joint in the rear drive shaft. The shake test didn't show any issues. However when I pulled it off the u joint cap fell off. The needle bearings inside it were vaporized and poured out in a fine powder. Which explains the grinding, clicking and shaking when slowing down. Did a short test drive and the vehicle is driving a lot smoother than before.