D35 axle bearings

Got me. I just putter about, never done a diff except to change fluid.

Tru-Trac is a limited slip diff. Here is a pic of the unit.

D44 upgrade

Wow, youtube has a lot of ugly diffs.

?v=rz8WJi4HMSE

Thanks, Doug, but unlike many XJ owners, I'm not interested in rockcrawling, just putting about town and out to the fishing hole, so axle upgrades aren't my cup of tea.

This is my first Jeep since the M-38's I drove in the National Guard before my unit got the M-151-A1 and A2.

I've seen pics of limited slips including the True-Trac ( AMC/Eaton system) and mine's an open diff.

I've got my mitts greasy on many differentials from riding mower Peerless units and Mopar 7 1/4" to Yale-Towne 17" forklift ... took a forklift to pull the pumpkin on that one!

C-clip axles are supposed to have C-clips but these shafts didn't even have the grooves for the clips, so you can see why I'm thinking somethings not right.

BTW, if I had my choice, I'd swap the Renix 4.0 and BA10/5 for a 225 Slant Six, Loadflite ( truck Torqueflite) and a full / part time T-case in a heart beat, but I don't think the recess in the firewall will allow for the tilt of the engine.

Well, I guess no one here can offer any help.

So as soon as I can find another ride, this XJ is going to the crusher.

I won't risk my life or my wife's in a vehicle with a bad axle design.

Hmm according to this the XJ didn't use Cclips until '90.

My Haynes and Chilton manuals say that too, but that doesn't help me figure out why my rear axles shafts are trying to go in directions the XJ isn't heading. Sumptin ain't right, folks.

My old 64 Valiant with the Chrysler 7.25 axle used plates to retain the axle bearings also, but the bearings were pressed on with the cone toward the diff and the bearing cup was retained by the plate through the seal.

Any vertical load was directed inward, pushing the axle farther in.

On the D-35, the bearing faces the opposite way, if I see the diagram in the repair manual correctly, and the vertical loads force the axle outward, against the welded (???) to the cup assembly ring, then the outer seal, then the retaining plate.

I replaced both bearings not 5000 miles ago and the old ones were in the same position as the diagram ... and both the welded retainer rings were broken loose from the cups.

If this is the way it was designed, then some engineer had his head in a place where the sun doesn't shine and his brain died from lack of solar radiation. It's absolutely stupid to design a bearing installation so it tries to disassemble itself while in service.

But that's just my own honest and terrified opinion.

I've contacted A Jeep dealership to check on a TSB about the bearing problem and Timken to see if they have any ideas on the situation.

I've heard back from my friend at the Ohio dealership and he went thru all the TSB's including the ones they got from AMC / Jeep dealerships and found nothing. He then checked Alldata on it and found nothing, so it looks like my axle's got a problem thanks to the guy that was too cheap to buy a truck ... the previous owner.

I've also heard from Timken and Monday I'll be calling their 800 number to talk to a representative about the issue.

Next: Dana Corp.

Thanks for the reply but please don't slam Ma Mopar. The second best offroad vehicle in WWII was the Dodge PowerWagon ... the only thing besides a tracked vehicle that could go most of the places the MB could go.

You're not the only one having problems with D35 bearings. Mine's gone twice and this time I need a new one. I've got the odd 3.73 size that's only on 4 banger automatics...

A Timken Bearing Corp. rep requested I check for damage to the outer seal and for a bent axle housing. I measured 0.035" in-out play in the bearing (supposed to be 0.007" - 0.010").

Seal checked fine but I think the problem I have is in the retaining plates that hold the axle shaft in. Mine are heavily scored and I forgot to turn the right side axle plate over on the last install.

No biggie. New bearings, seals from local parts stores and new plates from

going in. Then I begin checking every week for looseness and shopping for a older Dodge compact (pre-75) or truck (pre-80) or Plymouth compact (pre-75).

I'm fed up with computerized vehicles and cruddy Dana axles. As soon as I get something without either, this XJ is gone.

Well I lucked out big time! My rear D35 died again, and this time, the gears broke apart. My mechanic scored a 3.73 rear for $850 and it turned out to be a D44 and they sent all the track bars and bushings. He put them in because they were in better shape then my 14 year old parts. He said all the bars and bushings were beefier then what was stock in '97. I'm not sure what year it came from. I haven't even picked my Jeep up from the shop...

How long can I hold off on replacing my xfer case chain? I'm up to 90K now on the original '97 chain. I'm not ready to spend $1500 to have that done.

I've got a 231 with at least 190k on the tc. Had to replace the input shaft, planetary assembly and bearing due to a swap of the old ba 10/5 to an ax15 but it's still on the original chain behind a 4.0. The noise of a loose chain will give your fair warning if it stretches.

Even if the chain went, the tc is not an especially complicated piece to work on - only tricky part is making sure all the oil tubes and such are in the right spot on assembly.

Rebuild it yourself for much less than that!

My experience has been when the chain breaks, it takes out the case too... And when the case breaks, other things are damaged.

Oh, yeah. Poor wording on my part.

A chain getting stretched/loose will be pretty obvious BEFORE it breaks (and unmistakable once it does). It's been 3-4 years since I last checked but at the time a used NP231 was going for about $550. The only real issue is finding one with the right input shaft to mate with your tranny. There are two spline counts and each has two different gear cuts on the teeth, so you have 4 combos to look for.

Anyway, unless you've done some serious off-road playing or driven in pt 4WD on pavement 100k is not serious mileage on the chain, especially behind a 4- banger.

Getting it out is the fun part. He says the nuts are welded to the frame and they usually break loose and just spin with the bolt.

Got new bearings, seals etc. installed on the axle shafts and this time I had the vehicle where I could get some light on the housing ends (previous bearing rplacement by me was done under a shade tree on a cloudy day).

And who ever worked on this XJ before I got it should be restrained from being in the same universe where tools can be found.

Driver's side backing plate had dirt trapped behind it causing it to not seat against the housing and that made for a lack of preload which is normally 0.010", according to Timken customer support.

Passenger side had burrs around the backing plate opening that measured from

0.010" to 0.045" that destroyed any preloading.

Both old bearing retainer plated were bowed and showed signs of improper torque on the nuts at some time previously but I used a torque wrench when I did both the previous bearings and this install.

Cleaned up dirt from both sides, ground off all burrs and now my axles are operating as they're supposed to.

Wonder if ever got serviced at a Midas. They tried to weld on my brakes once.

Glad it all worked out for you. It's sure nice putting the savings back into tools and beer. :)

I know this is not what you mean, but the vision of someone welding the entire caliper to the axel, the pads to the caliper and then somehow (perhaps with bits of briding scrap) welding the pads to the rotor comes to mind!!!

Thanks for the laugh, and agreed: going to Midas is about the same as going to a JiffyLube--you're going to get screwed, in either case.