Front Locked Up

3914 Views 17 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Big Blue, Oct 23, 2018

Curtis

Discussion Starter · Jul 30, 2018

Ill try to keep it short but relevant.
I had the clunk when putting it into drive and decelerating. I found the thread about the bushings and sent that to my mechanic. We planned on doing it last week, the night before I took it in to him I felt / heard a bit of a vibration on the front left.
Pulled over and the left CV? had a little play in it. I limped it on over to him and filled him in. So he had the jeep to do the aforementioned bushings and diff lube, and now CV / left axle.
Picked it up this past Friday and drove home 5 miles. No clunk, everything felt smooth, good times.
Saturday I got in for a short trip and off I went.
About 3 miles I am cruising about 45 (had just gone through an intersection) and then it happened.
I felt as if I had lost power a bit and then i smelt rubber (the road was very wet from rain thankfully) so I pulled off onto the grass shoulder.
I could see that the front right locked up.
I called my tow truck and mechanic and waited.
I started it and put it in N for the roll back and the pulled it onto the bed but both front tires were locked up.
Mechanic looked at it today and its saying:crying: he isn't sure what went wrong.
Thoughts?:crying::crying:

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

thance

· #2 · Jul 31, 2018

Do you have qd2 with the electronic limited slip?

thance

· #3 · Jul 31, 2018

Any lights on the dash?

Big Blue

· #4 · Jul 31, 2018

thance said:
Do you have qd2 with the electronic limited slip?

His profile says he has QT-I 4WD.

That's one of the reasons I jump on everybody about making sure their user profiles are complete - so questions like this don't have to be asked when a member shows up here trying to trouble-shoot a problem.

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jul 31, 2018

Thanks for responding, no lights on dash.
And to be honest I am not 100% sure on the QT QD - can I check via VIN?

Big Blue

· #6 · Jul 31, 2018 (Edited)

Curtis said:
Thanks for responding, no lights on dash.
And to be honest I am not 100% sure on the QT QD - can I check via VIN?

You can read this which will tell you everything you need to determine which 4WD system you have:

https://bthefloridacommandersclub.runboard.com/t16

Or you can check via VIN here:

Dodge - Contact Us

or here:

Alternate Link: https://jeep.custhelp.com/app/jeep/eqlisting_detail/

By getting your factory build sheet. To get the factory build sheet for your Commander, click on one of the 2 links above and navigate to "Your Vehicle" click on "Equipment Listing" and then enter your VIN number in the box that says "VIN" and hit "Search". The factory build sheet will list all of the factory options & optional preferred equipment packages that your vehicle had installed from the factory when it was built.

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Curtis

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jul 31, 2018

Quadra-Trac II Full-Time,Active 4WD
-Fixing Specs now

Reactions: 1

thance

· #8 · Aug 1, 2018

That's an open diff...you either have a brake activating due to a bad speed sensor from the axle swap...but if that was the case, lights would be on the dash. More likely, there is no oil in the diff. They either didn't fill it out didn't tighten the drain plug and it ran back out.

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #9 · Aug 1, 2018

thance said:
That's an open diff...you either have a brake activating due to a bad speed sensor from the axle swap...but if that was the case, lights would be on the dash. More likely, there is no oil in the diff. They either didn't fill it out didn't tighten the drain plug and it ran back out.

Thanks Thance.
What do you reckon the best fix is. I assume if all the oil ran out something broke in the diff?
Replace or Rebuild Diff?

thance

· #10 · Aug 1, 2018

With most mechanics I would recommend replace. If you go to a shop that specializes in driveline components, like a transmission shop or some 4x4 outfits they would have the right skillset to possibly recommend repair after diagnosing the issue. In any case, check the fluid level in the diff and confirm that's what it is.

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #11 · Aug 1, 2018

thance said:
With most mechanics I would recommend replace. If you go to a shop that specializes in driveline components, like a transmission shop or some 4x4 outfits they would have the right skillset to possibly recommend repair after diagnosing the issue. In any case, check the fluid level in the diff and confirm that's what it is.

The reason I am asking is because one of the things they did was replace the diff lube, and the drain plug was not tight. I know this because the shop owner called me and and told me as much the day I picked it up.
So I am kinda in the camp of this is your fault and I want X done to fix it but I would like to know how to tell if that was the issue or not for sure.
Now keep in mind I like these guys and use them often and know them well so this isn't problem yet I just want as much information as possible.
Thanks for your help.
If I do replace is used ok? Should I get one and rebuild we are planning on keeping this for a long while and I do only very light offroad and at most will do a 2inch lift. Probably a setup like Blue.

thance

· #12 · Aug 1, 2018 (Edited)

That has to do with your own comfort level and how accommodating the shop is willing to be.

Order of preference would be: new, reman/rebuilt, used. I would put fix at the bottom of the list unless these guys are diff experts... which I'm not getting the warm fuzzy on.

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 1, 2018

2

So I heard back from the shop. No lube leaked out but the bearing went bad. They reckon that when I had the bad bushing that they fixed the bearing took damage over time while it was still bad and the front was clunking, and once all the new bushings were installed maybe the angles changed and it let go. The cleaned everything out and said the other bearings (side) look great and we are planning on replacing that bearing.
Pics attached.

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thance

· #14 · Aug 1, 2018

Well that's better news than front diff. A new hub is about $55 along with an hour for the install. If that's the left side they should of noticed when switching the axle.

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 2, 2018

update - once they got the bearing off, the shaft itself is bent so we are going in with a used diff replacement plan.

thance

· #16 · Aug 3, 2018

Ok, I'm confused... Are we looking at the left bearing at the wheel?

Curtis

Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 22, 2018

Sorry so long to update this my wallet is in ER trying to recover.
We ended up putting in a used diff that start whirring? if that is a word after about 3 days and got worst by the day.
We pulled that one back out (It was covered by a warranty) and swapped for a second used diff that is still in and seems to be working.
The front end is a tiny bit more "Noisy" now but its been consistent and at this point I am likely paranoid.
That is the end of this story for now

and hopefully for a long while.

Big Blue

· #18 · Oct 23, 2018

Curtis said:
Sorry so long to update this my wallet is in ER trying to recover.
We ended up putting in a used diff that start whirring? if that is a word after about 3 days and got worst by the day.
We pulled that one back out (It was covered by a warranty) and swapped for a second used diff that is still in and seems to be working.
The front end is a tiny bit more "Noisy" now but its been consistent and at this point I am likely paranoid.
That is the end of this story for now and hopefully for a long while.

My wallet is in the ER too @Curtis, after basically screwing myself royally this week with Big Blue, more to come on that towards the end of this week.

In any event, I'm glad you have your Differential issue solved for the time being, keep us posted.

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

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