1979 CJ5 axle bearings

Hello all. Heck of a first post here. I am trying to repair the cluster f*** of a job someone did on the rear axle of a CJ5, and thought I would ask those more knowledgeable than me.

It's an AMC 20 with 1 piece axles. I had the new wheel bearing pressed on. Outer seal, backing plate, race, bearing, reused old retainer. With everything tightened down to the housing the wheel bearing feels VERY tight. Is this normal? Will it "wear in"?

I have no reference as the old bearing exploded in the housing and the opposite side has the wrong bearing and no inner seal. I saw something about shims but the axles didn't have them before, and the ones I saw were for the Dana axle.

Any help would be appreciated as I'm going behind someone else's "90 percent done" restoration. I'm sure you all know how that goes.

 

Not normal at all. There needs to be a certain preload on 1 piece shafts which is achieved from spacers inserted into axle tubes. The shims you heard of are for stock axles when used with a thrust block in the carrier. I would pop the cover off and make sure it has been removed.

http://www.differentials.com/wp-con...-Model-20-One-Piece-Axle-Kit-Instructions.pdf

This diagram will give you an idea of the installation details.