AMC 20 one piece axle bearing retainer

A fellow jeeper is installing a one piece axle set in his CJ-5 AMC 20 rear. He's been having problems with one axle shaft binding when everything is installed and tightened down. After talking to him on the phone, it sounds as though he has done everything right including removal of the diff thrust block. He says the bearing protrusion on the axle that is binding is .040" which is well within the instruction specs. The only thing he has done different is that he is using Timken Set 9 bearings purchased from the local parts dealer and he is using the bearing retainer ring that came with the bearing which is quite a bit thicker than the retainer ring that comes with the one piece axle kits. Will the thicker retainer ring cause the binding problem that he is experiencing? We live on different islands so I am not able to physically help.

 

hhmmm........might. is he puttin the right axle in the right side? they are different lengths but look close on a casual glance.

 

He's in Las Vegas right now and will return on Monday. I'll ask him about it. I've been trying to picture the relationship between the bearing retainer ring thickness, the bearing spacer depth, and how close they would be to the inner seal. I imagine that if there is some interference with the bearing retainer ring, it would be with the inner seal and the retainer would have to be protruding beyond the bearing spacer.

I have a Genuine Gear one piece set and I ordered a couple extra bearing retainer rings. They are .375 thick. The retainer that comes with Set 9 bearings is .610 thick. They are the same O.D.