Yes. Mine is very tight, too. That's how they are. You do know, you're supposed to put a longer shaft through the cross shaft hole for leverage to turn the unit, right? It's actually really easy to do if you do it like the manual says. Clamp an axle in the vise, slide the unit over the splined end of the axle. Once you get the cross shaft out, get "something" like another shaft (I use a long extension) to turn the unit once you get it unloaded to get the side gears out.
