What is the cause of loud popping from the front end of a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Could it be the front drive shaft?

Answer 1

I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited with QuadraDrive (all time 4wd) (87K miles) that recently began popping at speeds above 50mph or under acceleration I have the same behavior with tight turning and in 4 low. I have spent the past month under this thing and have yet to find the problem. I am a pretty good home mechanic, having specialty tools that most don't and keep excellent care of my Jeep. As part of preventive maintenance, over the past 1 1/2 years, I have replaced both of the front cv axles (worn, cracked boots), replaced the front drive shaft (visible wear on boots) (newer versions of the front drive shaft are no longer cv, but use u-joints with a slip yoke design, much better than a cv drive shaft), replaced the u-joints in the rear drive shaft (preventive), changed the fluids in both front and rear differentials (preventive), tranmission fluid was flushed and filled at 50K by Jeep dealer (as I do all of my vehicles every 50K). I have taken it to a Jeep dealership and they cannot positively say, but suspect bad chain and/or viscous coupler in transfer case ($1500 fix). I am going to go over it one more time very fine before she goes in for transfer case repair.