New real axle bearing ratainer binding, need advice.

[Guest Rob J]

Just as I had a feeling, these new bearing retainers are too thick. As I reinstall each axle into the housing, the retainer hits the grease seal as I tighten up the retaining sleeve. In other words, they are too thick by a small amount. You can see in the photo the original bearing and sleeve, and the new. I was thinking I could just take my cut off wheel, and take 1/8-1/4 inch off of the sleeve to gain the clearance I need. Does anybody see any issue with doing this? Will it cause any balance issues with the axles? Thanks for the advice.

OLD

NEW

[JZRIV]

Thats too bad. I'm assuming you probably already checked to make sure the seal is seated the whole way. Just a long shot; based on the distance between the old seal witness line and the collar, the outer edge of collar could be hitting the axle itself instead of the face of the seal. If that was the case the corner edge of the collar could be ground down.

If thats not the issue then I would probably try and do the same thing with a cut-off wheel as long as you have a steady hand......or a more precise method would be to have it machined down at a shop. If you use a cut-off wheel be sure to mark a line around the circumference for a guide. There should no issue with balance as long as the collar is cut evenly.

[Guest Rob J]

Yes, seals are seated all the way. The retainer is definitely hitting the face of the grease seal, so I think I will just use my high speed cut off wheel and do a bit of surgery. What a Pita. Too bad the proper retainers weren't supplied withe the new bearings.