[Guest]

I had to replace mine at 80k miles but that was because I backed the boat too far down the ramp and submerged the rear axle. Then drove it 200 miles back home with water in the lube. Dumb.

The 9 1/4 is a C-clip axle so you will have to remove the inspection cover, the crosspin and then the c-clips just to remove the axles. Once the axles are out you can pull the bearings and press the new ones in.

As far as replacing them, I would. I noticed when mine went bad, they began to eat the axle shaft at the bearing race. Pay a little now or a lot later. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Smokey]

I'd agree with PG. And, you probably won't need the axle puller, once you get the C clips off,.... maybe.

Are you to the point that you can read the numbers stamped into the edges of the bearing races ? That'll give you a definite crossreference on which bearings to buy.

 

[CJ's84RC]

When I replaced the bearings on my 84 RC, I bought the bearings from Advance Auto, and I made the mistake of buying the heavy duty bearings. They were like 2 inches to big to fit in the axle tubes. I took those back, and they had a part that was the bearing and seal all in one so i bought those; I couldnt pound them in to the axle tube far enough (the machined part of the axle tube wasnt deep enough to fully seat the one piece bearing and seals), so I had to go back and buy the smaller bearings with the seperate seals(bearings about 15 bucks a piece, seals about 4 bucks). That was all it took for me.
Also, youll have to get a slide hammer with the inside bearing puller to pull out the bearings. On mine the bearings were so worn that all of the rollers came out seperately, and the three arm puller fits behind the outer race on the bearings so you can remove them.
hope this helps you...
C.J.

 

[Guest]

Kick, the one piece bearing and seal type that you got is called a repair bearing. It's longer so that it places the bearing on a different section of the axle's bearing race. NAPA lists these as the replacement bearing for Dodge trucks. If the axle is in good shape, do not use these type of bearings.

 

[Guest]

Yep Glenn, you can rent a slide hammer from Autozone and several different types of pullers. I can't remember the prices on them though.

Chris (The resident Autozone expert)

 

[CJ's84RC]

Kick, the one piece bearing and seal type that you got is called a repair bearing. It's longer so that it places the bearing on a different section of the axle's bearing race. NAPA lists these as the replacement bearing for Dodge trucks. If the axle is in good shape, do not use these type of bearings.

Yeah repair bearings thats what they were called, but the ones Advance sold me were too long to pound into the axle tube. When I bottomed out the bearing inside the axletube, there was still to much sticking out to be able to slide the axle in and instal the C clip.
Also, I believe they sell the sleeves that go over the axle to give the seal a smooth surface to ride on if the axle is kind of chewed up around the seal area....
C.J.