Hello all, I was working on my 01 Cherokee today putting in new front axle seals and when I took it all apart I saw that one of the diff bearing looked a little weird. And I was wondering how bad it is for the bearing to be this way. It still spins pretty smooth but not as good as the other side that is good. Thanks for your help.

 

Yeah, that looks like it has reached end of life. How many miles on it?

You can put it back in the way it is and see how long it lasts.

If you do decide to change it, before you do anything, put it back together the way it is, measure the backlash, and then replace it. When you do replace it, you will have that backlash measurement to aim for.

 

Thanks for the response. It has almost 228,000 miles on her. I did end putting it back together because I knew there was a bunch of stuff involved in getting everything back in spec. I figure over time it will get louder.

 

I wouldnt even consider reusing that, even if it were cleaned and repacked. Rollers are pitted and will wear out the bearing surfaces and youll just be pulling it again anyway. When? Who knows. But those rollers are shot. Its a liability.

 

x2, Kind of like the fram filter commercial, "Pay me now or Pay me later,."

As for my Cherokee, if it looks bad now, it will be a nightmare out on the trail. If I can't afford to fix it when I find something amiss, I wait until I can fix it before I use it on the trails again. Why chance ruining your family and friends weekend adventure with something you knew was probably going to fail anyway.

Do as you wish but remember the Fram filter commercial. lol

Good Luck and Happy Jeepin'

 

Well I did put everything back together as I didn't have the parts and knowledge at the time to fix it. I am willing to take it apart again to replace the bearing and even though the other bearing is OK I would replace that one too, but does anymore know what is involved in replacing that bearing? I know there is settings you have to worry about so the gears wear correctly.