Question on "new gear" break-in.. Different scenario.

Seems the general consensus is to drive the gears for around 20 minutes and let them cool completely. My situation is that I drove my car to the shop to have them installed. The shop is around 1 hour away. What I could do is drive and stop after 20 mins to let them cool, and get some food maybe?

Then do what for the next 40 mins? Do another stop at 20 mins? But I cant eat again haha.

To sum it up, Drive it stop after 20 mins and let it cool. How long does it take to cool? Then do what after that initial cooling period, since I still have another 40 mins to drive? Oh BTW its about 25 mins on the highway of 65mph. I could take all back roads though. So if thats better to do that, then chime in

The only break in ive heard about with gears is changing the diff fluid after 500 miles?

Im sure driving it one hour then letting it cool overnight would work fine.

Thanks man. Im from Md too, Im going to be moving the jeep form LaPlata to Balto.

20 mins on then 20 min off.

in other words...
Drive 20 min then cool 20 min. Do this 3 times.
Then at 500 miles change oil by Pulling Cover.

For that first 500 miles there shold be no shock loads, or towing with the vehicle.

Ask the shop that's installing them, especially if they're giving you a warranty.

Play by their rules so if anything happens they can't blame you for neglect.

ROBERTK said:

For that first 500 miles there shold be no shock loads, or towing with the vehicle.

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In an ideal world, yes.

Sometimes it just is not possible for that, like trail rigs or race cars. If properly installed really shouldn't be to much of an issue.

For the OP, I'd find a sandwich shop 20min away and stop to eat then head the rest of the way home.

MoparManiac said:

Ask the shop that's installing them, especially if they're giving you a warranty.

Play by their rules so if anything happens they can't blame you for neglect.

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Very good point.

why not split the difference, if your an hour away, stop half way, 30 minutes or so, what could 10 minutes do, back roads, easy driving, hopefully a cool day, stop and enjoy a meal.

I replaced a set of gears while in Moab. I broke them in on Golden Spike, Poison Spider, Gold Bar Rim, then drove 400 miles home. I've got 60K on them now.

old_man said:

I replaced a set of gears while in Moab. I broke them in on Golden Spike, Poison Spider, Gold Bar Rim, then drove 400 miles home. I've got 60K on them now.

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best reply in the thread

XJLI said:

best reply in the thread

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Really. You think so huh?

SO lets tell him all the storys of how, I didnt break them in how every manufacture suggest you do. SO therefore why should you?

And race motors get swapped out between races without any breakin also. I guess thats good for every rebuild also out there?

ROBERTK said:

Really. You think so huh?

SO lets tell him all the storys of how, I didnt break them in how every manufacture suggest you do. SO therefore why should you?

And race motors get swapped out between races without any breakin also. I guess thats good for every rebuild also out there?

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sometimes people overthink and overdo. yes, there are 'proper,' 'correct,' and 'preferred' ways to do almost anything, but sometimes you cant do that and it works out just fine.

i dont care about reading how everyone read the manual and there life is just fine and ordinary. i like reading about how someone was doing cool things, broke stuff, fixed it quick and cheap, and continued to have an awesome time without caring about how the instructions said to do it.

Thanks guys. RWK I sent you an email, you didnt reply back. Im the guy that bought the HP D30 4.56 and Chry 4.56 gears from MD.

BTW RWK can and WILL give you the BEST price EVER on gears... I mean smoking deal, best I found so far online.

Well chit i screwed up.John did my gears over a year ago and i have never done anything to them after he installed them.I put oil in the axle after i got it and been driving it hard ever since.I have checked the oil level but thats been about it.

When you buy a new car do you have to break in the gears? Or even change the oil after 500 miles? NO.


RWK... race motors are broken in on the dyno so that might not be the best example.

scottmcneal said:

Well chit i screwed up.John did my gears over a year ago and i have never done anything to them after he installed them.I put oil in the axle after i got it and been driving it hard ever since.I have checked the oil level but thats been about it.

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:twak: no warranty for you!

The bottom line with gear break in is to prevent them from getting hot. It is most critical the soonest after install. You must stop and let them cool after the first 20 minutes. After that maybe taking back roads at a slower speed would be prudent. When you change the oil at 500 miles put a super strong magnet on the inside of the diff cover to catch any subsequent wear material.

ROBERTK said:

Really. You think so huh?

SO lets tell him all the storys of how, I didnt break them in how every manufacture suggest you do. SO therefore why should you?

And race motors get swapped out between races without any breakin also. I guess thats good for every rebuild also out there?

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And just how would you diagnose a set of gears that failed because they weren't broken in correctly. Prove that it wasn't a bad set-up to begin with. Do you just automatically suggest that the customer didn't break them in properly if they make noise?

I suppose all those people I set up gears on at the dealership must have screwed up their gears becuase they didn't stop after 20 mins to let them cool down. I don't remember learning anything like that at the factory training center either.


:dunno:

After my 4.88 gear install I drove around town for 10 mins and followed with about 40 mins on the highway (stopped to check around 20 mins) but taking it easy. The shop did tell me though that they did drive it around town for a little bit to make sure alll was good. I would go no more then a half hour of highway driving, stop for a little to cool down, and proceed home and let it cool off for the night. After that just drive somewhat precautious til you drain you oil from the diffs. At 500 miles I drained my diffs and you could see that it was like "shiny" and had somewhat of a silvery dusty glare to it. There were no chunks or anything but the oil had a shimmer to it and yukon said thats whats supposed to happen. Most imporant thing I think is changing the oil at 500-600 miles afterwards, I would not want that breaking gear oil thats been heated up and broken down from heat sitting with all my new bearings and gears. That "shimmer" isn't something I want lubricating my new bearing and seals so change that out after the break in time and then go have your fun.

I wanted to desperately go wheeling after getting the gears in but only had them for about a week and mayb 200 miles, I figured if something happens on that 2.5 hr drive I'd be sooo damn pissed after spending almost $1500 on parts and labor, if something would of resulted from driving to Rausch and wheeling on them it wouldn't of been worth the trip. I waited another couple weeks later after changing the fluids and did not worry nearly as much as I would have if I was 3 hours from home with gear oil that has been overworked from gears that aren't lapped from the factory like OEM dana gears are.

Take it easy for a few weeks, get new fluid in there and then go wheel the shit out of them! Its not worth the risk of damaging the gearset or bearings just cus you felt like breaking the warrenty, your money not mine though.

PS. RWK is a great company to order through, he gave me a great package deal on yukon 4.88s for my RS dana 30 and 8.25 and even refunded me money because I was a member. Would reccomend him to anyone looking for gears or any parts he sells.

jeeperjohn said:

:twak: no warranty for you!

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Chit again i screwed up.I didn't even know i had a warranty or i wouldn't have written it.:bawl:John your work is so good i didn't even think i needed to worry AND i was right.Now the rear we need to talk some day about the slip it has.But you didn't do them.But you will if i ever get any money from the wife:guitar:

Damn. Everyone's beating on RWK, but that is the common way to go about it. The way I look at it is...better safe than sorry. Take the 20 mins and swap the oil after a break in period. Lazy bastards lol.