Just like it says, I want to get rid of the 3.54 gears and put in 4.10s. The truck is not a daily driver and I'm always towing something so i would like to swap some gears. I was looking for info on what to look out for. I was thinking about buying a used set of ring and pinions on eBay (front and rear). Good or bad idea??? Is this something fairly easy to do? Will i need any rebuild kits? Setting gear lash easy???? Any info on the swap would be great. thanks. Kevin
Used gears doesnt sound like a real great idea to me. I have yet to set up gears, and ive hear it can be a royal pain. One shop told me they figure 8 hours labor to set them up!! Of course, that shop owner is a bit of a perfectionist and claims it takes that long to get them perfect. I would imagine if you could find a good set of instructions from one of the gear manufacturers and your reasonably mechanically inclined you could do it.
I would stay away from used gear sets. You have no idea what they have gone through. If you are looking to do this to the ram in your sig, then you have dana axles front and rear. They can be a real pita to setup at times. I would personally buy new OEM, gear sets, and an install set that uses timken bearings. Then get a service manual for your vehicle and follow it step by step.
4.10 needs a different offset carrier on the Dana 80. You may want to consider a posi and/or locker at that point because its no more effort to install. I would use used gears, and even used bearings depending on the circumstances.
I would also consider used gears if I could see them before I purchased or could see excellent pictures (Ebay in mind). A set of gears that are in perfect shape, used or not, will work fine. Think about how many people you hear of wearing out ring and pinion gears..... Plus, there are a lot of guys going with 40" tires and larger right out of the factory (buying brand new trucks) and swap gears on the spot and now have a set of used gears laying around....
Buying used gears is a bad idea because you would need to know exactly what the backlash they were set at in the old vehicle. I just replaced the carrier in the rear of my old chevy and had to do the same thing. A magnetic base dial indicator is used to measure the backlash and you must get it back to within a couple thousandths or you will hear howling gears. Im not sure about any axles except the 14 bolt and dana 60, but they tend to run 230 or so for new ring and pinions and install kits are 115 or so. The install kit is also necesary, need to replace the pinion bearings and things like that which are included in the kits. As far as how hard it is, measuring the backlash is not hard. I have not changed out my gears yet, but am doing so soon and will have more information then. Also, a new set of carrier bearings is not a bad idea, they run about 20-40 a piece depending on the axle but can be quite a pain to take off the old ones and put the new ones on without a press and proper puller. if you keep the old bearings, make sure you remember which side the races came out of, they must go back in the exact same way as they have worn specific to each side for however many miles you have on the vehicle. Any specific questions i can try to answer. Hope its been helpful.
I spent 4 years at a wrecking yard where rear-ends and ratios were mixed and matched to the customers needs. Backlash set to factory tolerances and pattern checked with marking compound. Seals were always replaced, but bearings were re-used if they were still good. 1 year warranty. I won't say there never were any warranty situations, but IMO no worse than for a shop that installs 'all new parts'. No its not the textbook way, or how the dealership might do it, but its also not an install that's doomed from the start.
there is nothing wrong with used gears so long as you follow break in procedures JUST like it were bran dnew gears. also make sure they look good and if you can check a pattern on them befoe they are pulled out to see how well they were set up then do it. id think harder about 3.73 with the power you are putting down... just a thought though Grant
I'm into off roading and as part of that hobby I've regeared at least a dozen differentials over the years. I've never had one fail, but I've always used new parts. The fact is, the biggest expense involved in getting this done is labor. My advise to you would be if you're installing them yourself and are confident that the used stuff is in good condition go for it, it'll save you a few bucks. Worst case scenario it blows up and you have to buy the new parts and redo it. On the other hand, if you're paying someone to install them for you I can guarantee you that they won't warranty an old set of gears, so if they blow, you paying for the whole thing again. If you think it's expensive paying for that gear install labor once, imagine paying for it twice. All that being said, if it were me I would buy new parts, the few special tools it takes to do it, and install them myself. It's definitely a learning experience the first time you do it, but it ain't rocket science. Good luck.
Gear change When I wanted to change gears on my 99 Ford SD 2wd, I found a late model truck like mine that had been rolled with 11K miles on it. I bought the posi carrier with bearings and ring and pinion for little more than the cost of new gears. I also found a search site for late model salvage and I received quotes with shipping for the parts I wanted from 6-8 different states.
ihave swapped a set of 5.57 gears into 3 different axle assemblies for the racecar, all because the previous axles were either bent or broken. this set of gears are still alive and doing well. you dont have to worry about what backlash they were before because you have to set it anyway. each axle housing will be ever so slightly different.(I.E. crush collar length spacers on sides and spacers behind pinion bearing) the gears will tell you what they need to be set up correctlywaytogo
