New D35C axle bearings and seals in. Now 1 axle won't go.

'95 Cherokee Sport, 150k.

Changing rear wheel bearings. Got (Chinese made) replacements at Napa. Got both sides installed, and of course both seals installed. Not a bad job.

The passenger side axle is pretty snug in the bearings, but will go in to contact the retainer rod in diffie.

Driver's side will not go in past the step-up bearing surface. Seems to be hanging up at the new bearing. Pounded on it a little with a block of wood, but WILL NOT go, and once driven in a bit (maybe 1/4 inch - needs to go another 1" or so), gave friction when hub was spun. Splines are engaged in the spider gears in the diffie, but the damn axle will not go in.

As I see it, I need to pull (destroy) this new bearing and try another. I will actually take some pleasure in tearing this sucker up, just didn't want to spend more time on it. Anyone have this BS happen to them with the Napa bearings?

been awhile since i had the D35 in my 91. i know on my D44 that the axels are just slightly different lengths. not by much, but when i installed the bearings the first time i found that that the axel i was trying to install on the drivers side wouldn't seat completely in. turned out that the driver side took the shorter of the two axels. you may want to check the axel lenghts before messing with the bearings. hope this is relavent to your axel

Yeah, these are quite a bit different length (e.g., 2-3" different). Neither one would go, and both will hang up at the same point. The driver's side is the longer side on mine, and that's the one that hangs up. About all I can figure is that the bearing is out of spec??????

I'm confused. When I did my 35C bearings/seals, I recall the bearing + seal only being about 1" thick total. So if you have 1" to go, the bearing is barely in there... Can you post any pics?

fizassist said:

I'm confused. When I did my 35C bearings/seals, I recall the bearing + seal only being about 1" thick total. So if you have 1" to go, the bearing is barely in there... Can you post any pics?

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Sorry, no camera at the moment.

The bearings and seals are installed as the old ones were. They all went in fine. Passenger side axle went in fine.

When I go to reinstall the axle shaft on the driver's side, the shaft "hangs up" (will not go in any further) once the stepped up bearing surface contacts the outside edge of the bearing. So it's not "the bearing is barely in there", it's, "the axle shaft bearing surface is barely in there."

These are flat roller bearings. I'm assuming there is no directionality (slight taper, and I got one set in backwards????). In about another two hours, it won't matter anyway. That sucker is coming back out.

you might want to check the bearings when you get the new one, or even bring the axleshaft with you to pre-fit it before purchasing... I bought a set of bearings once and I got one for a D35 and one for an 8.25. Let me tell ya how pissed I was... mostly cause it was 10:30pm and I was tired of working on it...

Bizeeb65 said:

you might want to check the bearings when you get the new one, or even bring the axleshaft with you to pre-fit it before purchasing... ...

Click to expand...

This would have prevented the problem. Actually, I had originally, purchased the 8.25 bearings, because I thought the axle was an 8.25 (matched the pics I've seen). When I got'em home, they were clearly too big and wouldn't come close to going in. The D35 ones were the same outer circumference as the ones I pulled out.

If I had taken an axle along, I could have slid each bearing on each axle, and would have seen the problem there (and saved myself $30 and some time). Live and learn.

Thanks for the feedback.

well, I too speak from 20/20 hindsight... had I checked the boxes (as I purchased 1 set of 8.25 and 1 set of d35 bearings) I would not have had to go back that night... ah well.. good luck though!

Well, it's fixed.

The Napa bearing had an ID that was too small. Wouldn't fit over the axle. Had I checked that first....

Bearing from the stealer fit like a champ - $40. $10 at Napa, but only 1 of 2 fit. Must be one of those "you get what you pay for" deals.

Never had a problem at Napa before. On the other hand, don't recall "Made in China" on Napa bearings before either.