Front end clanking and banging - advice?

[Murgsy]

Hi guys,

So I have been having a few issues recently with my '05 KJ 3.7l auto and could do with some advice from my fellow KJ owners.

Short service history: currently 130k km on the clock. I bought her in 2008 with only 40k city km on her. Added Arb bar, winch and snorkel. Fuel tank and U38 rear suspension recalls completed. new water pump 2 yrs ago.

I cracked the front diff case off roading in the NT in June last year and came home in 2wd after a mechanic in Alice Springs chopped my front axle so we coudl carry on with our trip. I fitted a 2nd hand diff and a new after market drive shaft when I got back to Sydney.

2 weeks ago my ignition actuator failed so that I couldn't start her up. After taking it to my local mechanic who usually services her on a tow truck, he wouldn't fix it because Jeep wanted $3k for an entire steering column and of course I wasn't going to pay for that. Once the problem was diagnosed I got a new actuator from USautoparts for $120 and I fitted it myself with the help of a few youtube videos.

She is all fixed and I take her out for a run, I get one block from home and a disturbing clanking and rattle noise develops it is inconsistent, causing vibration, then settling, then coming back louder than ever. I've narrowed i down to the front end and the likely culprit is the 2nd hand diff. The new driveshaft has way too much play on it that wasn't there when it was fitted 6 mths ago.

So...... I'm gutted that I'm having another issue again because I'm not exactly flush right now. A new diff from Jeep is likely to cost a couple of kidneys and my first born child.
Do I stand any chance of locating a reconditioned front diff for a KJ?
Is there some common fault with KJ of this age?
Know of any Jeep friendly mechanics in western Sydney that aren't going put my KJ in the too hard basket?

Any help and advice greatly appreciated

[glend]

I would suggest you contact Dave Grimes at the Sydney Jeep Club, he can probably put you in touch with a good KJ mechanic. When I was a member we had a club member ( Eddy i think it was) a mechanic that worked for Jeep but later went out on his own. Dave will know how to contact him. He had a home shed full of Jeep stuff.

If it is not the diff you put in, i would suspect the front struts. If you put a winch on it I can pretty much guarantee the struts are gone. Also rip that winch out and sell it, KJs do not need a winch, they are just weigh you carry around forever.

[Methamon]

Agree about the winch took mine off was a waste of time and never really used it. The weight reduction improved my on Beach experience.
Sadly though I am about to advertise mine for sale as we are relocating and will not need 2 cars