front differential issues

[bustedjeep]

hello all, i am new to the site and wanted some input.

i have my first jeep, 1995 grand cherokee limited, 5.2l full time 4 wheel, dana model 30 front diff. got it free from family, super clean in and out but the front end has some issues.

long story short the input shaft from the transfer case into the rear of the front diff has a ton of play when the driver side wheel is rotated (3-4 inches) and while doing this there is a terrible noise coming from the pumpkin....at the very least im thinking the bearing, pinion, ring gear and input shaft are shot and as soon as i pull the cover i will have a pan full of parts.....here is the question.

with over 135k mi on the vehicle is it worth fixing and does anyone know what kind of prices i am looking at to replace the front diff....worst case scenario....

thanks for the look and any input would be appreciated

[drakan1908]

It might be cheaper in the long run to just replace the whole front end with a JY piece then trying to fix yours. But then again you would have a whole new one once you put in all the parts.

[muddeprived]

Looks like your dana 30 needs an overhaul. Either find another used one in a junkyard (they are plentiful) or rebuild.

[bustedjeep]

any chance i can disconnect the front diff until i get it to the shop??? i think it is just the bearing, seal, and teeth of the input shaft from the transfer case. well hoping anyway....how do you get the input shaft out of the front diff? its already disconnected from the transfer...does it have a clip in the diff or do you just POUND it out lightly...

[2000XJ]

The Dana 30 does not use c-clips, so you can pull the shafts without opening the cover.

You could pull the front driveshaft, it's really easy... however, I'm not sure how this would work with the full-time (I'm guessing quadratrac) setup that you have.

[muddeprived]

Originally Posted by 2000XJ

The Dana 30 does not use c-clips, so you can pull the shafts without opening the cover.

You could pull the front driveshaft, it's really easy... however, I'm not sure how this would work with the full-time (I'm guessing quadratrac) setup that you have.

Does his dana 30 have a CAD system or is it two full axle shafts?

[2000XJ]

Two full axle shafts with CV joints, not u-joints. Many opt to swap to the U-joint shafts because they're stronger

[bustedjeep]

hello all, got the front diff apart. the pinion, ring, carrier bearing, seal are all going to need replacement. the ring and pinion just because the pinion got chewed up when the carrier bearing went bye bye and the ring cause there a few teeth missing, well not missing..... they were in the diffierential just not on the ring...........oh and the bearing came out with all of the oil too.....if i can fuigure out how to post pics i will do so if it doesnt kill your bandwidth......i will post up progress reports....so far the jeep has been easy to work on....which makes me wonder....btw i did not see any clutches in the front just your regular spider gears and axle bearings so that makes me feel better.

[bustedjeep]

got the front diff all back together now have to figure out why the oil is coming out of the vent tube and dumping in the engine compartment, looks like i will have to call in a professional.

[XJRyder]

Originally Posted by drakan1908

It might be cheaper in the long run to just replace the whole front end with a JY piece then trying to fix yours. But then again you would have a whole new one once you put in all the parts.

I have a 98 XJ and I just rebuilt my front diff. I bought a whole front axle assembly ( a little rusty) from a junk yard and decided to pull the pinon and diffcase out and do it my self. It was such a learning process but i would have just replaced the whole assembly, not at hard as rebuilding the ring and pinion gears. good luck with your decision