gear install

[88swampedmj]

i was thinkin since my black comanche is offroad only now.. would it be bad for me to swap my own gears? not really makin it perfect since ill only be on trails and stuff.. i don't wanna spend the money to have them set and crap

[Pete M]

There are very few things that I would pay a pro to do and even fewer things for which I would gladly pay them. Setting up gears is one of those. Of course, I haven't had to pay anyone anything yet, as I've purchased all my axles with the gears I wanted (or close enough).

[88swampedmj]

but on the trails it shouldnt matter if they arent perfect right?

[JeepcoMJ]

but on the trails it shouldnt matter if they arent perfect right?

 

think, do you want to be stuck out in the middle of nowhere cause you didn't want to pay to have something done perfectly?

 

not having the gears done right could result in busting your rear end and getting stuck. Pete's right...have them set up by a professional. if you want to buy the parts and then have it set up you'll save some money.

[Pete M]

Make sure you shop around for prices, as they seem to vary wildly. And you'll probably find that it's cheaper if you can drop off the axles themselves rather than having the truck occupying one of the shop's bays.

There are guys here that have done gears themselves. I'm not saying it's impossible to do gears yourself, only that if done wrong it could seriously hamper your day (stranding you and destroying your new gears and bearings). You can read up on the how-to of gear install at ring-pinion.com

[DirtyComanche]

You should have seen the pros I had do my front!

 

 

*Smack* (swearing) "Well, the bearing still turns. I think it'll be alright." *Smack smack SMACK* "Man, if I used the press this would be way easier."

 

 

-We go over to the press-

 

 

*Whirrrrr POP* (sweaing) "Well, I think we just broke the press..."

 

 

 

I think I'll do my own next time. :roll: Everything was eyeballed. At least we used a torque wrench a couple times. But, what do you expect for HD mechanics; especially when you're paying with beer.

 

 

In reality it isn't very hard. The FSM makes it BLOODY CONFUSING! You'll want to make setup bearings (get some old bearings and file/grind out the inside) and take your time and you'll probably be alright. If they aren't, they'll grenade pretty quick.

[jeepthing07]

I did my own gears without any experience and they turned out fine but you do have to set them up right and have the tools and an idea of what you’re doing. The tools I used were a dead blow hammer (5 pound or better)$40. Beam type inch pound torque wrench for setting pinion bearing preload $80. Dial indicator and stand, a cheap one will work $30. 12 ton shop press I already had for pressing on bearings. I didn’t need to pull carrier bearings because there was a carrier break between my gears and I bought new ones. If reusing your old carriers you will have to buy a bearing splitter to press them off it’s about $60.

 

I don’t know what axles you have but the axles I swapped gears on was an YJ HP Dana 30 and 35. The 35 was really easy to set backlash on because the shims were on the outside of the bearing so I didn’t have to pull bearings off the change shims. But on the D30 the shims were under the bearings so I had to make mock up bearings for the front. That was another $30 for a set of bearings. I honed them out with a wheel cylinder hone and it took a LONG time but it worked.

 

The D35 used a crush sleeve for bearing preload and it took a hell of allot to crush it! You have to make or buy a tool to hold the pinion while you tighten the pinion nut. The front used shims for preload so it was easier.

[DirtyComanche]

You can get a crush sleeve eliminator for a D30. About $20.

 

 

And you can normally put the carrier shims outside of the bearings/races if you want. It's just not 'by the book' on all axles - but trust me, it is still often done (professionally).

[Regger]

You know, I've heard people say, "get a professional" to do it, but you have to think about it too.. they had to start somewhere as well... so here's your chance to start

 

Just read up on it a lot.. There are numerous websites that have very good articles, (pirate for one, by Billavista) and if you get yukon gears, they have a good write up included with the gears.

 

Then go and get the tools you need... as Jeepthing07 said... You'll have to spend a little money, but in the end, you'll be that much better off... And hey, now that you can do it, you can charge to do it for your friends and make some money to pay for your tools..

 

Since your truck is off the road.. this is the perfect time to start. Yeah it may take you a week the first time around.. but just go very very slow, and double and triple check all your measurements.. The criticals are your backlask, bearing pre-load, and torque.. And the one thing that you can only eyeball, is the pattern. Do it a couple times, maybe even 4 times until you can see a definite pattern that looks good acording to the book.. your all done..

 

See, once you break it down.. there is really nothing professional required.. The only thing a professional has over you, is just the experiance, to know how many shims, and what not. IF you can read numbers on a dial, numbers on a torque wrench, and look at pictures.. you'll all set..

 

With that being said, I'm in the process of doing not 1, not 2, but three axles myself... A close friend said he would give me a good deal at $150 each.. (normally $300ea), but thats still $450 that I could better spent on something else... and I gain valuable experiance at the same time..If it takes me a month to do all the axles so be...

 

HTH

Ryan