so .. I received an answer on a cherokee forum.
http://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/1990...9/#post1799374
MY PERSONAL NOTES 1ST .. I wouldnt even write all of this, but the wheel hub coulda exploded on highway yesterday .. not cool
For everyone out there .. dont listen to guys at used parts places that dont put their best foot forward .. the guy left me alone to go thru a shelf of used axle parts, he didnt care about me at all .. after him saying "do you have the old one? to match it up" .. I asked about driving without it, to bring it in to match it .. he says "yea you can drive without it" .. not so .. according to cherokee forum .. a no brainer what axle it is, Dana 30 .. and NO you cant drive without .. this used place is a jeep specific place .. makes me wonder .. hopin they honor the free swap since no match .. if not, ouch (I dont wanna go there yet, im in a good mood)
thanks to this man !! jeeps runnin safe .. hindsight says I shoulda started that thread sooner
just need to swap the mis-bought part .. learned alot .. especially removing / re-installing parts up there .. cleaned up 22 year bolts, they look almost new ... 3rd round it was a breeze .. so the 4th time: installing the correct axle shaft will be easy (knock on wood)
to boot got 2 bike rides to parts place today, quite a memorial day workout .. the rides relieved some stress too, great cool colorado weather
Big Thanks to
Nor-CalJeeper via cherokeeforum.com
his quote:
on the xj the ONLY safe way to drive the d30 with out in axle in place is to remove the ujoint from the axle and reinstall the axle stub through the hub unit and retorque the nut. driving around like that means that the unit bearing was the only thing holding your wheel on which it isn't made for and is very very dangerous.
You were lucky it didnt break but I am sure the unit bearing is probably no good now.