Decided Im gonna teach myself to do gears

[jonesinxj]

You are ignoring the fact that several members have performed successful and proven gear swaps without the use of a case spreader. I find your comments egotistical and self serving. How exactly would you use a case spreader on a ford 9" or a toyota axle or a 14 bolt? Riddle me this master gear installer? How am I performing gear installs on these mentioned axles incorrectly without the use of a case spreader?

2xtreme's comments are on point and accurate. Specifically the fact you probably won't save time or money installing gears yourself. Most times I encounter discouraging comments like yours, it's a semi-professional trying to inflate and exaggerate the difficulty related to a gear install to discourage the DIY'er, in this case dick.breakey.

100% agree with rich and micheal.

 

[ruger81]

You are ignoring the fact that several members have performed successful and proven gear swaps without the use of a case spreader. I find your comments egotistical and self serving. How exactly would you use a case spreader on a ford 9" or a toyota axle or a 14 bolt? Riddle me this master gear installer? How am I performing gear installs on these mentioned axles incorrectly without the use of a case spreader?

2xtreme's comments are on point and accurate. Specifically the fact you probably won't save time or money installing gears yourself. Most times I encounter discouraging comments like yours, it's a semi-professional trying to inflate and exaggerate the difficulty related to a gear install to discourage the DIY'er, in this case dick.breakey.

Well to answer your riddle those are not salsbury style axles which do no require a case spreader. Those style axles have a bearing pre load adjuster on them and you forgot a couple. I was not trying to be egotistical or self serving.. I find your comments to be ignorant and retarded. Time will tell on said gear installs its a very important step that should be followed they didn't make a tool like that just for the hell of it... it was my opinion and my experience deal with it!

 

[XJOFFROAD]

We all bow down to you ruger81. You are the master gear installer.

I have also installed 2 sets of gears with no case spreader and they both on the road with many thousands of miles on them.

 

[cody4359]

bunch of smartasses. just cause you can do it without a case spreader doesnt mean you should. i can do a motor/gearbox alingment at work with just a straight edge, but it will run smooter and the bearings will last much longer if i do it the right way with the laser or dial indicators. using the case spreader is the correct way.

 

[ECKSJAY]

I think we're going to close shop until my 3 master mechanics can learn to install gears correctly. Anybody know where we can get a case spreader? 50 years of combined experience and they overlooked this. How embarrassing.

 

[XJOFFROAD]

I think we're going to close shop until my 3 master mechanics can learn to install gears correctly. Anybody know where we can get a case spreader? 50 years of combined experience and they overlooked this. How embarrassing.

:laugh2::roflmao::laugh2:

 

[cody4359]

I think we're going to close shop until my 3 master mechanics can learn to install gears correctly. Anybody know where we can get a case spreader? 50 years of combined experience and they overlooked this. How embarrassing.

:moon: not like your Randys Ring and Pinion or anything

 

[old_man]

In lieu of a case spreader on D30's and D35's, there is a tool that works sweet for removing carriers. It is a pry bar called a Gorilla Bar. It just so happens to have the perfect curvature to slide in behind the carrier and pry it out. I got two of them and you can remove the carrier with ease. I carry one in my rig that I have used on a D44 on the trail. The design of the D44 really makes it harder to get the carrier out, so I built a simple spreader, but even then I use the bar to actually control the removal.

The Gorilla bar is very handy for lots of things and it can be a nice weapon in a pinch.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

I think we're going to close shop until my 3 master mechanics can learn to install gears correctly. Anybody know where we can get a case spreader? 50 years of combined experience and they overlooked this. How embarrassing.

I knew you were a shoddy guy.. I just didnt realize it translated into your work ethic..:skull1:

 

[nickguy]

X2 on Micheal's comments. I do see Rich's point but then again Rich has more clue than the average bear so what might be easy for him may not be for others. 5 years ago I set mine up with my OX lockers and about 2 months ago I had a locker fail that toasted the rear pinion. Took the opportunity to re-gear and I did not do it myself. Part of the reason was that my garage facility is limited and it was a crappy time of year do do it but here are some of the other reasons.

1: Dana 30 carrier shims are on the outside of the bearings. Getting the carrier in an out is extremely difficult if you want to do it right without mashing the shims. In my case I have done it with the axle out and in and will never again do it in situ. I suspect that some D30's require a case spreader to get it exactly to spec and I ended up building one to get me a little extra room. Total PITA. Spreading the case might damage them too.

2: Micrometer is helpful unless you completely trust the measurement on the shims, it might save you a few additions and removal of the carrier.

3: A good press and other "shop" tools. An inch-pound torque wrench.

4: Reading gear patterns is akin to determining the future of the planet by reading tea leaves. I can tell you how to configure complex BGP configurations on a Juniper router but interpreting gear patterns is completely gobbly-gook to me. Still not completely sure how I got them right.

It can be done by the home mechanic but I have to tell it was a great learning experience for me. But for a trail rig it is something that you really want to depend on and having someone do it who has done it a lot will give you the benefit of their experience and tools and it will probably be more reliable. I was never happy totally with the way my D30 ended up. The D44 was bullet proof and imo a lot easier to do.

To me I love to learn but at my advanced age I have to start triaging. If it is not something I am going to do on a regular basis I think I will leave it to the professionals. In retrospect I think doing my own gears meant they were not going to last as long agreed that it is doable and that patience is required. It is important to not pretend things are more complicated than they are but it is worse to pretend they are not as complicated as they are.

corollary: It is always more complicated than you think.

Anyway sounds like I am late to this party so all I can say is good luck.

I have done several sets of gears and it is not difficult to do with the correct tools (that I have) and the patience to do it correctly.

Here is what I have always "preached" to others. IF you want to do it to learn how to do it, then it is worth the effort. IF you want to do it to save the time/money it is NOT worth it.

Michael

 

[dick.breakey]

Glad this thread sparked such good discussion. However it kinda saddens me to see how many negative outlooks there are on someone teaching themselves to do something new.

In the end I've decided to let someone else do it. I'm. It gonna have the time to complete it correctly.

 

[XJOFFROAD]

Glad this thread sparked such good discussion. However it kinda saddens me to see how many negative outlooks there are on someone teaching themselves to do something new.

In the end I've decided to let someone else do it. I'm. It gonna have the time to complete it correctly.

wow. pretty naive thing to say. maybe next time you should just install your gears and see for yourself. sorry people chimed in here to let YOU know what YOU will be getting yourself into. I would rather LISTEN to people that have gone through the process then get myself half way into something and destroy the bearings or pinion or the ring gear because you didnt know what the hell you were doing.

 

[old_man]

Glad this thread sparked such good discussion. However it kinda saddens me to see how many negative outlooks there are on someone teaching themselves to do something new.

In the end I've decided to let someone else do it. I'm. It gonna have the time to complete it correctly.

Sounds like a very adult decision, but I would recommend that if setting up gears in the future is in your plans, take the time to look over the guy's shoulder as he does it. It will bring a whole new understanding when reading instructions when the time comes to do it yourself. It isn't all that hard, you just have to understand what you are doing and have the patience to get it right.

Heck, I hadn't set up gears for probably 25 years so I paid JonJacobs about 15 years ago to set up my gears and he gave me a refresher course and showed me some of his tips. I've done quite a few since then and felt comfortable.

 

[hards91xj]

I think we're going to close shop until my 3 master mechanics can learn to install gears correctly. Anybody know where we can get a case spreader? 50 years of combined experience and they overlooked this. How embarrassing.

I have one, I`ve used it ,Do you want me to come and demonstraight it to you ?

 

[Monster Mopar]

To bad you decided to out source the work. It's really not that hard, just time consuming. I taught my self this past summer with great success. I also used a case spreader. In my case I was installing an arb and since the shims go on the outside I just don't see how I could get enough preload on the carrier bearings without one. On the other hand on an axle where the shims go between the carrier and bearings I can see how it could be done with out one....but I'd still use one.... I built mine only cost me about $30