What part number did you use? I ordered a pair of TJ Rubi retainer plates, Mopar number 5083678AA, which everyone on
swore would work by just redrilling the two holes. Here were their measurements of what I received.
part number 5083678AA
Thickness 0.15"
Lip Height 0.225"
Hole ID 2.52"
Hole OD 2.75"
The OD of the D35 non-clip outer seal and bearing is 2.556", which leaves a very slim 18 thousands contact around the outside edge of the seal, assuming you got it perfectly centered on the seal. Given the slop in the holes, I couldn't guarantee that. Plus the lip height was a lot taller than the .135" I figured I needed. I was figuring all the guys who said the retainer plate should work must have been talking about XJ D44s which do have bigger bearings.
Ultimately I used a makeshift lathe (think drill press and a hand grinder) to cutout the old retainer plates down into suitable spacers.
I used 95 Crown Vic brakes and had to do some of the same minor mods. Shave a little off the bottom of the axle tube flange so the backing plate sat right, and enlargen the center hole and bolth holes a tad with a die grinder. Then just redoing the rear hard lines to a metric end to match the ford oem soft lines. I didn't have any of the other clearance or spacing issues you ran into. Your write up was one of the ones I referenced before tackling my upgrade.