I have been doing some TLC on my 96 Jeep and the front pinion has been leaking. My concern was if my bearing is going bad. I put the Jeep on Jackstands and turn the wheels I do not hear any odd noises. I can move shaft just a little. Is this normal? This is my first time messing with one.
Here is video that may help. First movement in and out
Second movement side to side
Third rotation of driver tire.

 

ive never done pinion work before but i'd say thats bad. its gotta be misaligning the ring and pinion inside the diff. personally i'd replace that bearing. i could be wrong. im kind of an idiot when it comes to axle stuff

 

Axle issues are nothing to "Guess" at. Your "Guess" could cost the OP money that he doesn't need to spend.

Please don't post stuff like this.

To the OP,
Without installing the new seal, put the yoke back on and torque the pinion nut to spec.(225 ft.Lbs.) if you don't have a torque wrench that will go that high, get one. Try moving the yoke fore and aft just like you did in the video. If no movement stop right there.

Go to your favorite parts house a buy a new pinion nut. Remove the old one and toss it, pull the yoke, install the seal with a thin film of RTV, reinstall the yoke after applying a little oil to the seal surface, install and torque the new pinion nut. Refill your diff.

 

Thanks I'm off to the parts store for a new nut.
Before I started I was moving the front drive shaft and noticed movement.
However the nut came off super easy. I have read many times the nut can be very difficult. I will torque it down and go from there.

 

I put the old nut on with out the seal. I still need to pick up a real torque wrench as mine only goes to 100lbs. I did tighten it down as much as I could go. It still has play.
Now this goes deeper.
I have a 97 D30 from a xj I scrapped out. It felt tight with out any play.

How hard is it to install new Bearings? Would it be easier to install the 97 D30 under my 96? My 96 has 220,000 miles. The 97 I believe has 160,000
The 97 is unproven. Brakes, joints etc.
One thing leads toward another.

 

i'm gonna guess, maybe?

 

I have nothing to "guess"...so i'm just gonna quote

 

You'll need to have a means of removing the old bearing and pressing on the new one.

I would suggest checking the contact pattern at the very least to make sure your pinion depth is correct. Keep in mind that pinion depth changes will affect the backlash as well.

 

I started removing the front axle for the install of replacement.
This will give me a chance clean up and paint the replacement.
Replace lower control arms, etc.
Once the axle is removed if I ever wanted to build and axle with lower gears and locker it's ready to work on.