High pinion problems?

any4xx

any4xx

New member
Sorry for the barrage of rookie questions lately, but a lot of this driveline tech is still new to me.

I still haven’t made my mind up regarding what I’m going to do about axles on my JKR. I’m still contemplating whether to re-gear what I have or swap in new complete axles.

So my newest concern is about high-pinion setups. I’m guessing that they use the same ring and pinion sets that their low-pinion counterparts do instead of special sets manufactured specifically for high-pinion applications. If that is true, they’re driving the “coast” side of the ring instead of the as-designed “drive” side. Does this cause any longevity issues? Or ARE special R&P sets made for these high-pinion axles?

Once again, thanks for putting up with me.

Tom.
 
It's more about strength. On a front axle, high pinion is optimum, which your JK already has. On the rear, low pinion is optimum, which your JK already has. A more proper term is reverse-cut for the front and standard-cut for the rear. They are two different gear sets, they are cut differently.

What is your ultimate goal for tire size and how do you currently use your jeep?
 
WJCO said:
It's more about strength. On a front axle, high pinion is optimum, which your JK already has. On the rear, low pinion is optimum, which your JK already has. A more proper term is reverse-cut for the front and standard-cut for the rear. They are two different gear sets, they are cut differently.

What is your ultimate goal for tire size and how do you currently use your jeep?
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Hahaha. Current use and ultimate goal? My problem is that I never know what I’m I’m likely to want to do tomorrow. Right now a Sport set of 30’s would suit my needs. But I have aspirations of one day having a lot more free time to play hard. I’m running 35’s on the stock 3.73’s right now. All I really “need” is to swap in a set of 4.56 gears to be happy. But I feel like I may be tossing the cash and aggravation of setting up gears in my stock axles down a hole if my dream of free-time materializes in the next few years. But then again, it’s making sense to spent only a few hundred dollars to do the gear swap now and see if I really need/want the stronger axles in a few years. Who knows...
 
any4xx said:
Hahaha. Current use and ultimate goal? My problem is that I never know what I’m I’m likely to want to do tomorrow. Right now a Sport set of 30’s would suit my needs. But I have aspirations of one day having a lot more free time to play hard. I’m running 35’s on the stock 3.73’s right now. All I really “need” is to swap in a set of 4.56 gears to be happy. But I feel like I may be tossing the cash and aggravation of setting up gears in my stock axles down a hole if my dream of free-time materializes in the next few years. But then again, it’s making sense to spent only a few hundred dollars to do the gear swap now and see if I really need/want the stronger axles in a few years. Who knows...
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You have a Rubicon and your talking about swapping the axles with sport axles? Not a good idea IMO. Your current front axle has a larger gear set and a locker. A sport axle has neither. If I were you, being that you live in Cali, I would take the jeep down to off road evolution and have them put in some 4.88s for a great price, slap some C gussets on, and enjoy your jeep.
 
WJCO said:
You have a Rubicon and your talking about swapping the axles with sport axles? Not a good idea IMO. Your current front axle has a larger gear set and a locker. A sport axle has neither. If I were you, being that you live in Cali, I would take the jeep down to off road evolution and have them put in some 4.88s for a great price, slap some C gussets on, and enjoy your jeep.
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Fear not. No way am I contemplating swapping in a set of Sport axles. I’m just saying that, currently, I don’t use my Jeep hard enough to even justify having a Rubicon.

Have you dealt with that particular shop? I learned about 40 years ago to not trust ANY shop to do a good job. Sadly, after seeing so much bubba hacking over the years, I just cringe at the thought of anyone else working on any of my vehicles. But if they have a good reputation, perhaps I should suck it up, as I REALLY hate setting up a R&P. Much less times two on a Jeep.
 
any4xx said:
Fear not. No way am I contemplating swapping in a set of Sport axles. I’m just saying that, currently, I don’t use my Jeep hard enough to even justify having a Rubicon.

Have you dealt with that particular shop? I learned about 40 years ago to not trust ANY shop to do a good job. Sadly, after seeing so much bubba hacking over the years, I just cringe at the thought of anyone else working on any of my vehicles. But if they have a good reputation, perhaps I should suck it up, as I REALLY hate setting up a R&P. Much less times two on a Jeep.
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I haven't dealt with their shop personally, but tons of members here have and have very positive feedback.
 
Ack! Never mind. I just searched for them and see they’re in Fullerton. Not worth a 12 to 14 hour round trip when I’m sure there are closer shops. Sadly, the only one I know of is 4 Wheel Parts in San Jose, but I’ve heard so many horror stories about them that I’d be afraid to let them replace my lug nuts, much less trust them to do a ring and pinion swap.
 
any4xx said:
Ack! Never mind. I just searched for them and see they’re in Fullerton. Not worth a 12 to 14 hour round trip when I’m sure there are closer shops. Sadly, the only one I know of is 4 Wheel Parts in San Jose, but I’ve heard so many horror stories about them that I’d be afraid to let them replace my lug nuts, much less trust them to do a ring and pinion swap.
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Take it to the Rear End Shop in Riverbank by Modesto. Had mine done along with a few other buddies and none of us had an issue. He is a jeeper also so he really does a good job. Don’t confuse it with the rear end shop in Livermore which is one of his former employees that he got rid of.


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any4xx said:
Ack! Never mind. I just searched for them and see they’re in Fullerton. Not worth a 12 to 14 hour round trip when I’m sure there are closer shops. Sadly, the only one I know of is 4 Wheel Parts in San Jose, but I’ve heard so many horror stories about them that I’d be afraid to let them replace my lug nuts, much less trust them to do a ring and pinion swap.
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Where are you located? I can refer you to a good shop in Livermore if that’s more doable.


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Pretty sure it would be worth the long round trip to have ORE do the gears for you. They have a superb reputation. Many members on here have used them and I don’t ever remember a complaint. Sure others on here will back me on that.


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Gadget said:
Pretty sure it would be worth the long round trip to have ORE do the gears for you. They have a superb reputation. Many members on here have used them and I don’t ever remember a complaint. Sure others on here will back me on that.


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ORE does great work and regear for a reasonable price. There are other options though. It sure makes for a long drive home when you’re simultaneously breaking in a set of gears.

They also don’t warranty the gearset unless they do the 500 mile service which makes it two long trips.

But if that works out for the OP he would definitely get good service.
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Honestly, as much as I hate doing them I’ll probably just do it myself. It’s been 15 years since I’ve done a setup so maybe I’ve forgotten just what a horribly tedious job it is.
 
any4xx said:
Honestly, as much as I hate doing them I’ll probably just do it myself. It’s been 15 years since I’ve done a setup so maybe I’ve forgotten just what a horribly tedious job it is.
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All the great memories will come flooding back, trust me.
 
fiend said:
All the great memories will come flooding back, trust me.
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Yeah... new wrench in the works.... I just went out to the shed to scout things out and remembered that I gave my press away several years back. So adding another $130 to the job for another el-cheapo 12-ton gets me that much closer to a shop-install.
 
Jkzinger said:
Take it to the Rear End Shop in Riverbank by Modesto. Had mine done along with a few other buddies and none of us had an issue. He is a jeeper also so he really does a good job. Don’t confuse it with the rear end shop in Livermore which is one of his former employees that he got rid of.


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Done!

I just called them and am taking it in later next week. Although it kills me to let someone else put a wrench on my Jeep, a couple of days of cussing and swearing is not appealing to me these days. Crap: I’ve spent about $15k on damned watches in the past few months. Spending $1k for a day of peace shouldn’t bother me.
 
any4xx said:
Done!

I just called them and am taking it in later next week. Although it kills me to let someone else put a wrench on my Jeep, a couple of days of cussing and swearing is not appealing to me these days. Crap: I’ve spent about $15k on damned watches in the past few months. Spending $1k for a day of peace shouldn’t bother me.
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He is awesome. Been doing gears for 30 years and understands jeeps and how we think of them. I didn’t have any heat or noise at all out of my gears.


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