just got mine done monday
richmond gears, richmond install kit and trac loc rebuild kit
make sure you get a complete kit they sell a complete kit and a half kit
you really want the complete kit to make sure its done right
the install kit run ya like 110
gears 180 ish
trac loc rebuild kit 50
diff oil like 40
and labor like 250
richmond gears, richmond install kit and trac loc rebuild kit
make sure you get a complete kit they sell a complete kit and a half kit
you really want the complete kit to make sure its done right
the install kit run ya like 110
gears 180 ish
trac loc rebuild kit 50
diff oil like 40
and labor like 250
...or get FMS gears, reuse all the existing shims (as you can do with ONLY fms gears: they have the exact same pinion depth on all their gears) and leave the bearings and seals. If they dont leak, why replace them? I "hammered in" a set of FMS 3.73's reusing the shims and crush sleeve, swapped the tracloc while it was apart and ended up with a silent set of gears that still looked virgin clean (no grooves) 1.5 years and 10000 miles later when the 4.56's went in. The key is to tighten the pinion nut just enough so that there is no wobble and a tiny bit of drag (picks up the crush sleeve where it "left off"). Use a breaker bar and scissors jacks pushing up on the bar handle to provide the force to break the pinion nut loose and a deadblow mallet (not a hammer) on the pinion stem to get the pinion in and out. 2-3 blows and it'll eject. The ring gear can be taken off by putting a screwdriver into the ring gear holes and cross hammering until it falls off. Then heat the replacement in an oven and quickly slide it down over the carrier. Assemble the ring gear carrier with axles and bolt everything together and put the car on the ground with e-brake set and wheels chocked and use the car to hold the pinion while you tighten the pinion nut.
If I can do it, anyone can. Flame away but it can be done as long as you use fms gears and dont mind laying on your back and getting all covered in gear oil.
If I can do it, anyone can. Flame away but it can be done as long as you use fms gears and dont mind laying on your back and getting all covered in gear oil.
I'm going to go with FMS gears. Go here for tech articles.
http://www.superstallions.com/tech/drive/gears/gears.html
http://www.corral.net/tech/drivetrain/gears.html
http://www.superstallions.com/tech/drive/gears/gears.html
http://www.corral.net/tech/drivetrain/gears.html
Yeah those guides make it seem like you're building the space shuttle. I read them and ignored them EXCEPT for the contact patch test at the end. Cause....really....thats what it's all about. But if you reuse the shims with FMS gears, your only variable is pinion depth (which is the same with FMS gears) and the position of the pinion (which the crush sleeve will tell you since it is already crushed to where the old pinion was). So tighten the pinion till you feel a little bit of drag and do the contact patch test. All that stuff about people building contraptions in those guides is unecessary. Just measure the end result and tune from there.
Worst case, you'll have done 80% of the work and you'l take it to the mechanic to swap some shims. You'll already have mounted the ring gear and rebuilt the tracloc and have everything together. So you'll save a few hundred. Obviously, granny it if you suspect something amiss. If something will make noise, it will do so on engine braking.
Worst case, you'll have done 80% of the work and you'l take it to the mechanic to swap some shims. You'll already have mounted the ring gear and rebuilt the tracloc and have everything together. So you'll save a few hundred. Obviously, granny it if you suspect something amiss. If something will make noise, it will do so on engine braking.