Hey Scotty my wife's 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee is making a really loud cranking noise if you speed up to 20 mph and then let off the gas and just coast you can hear it really loud. Took it to my mechanic and he said while it's safe to drive right now hes not sure if it's the universal or the axle or a wheel bearing until it gets worse. What do you think it could be?
axle
Sounds like it’s possible it could be the gears in the rear differential that are going out. The grinding/cranking noise could be lack of fluid in the differential or just bad workmanship in the differential itself.
I had a 2005 dodge Dakota that had a bad front differential and would make a howling noise on deceleration from any speed and it got to the point it was grinding. After replacement, the noise was no longer around.
