[MineralIronHors]

I think Christmas is going to treat me well with a set of 3.73 gears and t-loc. I figure the gears are expensive enough so i don't want to send it to a shop for $300. My father and i have done all my mods in the garage together and i don't want gears to change that. Its a father son bonding thing ya know? He is a manufacturing engineer and works in a machine shop. He works with tight tolerances all the time and i have faith in his abilities. With that, do you think my dad and I can keep our work in the garage without outside help?

[ewells2420]

Originally Posted by MineralIronHors

I think Christmas is going to treat me well with a set of 3.73 gears and t-loc. I figure the gears are expensive enough so i don't want to send it to a shop for $300. My father and i have done all my mods in the garage together and i don't want gears to change that. Its a father son bonding thing ya know? He is a manufacturing engineer and works in a machine shop. He works with tight tolerances all the time and i have faith in his abilities. With that, do you think my dad and I can keep our work in the garage without outside help?

Is it possible? yes. Is it probable? Probably not. Gear installs are VERY tricky. Hell most of the time people who have done them and shops dont get it right. Thats when you hear gear whine, its when its not properly installed.

This is REALLY one of those things you need to find a REPUTABLE shop to do, someone that is recomended. Or else you risk gear whine and damage. If not installed properly it can jack up your whole rear end.

With all that said its up to you.

[akula]

first gear job I had done was by a local that was well recommended from a forum. paid only $60 as I was doing the labor in his home garage to pull it all apart and he was just doing the gear diff part. It failed in less than 5k miles (pinion bearing failed due to yolk nut/crush sleeve not being tight enough). To get that fixed I got some quotes from shops that ranged all the way up to 10 hours of labor (crazy). a compromise was shop "bench job". I removed and stripped the axle housing and brought it to the shop for the install. much cheaper.

if you do it wrong the gears will howl, loud enough that the radio wont cover it. will end up buying another gear set. gears are cheap but it is a pain in the butt to pull it all apart again. Bench job might be best bang for the buck because if it does go wrong, you can tack it back to the shop for replacement.