"Chirping" Noise on '98 TJ (somewhat long)

So,

Recently, when temperatures dipped into the -20 wind-chills, my TJ
developed this strange "chirping" noise that sounded like it was
coming from the driveshaft between the transfer-case and the front
diff. When it first started happening, a quarter mile of driving, and
the chirping would stop. as time went on, it took more and more
distance for the chirping to stop...

I later found out that my front axle U Joints were shot, so, not
knowing quite how easy they are to replace, I had them replaced at my
neighbor's mechanic shop. . . he said that on his test drive after
replacing the U Joints, he didn't hear the chirping anymore.

Now, it chirps a tiny bit (maybe 10 seconds while driving between the
20-35 mph range) but then stops..

My question is, . . What damage can driving a jeep with bad front-axle
U-Joints cause? I'm thinking that the week or so that I drove it with
the chirping noise, I was damaging some other component in my
driveline.. True?

Still learning..

-Dave

Dave,

So long as the joint didn't break, you didn't cause any harm to the
drivetrain. Take it back to the mechanic and have him look at it again, it
shouldn't be chirping. Something needs lubed.

Carl


"Dave" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> So,
>
> Recently, when temperatures dipped into the -20 wind-chills, my TJ
> developed this strange "chirping" noise that sounded like it was
> coming from the driveshaft between the transfer-case and the front
> diff. When it first started happening, a quarter mile of driving, and
> the chirping would stop. as time went on, it took more and more
> distance for the chirping to stop...
>
> I later found out that my front axle U Joints were shot, so, not
> knowing quite how easy they are to replace, I had them replaced at my
> neighbor's mechanic shop. . . he said that on his test drive after
> replacing the U Joints, he didn't hear the chirping anymore.
>
> Now, it chirps a tiny bit (maybe 10 seconds while driving between the
> 20-35 mph range) but then stops..
>
> My question is, . . What damage can driving a jeep with bad front-axle
> U-Joints cause? I'm thinking that the week or so that I drove it with
> the chirping noise, I was damaging some other component in my
> driveline.. True?
>
> Still learning..
>
> -Dave
>