axle shaft u joints

ok i seem to have a problem with u-joints for the wheel end of the half shafts.
i have a 1990 xj with part time 4wd. no abs. when i change the u-joints they dont fit. they are slightly to big. and the clips dont fit.

is it possible that i have abs have shafts on it? its all factory down there but it was manufactured in 9/89 and follows the 89 wiring diagrams. so i wouldn't be surprised.

i looked on auto zone and it looks as the abs u-joints are .1 inch smaller. what do you think?

If the u-joint caps fit snugly in the holes, then either you have damaged the axle shaf yokests, or a needle bearing has falling over into the cap.

There is a difference between ABS and non-ABS front knuckle u-joints in a 1990 XJ. ABS got 297 series u-joints, and non-ABS got 260s. IIRC, this continued until 1995 or so.

You can swap the inner shaft, outer shaft and u-joint from an ABS XJ into a non-ABS XJ, the shafts themselves are identical. Only the yokes & u-joints are different. A previous owner may have already done this swap.

i have a strange suspicion that they are the abs half shafts. but i want to say it is from the factory. im going to pick up the abs u-joint and see how it fits. the shafts them self are not damaged. on side u-joint lost its bearings so i replaced both. im 99% sure that the needles are not in the cap.