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I had an almost tingling rattle a few months ago when the front driveshaft cv joint was junk but it rattled at slower speeds as well. Are you hearing any other noises or feeling any vibrations in the steering wheel when you drive at all speeds?

 

No vibrations at all. In fact other than this issue it runs great. I really think it has something to do with this axel replacement. I've considered removing the front ds to see if the rattle goes away.

 

I removed mine to find out it was the cv joint. Only takes about 10 minutes.

 

If the WJ is on level ground and everything is in neutral, with the handbrake on you can try and move the two joints around on the front prop shaft with a fair amount of force by hand. If you can't get any movement out of the joints, I'd presume it's not the prop shaft. Taking it out of the vehicle and test driving, is a good idea though.

I have a similar noise that I haven't been able to diagnose. It's been going on for over 40k and hasn't seemed to get worse. I replaced the front prop shaft less than 12k miles ago with a Mopar part and the sound persisted. The front axles have been replaced and didn't improve the noise either. I think it may be the transmission mount but I'm not sure and haven't replaced it. It could be gears but I don't think so in my case.

Are you sure the noise is drive train related and not just wind making something on or around the body rattle?

 

It reminds me of the engine rattle in my old 4.0 Cherokee but its not the same. It only happens at that speed. Does not do it if I rev to 2000 rpms standing still. I can even occasionally hear it when I slow down with foot off the pedal.

Maybe it is a valve lifter or something but would it make a noise at a specific and consistent speed/ rpm?

 

Im bumping this again because I
Really want to get to the bottom of this. Im not sure anymore if its drivetrain related. Maybe it is a valve- but would it only happen at such a specific moment? Or maybe its a bearing on one of the pulleys?

The range is between 55 and 65mph and doesn't appear to be related to rpm and will be heard even on deceleration.

 

UPDATE::::
I removed the front DS and the rattle at 60 mph is gone! And I'm surprised at how quite it is too.

So I think it's safe to say that I've isolated the problem with the front diff. Or maybe vib in the DS ( but I doubt this is it because I did not feel any lateral movement at either end). In case I didn't mention it, about a year ago the axel assembly was replaced due to an accident and the rattle was heard after that install. Plus it seemed more noisy overall in comparison to the orig. axel.

What should be my next step? Inspect the diff gears? Look at the pinion bearing? I think I'm close to solving this one.

 

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