After regearing

When you regear is there any sort of break in time that i should be aware of? The reason i ask is im planning a 600mile trip only about 3 or 4 days after i regear. Would that be ok?

-Thanks

DO NOT drive 600 miles nonstop u will get ring-burn. There is a 500 mile break in period that u should follow to the T. U are supposed to take 15-20 mile short trips for 500 miles around town or on the freeway so that the gears break in. After that change the fluids from the diffs and check for any wierd stuff, look at the teeth wear pattern. Then put fluid back in the diffs. And do your routine maint as schedualed.
:firedevil

Keep off the freeway!!!! The best way to break in gears is stop and go around town...and resist the temptation to get on it to see how much better it runs...if you hop in yer heep and hit the freeway...you are very likely to smoke the new gears...Randy's Ring & Pinion has a good guide on how to do it.

Maybe Ryan (Rawbrown) will chime in on this too.

i don't know about 15-20miles for 500 miles. that'll take a long time.

i remember reading to do several very short (5-10mile) trips and then letting it cool. then they recommend driving about 500 miles at city speeds before hitting the highway.

personally i did the short 5-10mile breaking, then did about 150miles of city driving, and then did the rest on the highway at 55-60mph.


it is really a very controversial topic. think about this. when people go to the dealership to get axles fixed, and they get new gears installed, those people jump right back in their vehicles and drive the way they normally do. i don't remember one service writer or anybody else ever telling the customer about a break-in period or to come back at 500 miles to get it checked. we would just install the gears, hand the customer the bill and say...."have a nice day".

basically it goes like this.............while it is HIGHLY recommended that you break them in, it's not necessarily required but does increase the risk of potential failure. that also depends on your driving habits, and how how well the gears were set up. normal slow/steady driving most likely won't kill them, but if you install the gear and start launching it off the line and going offroading and other stuff, then you might as well order a new ring/pinion today.

Maybe the OEM gears are still being lapped in at the factory prior to shipment. Many aftermarket gears are not lapped in...look at the wear pattern on an aftermarket set compared to an OEM set...you will see that the aftermarket gears are not nearly as finely machined...that is why break-in is important.

Thanks for the look out boys! Looks like ill be using a different vehicle for this trip.

i geared my front recently, just the front. is it any different because its not under load. like if it was the rear it would be pushing the whole jeep putting more strain on the gears.. the reason i ask i got my jeep geared far away from home, just the front. i drove it home did not pass 55MPH and stopped half way for 20 mins its was a 50 mile trip. you think any damage could have occured?

x2 on wondering about the front, as I will be doing the same thing next week.

If such a break in is needed, how do the trail only and competition rigs keep thier gears?

98XJSport said:

If such a break in is needed, how do the trail only and competition rigs keep thier gears?

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good question im skeptical

XBoBJ said:

i geared my front recently, just the front. is it any different because its not under load. like if it was the rear it would be pushing the whole jeep putting more strain on the gears.. the reason i ask i got my jeep geared far away from home, just the front. i drove it home did not pass 55MPH and stopped half way for 20 mins its was a 50 mile trip. you think any damage could have occured?

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break in only counts when gears are under load, as far as i know. so when you're on the highway or whatever in 2wd, the front isnt under load, but it is spinning. maybe it's a good way to gently break them in? someone who knows more please back me up or tell me what's correct... i'm taking an educated guess right now.

Hmm, 15 miles at a time for 500 miles? Thats a bit excessive. After having a mustang and hearing lots of talk about gear swaps, it always varies on who you talk to. I took it easy when I swapped my GT gears for the first 100 miles or so, but I did drive on the highway pretty much immediately and never had a problem. I know there are other reputable shops that say to take it easy in the driveway when leaving the shop, then have fun once you hit the street. Probably not a bad idea to change the fluid after 500 or so miles though. I didn't in the stang because it was such a pain to fill the diff.

15 miles at a time for 500 miles? My XJ is not a daily driver, but even if it was I only drive 10 miles a day, 5 days a week. That would take me 10 weeks!!!

"Yay! I got new gears! Can't wait to go wheelin' in 3 months!"

i want to wheel next weekend but with gas prices and trying to do 500 miles i cant afford it lol.... j/k just no time to do 55 and 500 miles and take breaks lol its sucks but it will be worth it!

When I had my first axle geared, I drove it to work and back, loaded the jeep and went 500 miles non stop to the rubicon trail.

I broke my 2nd front axle in driving 200 miles to the border, and then 130 miles back in 4-low towing a trailer.

I broke in my newest rear end (35 spline dana 44) towing a trailer on the highway 150 miles to death valley and back. I did my initial fluid change when I got back and everything looks beautiful.

My wear patterns have always been nice? YMMV.

From Yukon's instruction manual.

YUKON said:

All new gear sets require a break-in period to prevent overheating damage. Any
overloading or overheating will break down the gear oil, which will cause the ring
and pinion to fail. This can be determined by inspection and will void the gears’
warranty.
Please follow these guidelines to insure proper break-in.
n Avoid heavy acceleration during the break-in process.
n Drive the vehicle lightly for the first 15 to 20 miles and stop. Let the differential
cool before proceeding.
n Avoid heavy acceleration for the first 100 miles.
n Drive the vehicle at least 500 miles before towing to retain the gears’ warranty.
n When towing for the first time, drive for a very short distances (less than 15
miles) with the full load and stop. Let the differential cool for about 20 minutes
before proceeding. Repeat this procedure two more times (45 miles total) to
fully break in the gears.
n Change the oil after the first 500 miles. This will remove any metal particles
and phosphoric coating shed by the gear set during the gears’ break-in period.
These towing instructions may seem unnecessary to most people, but we have
seen many differentials damaged from being loaded before the gear set was fully
broken-in.
OVERLOADE

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that sounds reasonable and logical... although it's right from the horses mouth so it should be.