Get the Best Priced Jeep Grand Cherokee Axle

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, little did they know that they were waking a sleeping giant, and this giant would go on to unleash the Jeep upon the world. The extremely no-frills, purely functional vehicle would dominate the roads of Europe for some time, and its durability and adaptability to hard roads and rough weather stayed in the minds of the G.I.'s who drove and rode in them. No one can pinpoint the source of the name, "Jeep," but the most widely accepted version is that it is a slurred version of the term G.P., for General Purpose vehicle. The four-wheel drive and off-road capability of the Jeep have led some experts to call it the oldest model of sport utility vehicle ever mass-produced. Before you laugh, consider the wide base of the jeep and the many automakers who have copied it and modified its design since the 1940's, as well as the many owners of the license to the model. Chrysler owned the model when the first Jeep Grand Cherokees came out in to 1992, and Fiat Chrysler owns the model now. The axles of the Grand are good, sturdy parts, though they may not win many prizes, and even an old 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee front axle should be able to continue doing its job for the remaining lifespan of the car. The parts for the Grand are still in production and the age of the oldest makes is not too ancient, so you can expect to find parts like rear axles, front axles, and their close cousins the CV joints, all available at a reasonable price.

A Unique Device for Grand Cherokees

When you ride a Grand Cherokee, you are riding on a rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, and if your riding a model from the second generation of the Grand, from 1999, then you are riding a drive train innovation called the Quadra-Drive. This was a gear case that transferred torque between the front and rear axles at need. These parts were all seriously heavy and required a working garage with lifts if you wanted to adjust or replace them. The CV axle shafts that connected the Quadra to the wheels are not so much of a project. They can be installed with much less involvement. How much does it cost to replace a front axle? The factors that can boost your price up are the age of the vehicle, and the extent of the replacement. Did you take damage on the Quadra gear case? Do you just need to replace one of the rear CV axle shafts, or do you need to install all four of them? Let's start with a simple single replacement on a newer version of the Jeep, the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee CV axle replacement.

A Good Price for a Complex Part

When you decided you need a new part to get rid of that Jeep front differential noise, you will probably be buying a CV axle shaft. While you might think that such a part would be bulky and expensive, this is not the case. A CV shaft for the Grand will be something you can handle and install fairly easily. You can expect to pay about $64 to $122 for a new CV axle shaft for a Grand Cherokee, and you can expect the price to go up to about $76 to $198 for a pair. There are very few places that will sell you four CV axles, and you can probably get the best deals on a complete pack online, at a good dealer like PartsGeek.com. Remember that if the damage to your CV axles is severe, you may need to take a long look at your entire power train. If the Quadra case is damaged, then you have probably undergone a high impact event, because the Quadra is well protected in its housing. Think carefully before replacing a Quadra, because the force needed to damage this part is also enough to total a big strong Jeep.

An Old Controversy Touches on Axle Replacements

While Jeep axles have proven to be good parts, durable and well designed, Fiat Chrysler has been exposed as doing an extremely poor job of managing its fuel tank positioning near the rear axles of several Jeep models produced over the last few decades. This is only mentioned here because the fuel tank issue consistently deals with the way that the tanks were placed in relation to the rear axles on these vehicles. You should know that there is a strong probability that any online search for replacement axles for a Jeep, or for something like "jeep wj front axle swap," will probably also bring up the fuel tank problem. While the poor placement of these fuel tanks in several years of Jeep production ended up costing lives and resulted in Enforcement Action 38-15 by the NHTSA, the axles of the make and model were not the issue, and they performed well in all tests and examinations. You can investigate the situation yourself at these websites:

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/jaxrs/download/doc/ucm439144/inrm-ea12005-2111.pdf

http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/2015/nhtsa-fiat-chrysler-enforcement-action-07262015