anyone have 35's on 3.55 gearing

[98stocker]

I did 35's and 3.55's with the 4.0 aw4 for about 8 months maybe. At first I thought it sucked, but then learned to drive differently and it was not so bad. Was wierd doing 70 mph up Tehachapi in second gear, but it works.

BTW, don't generalize about trail cloggers being those who don't have enough money to "do it right". I find that the prettier the jeep, the slower they go, and the less likely they are to find a wide spot and let you pass. Oops, I just generalized...

 

[Breezio69]

where'd ya find that deal?

Local guy had them, bought them for a CJ project and ended up being at a higher lift than he though when it was all said and done and went with 35's. Listed 4 of them for $600 and I called him within a minute of his ad posting and told him id have $550 to him in 15 minutes, he said ok... then I got the 5th spare from Big O for like $215 mounted. It was one of those once in a lifetime deals that wasnt too good to be true!

He was also a very stand up guy, within the 15 minutes of me meeting him he had 3 calls for guys offering OVER what he wanted... in the 8-900 range and he still kept his word to me. Great guy!

 

[seanR]

There was a post about this once, wasn't there?

 

[GordoSmasho]

I did some searching around and that labor cost was pretty much the norm around here. That was my direct quote from Teraflex, just under $1600.

For tht price I'd buy another cheep axle and learn to do it myself a few times then do your real axles. Then sell the cheep as a rebuild. You'll be a pro.

 

[kastein]

Agreed. IIRC, when I bought everything to regear a d30 to 4.10 from a vendor on here (carrier, R&P, master install kit) it cost around $250. Rearend, assuming 8.25, costs less since you don't need a carrier. Throw in $100 worth of tools...

$1600 "budget"
$100 tools leaves $1500

$250 frontend parts, assume $200 rearend parts, that's $450 in parts

You can do your gears over THREE TIMES throwing the parts out every time after screwing them up for the same price you got quoted to do your front/rear diffs once. At that point, I'd plan on blowing up the first set I did and learn to do gears myself.

 

[whitexj98]

Exept when your gears blow up 3 hours from home on a wheeling trip your going to rack up some towing costs.....

I Paid 450 for my gears and set them up myself but I had acess to all the special tools and a guy that had a decent knowlege on the subject.

 

[cheapcherokee93]

i have to agree, those prices are way inflated. there are much cheaper ways. i 4.10 geared my front dana 30 AND detroit locked it for $390, and that included installation labor!

 

[GordoSmasho]

I think you probably looking at the wrong places. There has to be some rock buggy shop near by or something like that. There aren't that many special tools you need.

 

[bobnoxious]

i have to agree, those prices are way inflated. there are much cheaper ways. i 4.10 geared my front dana 30 AND detroit locked it for $390, and that included installation labor!

I think you probably looking at the wrong places. There has to be some rock buggy shop near by or something like that. There aren't that many special tools you need.

Really? Cuz standing in my shop looking around and doing some quick math in my head...I'm coming up with about $1500-2000 in tools for diff work alone. Guess your cheap ass demands that I donate my time (8 hours/diff...some of us do a thorough job and give you stuff that doesn't blow up) and shop space and electricity. God forbid someone who gives you 8hrs labor/diff actually make a profit

Guess what? It's usually the "rock buggy shop" that charges that much, because they actually have a clue as to what's involved, and have all the right tools...it's the nitwits who barely have the basic tools, and don't have a clue how to do it right that do it for super cheap. Pisses me off when ignorant people run their mouth about stuff they know nothing about :nono:

 

[Breezio69]

I think it would be safe to say that teraflex... my main quote and place id go to... is an off-road/ buggy shop. I thought maybe it was just because it was "teraflex" it would be cheaper elsewhere, nope.

 

[coldoath]

Really? Cuz standing in my shop looking around and doing some quick math in my head...I'm coming up with about $1500-2000 in tools for diff work alone. Guess your cheap ass demands that I donate my time (8 hours/diff...some of us do a thorough job and give you stuff that doesn't blow up) and shop space and electricity. God forbid someone who gives you 8hrs labor/diff actually make a profit

Guess what? It's usually the "rock buggy shop" that charges that much, because they actually have a clue as to what's involved, and have all the right tools...it's the nitwits who barely have the basic tools, and don't have a clue how to do it right that do it for super cheap. Pisses me off when ignorant people run their mouth about stuff they know nothing about :nono:

$1500-2000 in tools and 8 hours per diff?! So you are telling me that it takes you a full 8 hour work day to install 1 set of gears?!

"Pisses me off when ignorant people run their mouth about stuff they know nothing about." Take your own advice and stop running your mouth.

 

[ROBZ95Xj]

$1500-2000 in tools and 8 hours per diff?! So you are telling me that it takes you a full 8 hour work day to install 1 set of gears?!

"Pisses me off when ignorant people run their mouth about stuff they know nothing about." Take your own advice and stop running your mouth.

Yeah ain't like bob set up gears/did off road fab for a living, he really knows nothing and is just a e-bully:scarcasm:

 

[Vanimal]

i did one set of gears, definitely took me way over 8 hours. granted i was slow, but it's not an easy job. and i've been a machinist/toolmaker for 15+ years, so i know how to set stuff up to tight tolerances.

 

[kastein]

$1500-2000 in tools and 8 hours per diff?! So you are telling me that it takes you a full 8 hour work day to install 1 set of gears?!

"Pisses me off when ignorant people run their mouth about stuff they know nothing about." Take your own advice and stop running your mouth.

I missed you posting like this, welcome back :kissyou:

If you buy quality tools because you are doing diffs every day, yes, I am not surprised it would run you 1500 bucks. I went looking for an inch-pound dial torque wrench to check pinion preload and was unpleasantly surprised that the good brands are well over 200, even 300 or 400 bucks each.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

I've done business with two separate shops, neither of them uses harbor freight tools. They use thousands in snap on equipment.
The first time I had my HP30/44a done. He thoroughly cleaned the whole axle , replaced tube seals and shaft bearing/seals etc. all in all two axles took 8 hours.
$600 labor

Second guy did just my HP30. He had it done in half a day.. Very well respected in my area for jeep axles. Mass tools. $250 labor.

My point? First guy did everything he could to the axle. Being thorough

Second guy JUST did gears. Witch is all I needed

 

[bobnoxious]

Yes...shop press, carrier/pinion removal press, dial indicator setup, micrometer, torque wrenches, case spreader, etc. If anything, I was underestimating what I have in tools for this.

Yes, I spend 8 hours...from the time the rig's wheels come off the ground to the time they return to the ground. Maybe you have a magic wand that strips wheels/brakes/axles/wheel bearings/carriers/pinions/bearings/seals/gears, then little fairies come in and clean the housing for you, as well as clean and inspect all the hard parts being reused...maybe those same fairies then actually borrow your magic wand to make the whole shooting match go back together correctly (with pictures of the perfect pattern and specs on request).

I don't. Instead, I do it all by hand...correctly...so it doesn't blow up...so the customer is happy. Even unpacking and inventorying the new parts to make sure the right stuff is present takes time.

Please...SPOBI

 

[Vanimal]

Yes...shop press, carrier/pinion removal press, dial indicator setup, micrometer, torque wrenches, case spreader, etc. If anything, I was underestimating what I have in tools for this.

Yes, I spend 8 hours...from the time the rig's wheels come off the ground to the time they return to the ground. Maybe you have a magic wand that strips wheels/brakes/axles/wheel bearings/carriers/pinions/bearings/seals/gears, then little fairies come in and clean the housing for you, as well as clean and inspect all the hard parts being reused...maybe those same fairies then actually borrow your magic wand to make the whole shooting match go back together correctly (with pictures of the perfect pattern and specs on request).

I don't. Instead, I do it all by hand...correctly...so it doesn't blow up...so the customer is happy. Even unpacking and inventorying the new parts to make sure the right stuff is present takes time.

Please...SPOBI

i feel your pain man. try machining for a living.... it's even worse.

 

[kastein]

I'm going to send you mechanical drawings for a part with a milled hole in it... with zero radius corners. And no tolerance specs anywhere.

 

[NW-ZJ-SCOTT]

Something to keep in mind, if you strip an axle of its brakes/shafts. Knuckles etc.. And carry them in, it cuts a lot of time for the installer. I trust myself to do that work. I don't trust myself to set backlash or preload. And I don't have time to learn. No reason to pay someone 4 hours of labor that I can do

 

[Vanimal]

I'm going to send you mechanical drawings for a part with a milled hole in it... with zero radius corners. And no tolerance specs anywhere.

but you want me to do it for way cheaper than an auto mechanic's hourly rates even though i need 100's of thousands of dollars in equipment and years of training to do it, right?