I want to swap to eitheir 3.73's or 4.10's. I have a daily driven 5 speed 94 GT. I like to work on my car myself but gear swapping seems a little beyond my level, plus i don't have the tools for the swap. The local shop wants $760 parts and labor... does that seem high or is that reasonable. They use Ford Motorsport gears. They won't be touchin the trac lok. If i want it repacked its extra. How much did any of you pay for this swap?
swapping gears
- Thread starter 94gsl5.0
- Start date
You can buy the gears from www.gefracing.com for $130 plus shipping. For install you'll pay around $400. If you don't have the tool or the know how please don't try it or you'll be looking for a whole new rear end.
Yeah i have heard horrer stories of people blowin rearends... I am pretty good with a wrench but i am not sure i wanna mess with somethin that could very well cost me way more. So 500 seems more what it should be... I am in the Seattle area and if anyone knows of a shop that could do it for cheaper than 760 that would be appreciated. I need gears bad... took a ride in my friends 2002 330ci and it just seemed like it had more of a kick to it, and i know that my motor could kill it if it had the right gears behind it. It would look so bad to get smoked by a non M BMW when i have American muscle.
mo_dingo
20+ Year Stangneter 
My brother bought the FRPP gears off of ebay for $140. Then paid a shop $250 to install them.
Scott
EDIT - I installed my gears in 3 & 1/2 hours & it was my first time touching a differential...If a shop charges you more than 4 hours of labor, they are ripping you off, to be frank.
If you are afraid to install the gears yourself, or don't want to put the time into the research, then have a shop do them.
Scott
Scott
EDIT - I installed my gears in 3 & 1/2 hours & it was my first time touching a differential...If a shop charges you more than 4 hours of labor, they are ripping you off, to be frank.
If you are afraid to install the gears yourself, or don't want to put the time into the research, then have a shop do them.
Scott
huskerpower02
Member
TSWG00
Founding Member
I know a lot of people that use to do the gear installs themselfs and the gears would end up going TU at in less than a year because they didn't get the shims in correct hehe. I would reccamend having a shop do it. Lucky for me I know someone who is a pro at it 
I'm going to get 3:73:1's but I'm also thinking about getting a new Limited Slip don't want a clutch one looking for something that is clutchless.
I'm going to get 3:73:1's but I'm also thinking about getting a new Limited Slip don't want a clutch one looking for something that is clutchless.
mo_dingo
20+ Year Stangneter
TSWG00 said:I know a lot of people that use to do the gear installs themselfs and the gears would end up going TU at in less than a year because they didn't get the shims in correct hehe. I would reccamend having a shop do it. Lucky for me I know someone who is a pro at it
I am not trying to
you, BTW. Just making a point.Whomever you are speaking of probably did one of the following things:
1. Left the stock shims on the pinion & carrier because they were too scared/cheap/ignorant to use an indicator or a caliper. (ignorant = didn't know how to use it BTW)
2. Didn't see the MULTIPLE warnings about keeping the main caps on the side they came off of and orientented in the same manner (has arrows).
3.Didn't put friction modifier in with the gear oil.
4. They reused the old crush collar or didn't put the correct pre-load on the Pinion because they were too cheap to buy or borrow a inch-pound torque wrench.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to install FRPP gears into a 8.8" rear end. There are so many install articles about the subject that I can't imagine how someone could actually screw it up.
People are so scared of what they don't understand. I felt the same way, but once I read through 3 different install articles, multiple times each, I had a firm understanding of what I was doing.
It just really bothers me when people say that installing gears is "so hard" or "leave it professionals". If I can do it in under 4 hours on my first time, I bet I could do it again in under 2 1/2. I am not saying that it won't take you 4-8 hours to do it yourself, as not all installs are exactly the same. I ran into problems, and I solved them.
If something comes up that is "unexpected", then you probably didn't read through the install articles or my write-up on the bottom of my sig. There is a lot of information on that thread I made, and I feel it would be invaluable to someone who has read through the install articles, and still has a few questions. (How to setup the dial indicator for example, is not covered in the articles, but I did in my thread)
I bought all new bearings (2 carrier & 1 pinion), diff. shaft, locking bolt, pinion seal, etc. Any of those could have been broken, and if I didn't buy them before hand, I would have been in trouble (running around to parts stores). I planned on replacing my locking bolt & pinion seal no matter what the factory ones looked like. They are cheap and prone to breaking, as outlined in the articles.
Scott
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