My first XJ, two problems...

[tinomolloy]

I recently bought a '92 XJ for a good deal assuming there would be little problems here and there. I'm a little new to this and have two problems/questions.

First,
When in 4WD Hi or Lo, I turn sharply and there is some kind of knocking or rubbing that is very obvious. It shakes the entire car and I can feel it through the steering as it visible moves the steering wheel. It doesn't happen in 2WD and doesn't happen when going straight. The Jeep came with 30x9.5 on a stock lift. I originally thought it was tires rubbing somewhere but I've done a little research and keep seeing the possibility that it's the u-joints.

Second,
My parking brake doesn't hold. It's an auto so putting it in Park is ok but not great when on steep hills. The parking brake grips a little, but not enough as it rolls when in neutral. I went under the car and tightened the adjustment nut as tight as it goes. When I jacked up the car and spun the wheels, I noticed the brakes were sticking a little. Even with the park brake overtightened like this, it still wouldnt hold when on a hill. My only guess is my rear drum brakes are completely shot and need replacement.

Thanks for the help,

TIM

[AJ99]

As for the ebrake thing have you inspected the rear brakes? Take the tire off and the drum off and check the brakes. My bet would be that they are worn like Heck.

For the other part have someone steer it while you are outside of the vehicle and try to pin point if it is coming from there... if not take off your drive line and put it in 4wd and see if it still makes it...

[Mudderoy]

I recently bought a '92 XJ for a good deal assuming there would be little problems here and there. I'm a little new to this and have two problems/questions.

First,
When in 4WD Hi or Lo, I turn sharply and there is some kind of knocking or rubbing that is very obvious. It shakes the entire car and I can feel it through the steering as it visible moves the steering wheel. It doesn't happen in 2WD and doesn't happen when going straight. The Jeep came with 30x9.5 on a stock lift. I originally thought it was tires rubbing somewhere but I've done a little research and keep seeing the possibility that it's the u-joints.

Second,
My parking brake doesn't hold. It's an auto so putting it in Park is ok but not great when on steep hills. The parking brake grips a little, but not enough as it rolls when in neutral. I went under the car and tightened the adjustment nut as tight as it goes. When I jacked up the car and spun the wheels, I noticed the brakes were sticking a little. Even with the park brake overtightened like this, it still wouldnt hold when on a hill. My only guess is my rear drum brakes are completely shot and need replacement.

Thanks for the help,

TIM

Tim if you have a NP231 transfer case you should only have your Jeep in 4hi or 4lo when you are on very slippery surfaces. Using 4x4 on a dry surface will cause damage to the drive chain and gears in your transfer case. The front wheels are locked to the rear wheels and when you try to turn left or right you are changing the speed at which the wheels are turning. All that energy is focused in the transfer case which results in the chain having to jump over the gear teeth.

Now if you have a NP242 you can run 4hi in Full Time. 4hi and 4lo is available in Part Time. 4hi Full Time doesn't lock the front and rear wheels, but does send power to the front wheels.

If you are unsure which you have, NP231, or NP242 just tell us what is on the shifter face.

[Voldemort]

Yea It in order to have the toughest off road capabilities you have to give up some on road ones. If you put your Jeep in 4hi or low on the street it will do this no matter what. and as stated above remove your brakes and check them out. Get your hands dirty.

[alwaysxj]

i had this happen to me on my first jeep you need to either replace the cv joint on the front drive line or rebuilt it. the ball has slop in it and that is what you are hearing. and for the brakes take it to the brake shop or change your brakes that should work.

[tinomolloy]

Thanks for the quick replies. I have the NP231 so this makes sense about the 4WD Part-time vs. full-time. JW, how hard would it be to swap in a NP242? I like to drive in 4WD on the roads sometimes and it can get icy in the winter and having 4WD full time is nice.

One thing that is strage tho, my dad has a 98 TJ with the NP231 Xfer case and it doesn't react the same when in 4WD. Explain if u can...

I will definitely check the brakes tmrw or whenever i can. sounds like that is the problem.

[Mudderoy]

Thanks for the quick replies. I have the NP231 so this makes sense about the 4WD Part-time vs. full-time. JW, how hard would it be to swap in a NP242? I like to drive in 4WD on the roads sometimes and it can get icy in the winter and having 4WD full time is nice.

One thing that is strage tho, my dad has a 98 TJ with the NP231 Xfer case and it doesn't react the same when in 4WD. Explain if u can...

I will definitely check the brakes tmrw or whenever i can. sounds like that is the problem.


When in 4WD Hi or Lo, I turn sharply and there is some kind of knocking or rubbing that is very obvious. It shakes the entire car and I can feel it through the steering as it visible moves the steering wheel. It doesn't happen in 2WD and doesn't happen when going straight. The Jeep came with 30x9.5 on a stock lift. I originally thought it was tires rubbing somewhere but I've done a little research and keep seeing the possibility that it's the u-joints.

Yes you can, and I hear it's pretty simple. You just need the faceplate for the NP242 and maybe the linkage. Make sure you get the one with the correct spline count though.

Well your Dad's 98 TJ probably hasn't stretched the chain yet. I say yet because he will if he drives his TJ in 4x4 on any surface that isn't really slippery. A rain soaked paved road isn't slippery enough for 4x4 on a NP231. Or part time 4x4 for a NP242. You'll damage the chain and possibly the gears. Hard turns puts more stress on the transfer case because you are changing the rotational speed of the front wheels dramatically. When you are going straight the rotational speed of front and rear wheels are close to the same.

Now I'm just guessing that your problem is the transfer case, it could be something else, but it sounds a lot like what happened to me.

If you can take a video and record the sounds I think we could tell you for sure if it is a transfer case issue. If you can just post it to youtube and then post the link here.