a few basic 4x4 questions.

[Rudie Del Rude]

I'm looking at a 99 Cherokee, the guys saying he's getting a shake/wobble when he gets on it (in 2w.) I crawled under it and took a quick look to see if there was any play in the driveshaft ujoints and they fealt fine. I did notice a pretty bad leak in the front differential seal though. I'm trying to figure out if something in the differential hasn't gone wrong since there's probably barely any fluid in it.

My first question is, would the front end have an effect like this in 2hi?
Are the front axles constantly spinning regardless of 4 or 2 wheel?
I'm assuming if the hubs aren't locked the axles aren't spinning, but this truck doesn't have manual locking hubs. So are they always engaged and spinning with the wheels?

 

[martin]

The shafts are turning all the time. The problem could be the track bar. To check it stand in front of the truck while someone else moves the steering slightly left and then right, if the truck moves left and right rather than turning the wheels the track bar has play in it, usually at the end where it attaches to the frame on the drivers side. Could also be ball joints or wheel bearings.

 

[feellnfroggy]

His alignment is most likely out. When he gets on it it shifts weight from front to rear and allows the front end to wiggle more than normal.