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Regearing? Difficulty Level??

B

bigboyslimjimbo

NAXJA Forum User
Location
marietta, georgia
Im trying not to kick a dead horse here with another gear thread but I need to know if i should try to regear myself? It is just so expensive, and i dont have $1300 to spend. I really need to regear i think it is killing my gas mileage. I am running a 30 up front and a 35 in the rear. I have an 88' woody with a 3" rusty's full pack and 31/10.5 couser m/t's.
Also if anyone knows of a good website to find the gears at a good price or anything like that toss it my way. Thanx for any help ya got
 
Gears are cheap,its the tools and knowledge that cost.I wont even go into knowledge,but tool wise it will cost you.You need:

Bearing pullers
A press
A micrometer/Caliper
A Dial indicator
A "INCH" pound torque wrench
A 300 LB torque wrench
Set-up bearings

AND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME AND PATIENCE!!!!
 
most can't afford it.. Just save up a little over time. Regear in a few months when you've saved up.

I said screw it and learned how to do it myself, along with some good advice from some on this board.

I think it's been a year now and my 4.88's are still going strong. No problems to speak of (knock on wood). :)
 
It's not as complicated as it's made out to be. It's just paying attention to detail and having patience. The big setback for most guys is the tools.
 
emr1101 said:
if you have to ask, your not ready to gear :)
Click to expand...

he's not kidding. if you have to ask, the answer is no. do lots of reading before you buy parts too, if you do decide to do it. the best thing you could do for yourself would be to have an axle outside of the jeep and be working on it slowly and in spare time. if something doesn't go right, it's not the sort of thing you can just slap back together and drive to work the next day.
 
bigboyslimjimbo said:
Im trying not to kick a dead horse here with another gear thread but I need to know if i should try to regear myself? It is just so expensive, and i dont have $1300 to spend. I really need to regear i think it is killing my gas mileage. I am running a 30 up front and a 35 in the rear. I have an 88' woody with a 3" rusty's full pack and 31/10.5 couser m/t's.
Also if anyone knows of a good website to find the gears at a good price or anything like that toss it my way. Thanx for any help ya got
Click to expand...

How did you come up with $1300? Last I looked (and it's been a while so I could be way wrong) gears and install kits for a D30 and 35 would run about $600 give or take. You might hit up some of the vendors on PBB, some of the prices they have are amazing.

Shop costs on an install used to be around $200 an axle, assuming you have it out from under the rig.

I've always set my own gears and while it isn't super difficult it is important that its done right. I justified buying the tools by looking at how much money I'd save. They've since paid for themselves several times over.
 
jmop said:
How did you come up with $1300? Last I looked (and it's been a while so I could be way wrong) gears and install kits for a D30 and 35 would run about $600 give or take. You might hit up some of the vendors on PBB, some of the prices they have are amazing.

Shop costs on an install used to be around $200 an axle, assuming you have it out from under the rig.

I've always set my own gears and while it isn't super difficult it is important that its done right. I justified buying the tools by looking at how much money I'd save. They've since paid for themselves several times over.
Click to expand...
As there aren't many shops around here that do that work, their prices are no where near that price. A shop I used to be friends with charged $700 per axle.

I set up my front gears this summer. I wanted to do it as I like projects, and its not too difficult, but it will take some time. The first time I worked on them, I wondered if I had gotten in over my head for a couple mins, then I understood how it worked and came up with a perfect pattern and specs.


Now, the more important question is, what is your current gear ratio? If you have 3.55, your cheapest bet would be to go find a Jeep with a 4 cylinder and manual transmission and take those gears, as they will be 4.10s. A lot easier to swap axles.
 
In the spring i got a quote of $1800 and that included them getting all of the parts and labor and with the axles still under the xj
 
You have 31s right? 4.10 would be a good ratio for 31s. Go grab two axles out of an XJ with a 4 banger and swap em in. It'll cost you about $200 and a day in the driveway.
 
Dustin_XJ said:
In the spring i got a quote of $1800 and that included them getting all of the parts and labor and with the axles still under the xj
Click to expand...

At those prices, it's time to get the tools. Figure about 300 per axle for master kit plus R&P.
I got lucky, local guy getting out of it, got a package deal on the tools. Figured it was cheaper than paying someone to do it for me. Besides, it's not any harder than building an engine, or rebuilding an automatic transmission, again, just attention to detail.
 
You didn't say what gears you wanted but you may find a 4 bannger with 410 or 456 in the boneyards. You just drop in the axle and go. Should be a lot cheaper then regearing.
That's how I got my after market 3.73s.









Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." - Douglas Adams
 
I'll be having to do this soon enough because this weekend I'm putting a 5 inch lift and 33's on my xj. And until I save up to buy the gears and bearings I'll be running around with 3.55's. Thankfully I only have a 17 mile trip to my university each day. Good luck and save up!
 
Do it on the rear first. That way if you mess up you can just junk yard an 8.8 (maybe already set with 4.10's).
Good luck and be patent. You can mess up about three time before it really starts to cost more than having them done by a shop.
 
Check out these guys this is were i got my gear kit for my d30 from.. Everthing with carrier bearings for under $300. Then just find a local shop that will do it.
www.[B]differentials[/B].com
 
RCP Phx said:
Gears are cheap,its the tools and knowledge that cost.I wont even go into knowledge,but tool wise it will cost you.You need:

Bearing pullers
A press
A micrometer/Caliper
A Dial indicator
A "INCH" pound torque wrench
A 300 LB torque wrench
Set-up bearings

AND A WHOLE LOT OF TIME AND PATIENCE!!!!
Click to expand...

Bearing puller... $400

Press... $100 on sale

Micrometer/Dial Caliper... $20

Inch pound torque wrench (beam style not clicker)... $60 Part number 7181A21


Dial Indicater and mag base... $10 each ($20)

Torque wrench up to 150ft# Sears on sale @$75

Setup bearings are nothing more than pulling your existing bearings off and taking a sanding drum to the ID of the bearing till it is a snug but slip fit on the carrier and/or pinion. Takes about 20 min to make.

Assumeing you have LOTS OF PATIENCE and attention to detail then it really isn't that hard. It's just one of those things you have to do to learn.

Commit to memory the BillaVista gear setup article...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Gear_Setup/

and the Yukon gear setup installation booklet found on this page...

All this being listed will add up to about what you will pay for a shop to do the work (with gears). Some of the tools I've linked are top notch like the bearing puller and some are cheapie stuff that will get you by (press or calipers). I went in with a couple buddies for the bearing puller and I would have to say it is the one thing that I wouldn't do a re-gear job without.

$700 for the right tools
$600 for the gears and install kits

Learning how to setup your gears for the rest of your life... Priceless... :greensmok
 
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