I am needing some advice for a axle problem on my grand cherokee.  Our rear axle (suspossed to be a dana 44) is having trouble with the bearings and axle shaft getting gouged.  Now we are not sure about which axle we have.  back in '97 it was ordered with a dana 44 with trac-loc and it had it in there. we had the towing package and everything. It's a limited so it was pretty much std. anyway....we had to take it in to get it serviced at the factory(I hate chrysler) and they told us our rear end was making howling noises and they replaced it.  But the dana 35c bearings go in fine, and the dana 44 bearings look to big. so chances are we have a 35c but is there another way to check?

also is it chearper to fix up the 35 or find a used 44 for that jeep?

thanks for the help gu ys

OK, This is a problem I had as well. I had a '97 ZJ with the rear D44. Its not exactly like a regular D44. The only part that is the same is the diff cover. The GC D44 is an aluminum housing and does not accept regular D44 parts. In fact, it DOES use the M35 axle bearings which are roller bearings (small and the bearing actually rides the axle shaft acting as a race, thus causing gouging and you may have a bent axle housing as well) and not tapered (bigger and having its own race to ride on) like a regular D44, and the the GC D44 axle shafts are a c-clip just like the M35. Part stores show the tapered bearings for the GC because the parts computer and parts book only acknowledge Dana 44's as "general" and are only general and not really vehicle specific on the rear axles to these vehicles.

So, the M35 axle bearings are the same for the Jeep M35 and Jeep GC D44. To tell the difference on axles visually, look at the diff cover. The M35 cover will look kinda like an oval on its side, symetrical all the way around. The D44 cover will look similer to a rounded triangle in its side. One side of the cover is shorter or "squished" looking and the other side of it is noticeably "wider" where the ring gear is located.

I also had a problem, but with a noisy (howling) right rear axle bearing on the GC D44. Replacement only helped for a short time (500 miles) then the noise was back. I remember articles on the problem, but can't seem to find them. My current '98 5.9 ZJ does not have the problem. It seemed to only affect the '96's and '97's  

If your going to keep the ZJ stock, and want to stay cheap, then replace the current axle (unless the housing is bent, and then it would be better to get a new custom assembly. Used rear axles are usually unreasonably priced when the word "Grand Cherokee Limited" is spoken). If you are going to modify it, or do not want to really worry about the rear axle in the future, then get a custom built D44 replacement or Ford 9" rear end. But get ready for some serious $$. 

JEEPDUDE

ok. I'll try that so they are the same parts to both the 35 and 44. I'll try that cause I thought they switched them at first I appreciate it.  Where is a good place to get new/used parts for jeeps without a high price tag. I don't do serious off roading b/c I don't have the money to fix the things that break when dishing out that kind of abuse.

also on the howling sound we did figure out where that came from. after they put the new axle in it did fix it for a while but only about 2 or 3,000 miles. then it came back. So we replaced the front hubs on the front axle and that helped a lil bit b/c they were worn pretty bad. eventually the noise came back louder and louder. eventually it got to where it sounded like a airplane going down the road. The moral of the story is never let that go to long without opening somehting up and looking.  one night I was driving home and i turned into a gas station and it locked up completely.  all tires would not move except the back occasionally under heavy acceleration. the front pinion stub was pointing down towards the ground with the drive shaft still attatched and all the paint was melted off the housing. where the pinion comes through it was glowing red hot. the bearing exploded inside the case causing an instant sieze up.

still don't have it fixed but I took out the spider bearings and pinion shaft and cleaned up the mess and put axles back in and put oil in it and put a pipe plug where the pinion goes. It is really quiet now but no four wheel drive.

thank for the advice jeepdude.