How long to change front and rear diff.

whytiptoe

whytiptoe

Member
Ok say you already have another gear set and diff. for the front and rear. How long would it take to change it out. Only thing you would have to do is pull tires, brakes, axels, cover, diff and pinion gear, then you would install the new set. You would not be swapping any parts everything is ready.

Also if you have done it once and have your spacers correct would you need to check your backlash and everything again.

It might sound weird but what I would like to do for LONG drives is to change to a smaller road tire and gear set to save on fuel. Pull a trailer with all the tools and extras I would need to go on the trails. Before I would go back out I would be changing over to the larger tires and gears that would associate with the tires.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
Personal opinion. That is a lot more work than you would want to get into and would take the better part of 5 hours at minimum would be my guess. Not sure about the specific question you asked but remember, the shims and spacers for one gear set may not be the same as for another gear set.

BTW. Welcome to Wayalife. :standing wave:
 
I think it would easier to swap out axle's than gears depending on what lockers you are running. By changing the axles you do not have to carry so many tools and check for back lash and setting the shims.

A tow rig would a much easier way.

BTW Welcome to the WAYALIFE.
 
I'm sorry, I just dont have the will power and I cant hold it back any longer. How are you planning to transport the mechanic? Swapping gears, in a shop no less, is almost an art form. I certainly dont have the balls to do it myself in a shop OR on a trail. But, thats just me..

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
 
That might be the most insane thing I've ever heard...ever. swapping tires would be a pain in the ass, but swapping gears?:confused: like mentioned above- brake calipers off, axles out, diff cover off, drain fluid, pull carrier, etc. Better part of a day spent wrenching on the ground in a dirt parking lot.

If I blew my gears on the side of a road first thing in the morning on a beautiful fall day and had a spare gear set already set up on a previously set up diff carrier with me, and all of the shims ready to go and all of my tools for said job I would still tow it home.

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back in the day drag racers used to use a ford 9" with a drop out center section. they would weld one up up very low gears and swap them at the drag strip and then swap again for the drive home.
otherwise I'd rather put my testes in a vice than change dana axle gears on the trail.
 
Just curious, what kind of MPG's are getting now? What kind of MPG's are you expecting to get after the gear and tire change? Let say you see a 10 MPG's difference (which I highly doubt). You travel 200 miles one way to the a trail. At 10 mpg you just spent $80 ($160 round trip). Now change your gears and tires to get 20 MPG's and you spend $40 ($80 round trip) that's a decent savings however the amount of time you spent on the change out has to be calculated. I think I'd just spend the extra $80 bucks!!
 
Wow I never knew I would get flamed on this much for this question. I guess with working on heavy aircraft for a living I would not think that changing out a set of gears would be that much of a hassle. Now I am listening to all of you and this is not the way to go. I figured with having all shims and tools it would only take half of the day and on a 3000 mile trip that could save a few hundred dollars worth a fuel. Guess it is not worth it.
 
Elusive said:
back in the day drag racers used to use a ford 9" with a drop out center section. they would weld one up up very low gears and swap them at the drag strip and then swap again for the drive home.
otherwise I'd rather put my testes in a vice than change dana axle gears on the trail.
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Yea I would not do it on that short of a trip, I am talking cross country trips over 3K worth of traveling and I'm only hoping for maybe 8 miles.
 
whytiptoe said:
Wow I never knew I would get flamed on this much for this question. I guess with working on heavy aircraft for a living I would not think that changing out a set of gears would be that much of a hassle. Now I am listening to all of you and this is not the way to go. I figured with having all shims and tools it would only take half of the day and on a 3000 mile trip that could save a few hundred dollars worth a fuel. Guess it is not worth it.
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Really,it isnt worth it at all. But I for one am glad to see you ask about it rather than getting yourself out on a trail and in a bad situation:D

We are Jeep..Resistance is futile..
 
So you get 8 miles per gallon more then you load up a trailer and start towing and lose 6-10 mpg. So your back to where you were or worse.
 
whytiptoe said:
Ok say you already have another gear set and diff. for the front and rear. How long would it take to change it out. Only thing you would have to do is pull tires, brakes, axels, cover, diff and pinion gear, then you would install the new set. You would not be swapping any parts everything is ready.

Also if you have done it once and have your spacers correct would you need to check your backlash and everything again.

It might sound weird but what I would like to do for LONG drives is to change to a smaller road tire and gear set to save on fuel. Pull a trailer with all the tools and extras I would need to go on the trails. Before I would go back out I would be changing over to the larger tires and gears that would associate with the tires.

Thanks in advance for any help.
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No, just no. :grayno: Set your gears for the size of tires you are running and be done with it. If you really want to change things before trail, how about a dedicated set of 37's (or 40's?) for wheeling and then a light weight low rolling resistance 315/70r17 tire on an aluminum wheel for your highway drives?
 
whytiptoe said:
Wow I never knew I would get flamed on this much for this question. I guess with working on heavy aircraft for a living I would not think that changing out a set of gears would be that much of a hassle. Now I am listening to all of you and this is not the way to go. I figured with having all shims and tools it would only take half of the day and on a 3000 mile trip that could save a few hundred dollars worth a fuel. Guess it is not worth it.
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People arn't flamming you so much as just astonished that anyone would want to try this on the trail. But if you have enough room and really wanted to change gear sets I think an axle swap would probably a much easier and safer way of doing things.
 
I sat in on my gear change out. You would be sitting in the camp ground for a good amount of time swapping gears around. You'd have to have everything on jack stands. Remove wheels, remove drive shafts, drain fluid, pull your ring with locker. Then you'd have to disconnect your drive lines. There are presses you'd have to use to take off the ring and remove your pinion. And a comment was made with shims. You'd have to reset your shims every time which is calibrated. Heavy duty air compressure and a bunch of other things along with this process. If your running 37" or 40's get 5.13 and call it good. I'm running 37"'s with 5.13 and getting 13mpg.
 
Figure a good 4 hours per axle, that's what experienced mechanics take to do it in a shop... So I don't advise this!!!

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