96 Grand Cherokee vibration from hades

BigNate

New member
Ok, here goes. My parents own a used car lot. My dad bought me a 96 Grand Cherokee Limited at an auction. It's lifted 3 inches or so. I can't find any identifying marks to see which company made the lift. I've had for 3 years now. Its a 4x4 with a 231 T case. I know the T case was installed by the previous owner since the 231 wasn't even an option on the 96 Grand Cherokee. Everything works fine and I really like having a true 2WD option.

Here is my problem. At highway speeds, I get a vibration that rattles the rear view mirror off. I have replaced wheel bearings, 70% of the front end bushings, u joints twice on the front drive shaft. I've already taken care of the Death Wobble.

When the front shaft is out, the thing rides like a dream. You put it back on, and oh sweet Jesus, it'll drive you crazy.

I've read a lot about slip yoke eliminators and such, but I'm not sure if that is even relevant to my issues.

I'm not a great mechanic but I am a competent mechanic and need a little guidance or insight. At slower speeds, sometimes I think I hear the chain in the T case.
 

Check pinion angle and look for bad u joints,
 
Welcome to Jeepz.com. Post some photos of your front driveshaft, and it's angles.

If you've already replaced all the ujoints in the front axle, then JPNinPA may be right - you may need to change the angle of your pinion.
 
SlipYoke Eliminator isn't a factor since it's related to your front driveline. My bet is your front pinion angle was not corrected for the amount of lift. The front pinion should be directly in-line with the driveshaft.

Second guess would be a bad front driveshaft.

Third, bad front pinion bearings.
 

Jeep pics 023.JPGJeep pics 024.JPGJeep pics 025.JPG

I should've posted those pics earlier. But I don't think the angle to the front chunk is a problem. I plan on draining the chunk and inspecting it this week to see the bearings.
 
Photo is at a poor angle but looks like front pinion is a little too low. Might consider replacing the CV joint at the pinion with a standard ujoint.

Go all out and find a HP30 front end from an XJ, then you'll have good caster and pinion angle, along with the ujoint yoke.
 
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