Here‘s the rundown: I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with approx. 135k miles. It‘s never been off-road and has mainly been used for city driving (70% city, 30% highway). About 5 years ago, I had two cracked front axles replaced. Since then, I‘ve only been doing basic driving (no mountains, etc.). A mechanic recently told me that I need to remove and replace both front axle seals. I live in Colorado where the air is super dry. The mechanic pointed out that‘s what causes axles to crack. He also told me that I need to replace the transfer case (I‘m not sure if this is connected to the axles lol). I don‘t know much about cars but I take good care of my Jeep with oil changes, tune-ups, and new tires. Has anyone out there had a similar problem? Or does anyone out there have advice for me? Thanks in advance!
thats not just a jeep thing, there are axle problems in almost any high mileage vehicle it just comes with the territory. Your transfer case actually splits the power from the front and the back .and there is a driveshaft that connects the transfer case to the front and rear ends I replaced all of the things you are talking about , plus the transmission and rear end, I took an older suburban half ton up on these old logging roads where I used to live and after three years of really bad roads it destroyed all kinds of bearings and axle shafts, of course after the first 130,000 miles someone put on it on the city highways. So equipment does get torn up from normal use and abuse, I found out a lot of it is because the half ton stuff is too light for any serious off roading. I know now what not to do, and would go with 3/4 ton or 1 ton running gear.
In the 90's jeep did indeed have a bad run of axles from Dana, We had a 97 gran cherokee and the rear axle sheared right of at the seal, just as the jeep was going around a corner, no one was hurt but lots of damage to the jeep- talked to the guy at the rear axle shop and he said jeep had a bad run of over case hardened axles that tended to crack and shear off, no lawsuits or recalls but he recomended aftermarket axles (yukon, moser ect) instead of factory, and they were cheaper ,never get a used one from the wreckers.
If it's permanently 4WD then yeah, front axles just go bad depending on conditions. The transfer case connects the front and back axle to the transmission.
