Does anyone that lives in So Cal know anything about re-gearing a rear axle (correct term?).

Since I threw my 33's on... my power, my gas mileage and my bank account have gone WAY down. I was told that in order to get my power and mileage back up, I would need to shrink my account more by having my rear axle re-geared. Isn't that a REALLY expensive project to take on??? Does anyone know anything more about this and does anyone know how to do this? I'd be willing to pay... help!

 

Yeah, I was thinking a regear would be needed when you went to the 33's, with your 2wd I figured the stock tires were probably very small and the gear ratio would reflect that but then you wrote that you didn't feel a loss in power. I was like, huh?

Anyway if you ever do regear you might as well save a little extra money up and get an ARB locker put in the rear at the same time. Especially if you plan on going offroad more and going to the desert. Too bad you blew that money on those rims, that probably would have been enough for the gears/locker or close to it.

 

The rims were paramount... needed those. As far as getting the re-gear and the lockers, I will still probably get them no matter what it costs. I would just rather pay someone online than some clown $1000 to do it at a shop. Besides, I could probably get it donw cheaper if it were a member also. That way we both would win. Know what I'm saying?

 

dude i gota say i love those rims man. i dont care what anyone says how they look...they freaking rock. and id say that i definately agree with rob. putting a rear locker in the back is huge, especially in 2wd, itll help out A LOT. another guy on here that has a big 92 runner (we go wheelin together sometimes) drives around in 2 locked the whole time and hardly ever uses 4...granted hes running 36's and has an sas...but still...so yea if you regear, definately throw in a locker at the same time, youll save money that way.

 

finding a member to do a gear swap is going to be very rare. And even more rare to find one local. Setting up gears HAS to be done by a professional otherwise you risk getting crappy work and the gears ultimately failing.
I have always had good luck with Drivetrain Direct, they are in Corona and specialize in axles and gears and such.
www.drivetraindirect.com

 

Sorry to hear you are having trouble finding folks to help re-gear in So-Cal. May want to post on www.ttora.com and find someone (beware of flaming)

Down here in Dallas we do our own re-gearing....

 

Another bump for Drivetrain Direct. They gave better than expected customer service.

 

if you're around burbank, i can recommend Four X Doctor (http://www.fourxdoctor.com/)for regearing and locker install work.

from what i've gaterhed, setting up gears is tricky work, and i know i'd sure leave it to a professional. yeah you might pay more, but you know it's done right the first time (or at least that's the likely outcome if you go to a trusted shop).

since you'll be tearing open the rear end, like everyone said, throw in a locker. if you want to get serious about going offroad in your 2wd rig, a locker will make a welcome difference. i'll wheel around in 2wd locked sometimes and it can still be fun. and sure beats 2wd open.

 

The other thing you may want to consider is leaving the gears alone and doing engine modifications (i.e. headers/exhaust, intake work, etc.). Just had to throw that out there. But re-gearing would be ONE thing you could do that would solve the problem and might make things a little more simple for you.

 

$450 for gears to regain the 20% loss in power vs. $$???? to net 38 more horses?(20%) It's a real no brainer, gears is the answer.

One option for you is to get a third member with gears and locker already installed. The downside to that is unless they are local you have to pay shipping and thats a big chunk of change. Shop around, if you can pull the third member yourself you should be able to get gears installed for around $400 all done for one axle. Add to that whatever you want for a traction aid. Air lockers cost more and installation cost extra cuz the setup is labor consuming, say around $900 for gears in one axle with a locker and $1200ish for one axle with an air locker.

 

Thanks for your help guys... I was quoted roughly $1000 for just a regear at the place where I got my susp lift. I think they stuck it to me though. Always had a feling it was high, but wasn't sure how high. I actually am in Glendale M-F for work. So Burbank is a hop-skip-and-a-jump away. I'll have to give Four X Doctor a call. Thanks. Any suggestions for lockers? Something not too off the charts please.

 

gears on the cheap (yukons) are about $250-$300 per axle depending on who you buy from

add to that a master install kit w/ new bearings, races, etc for another $100-$120

add in labor to pull the 3rd, set up the gears, and reinstall the 3rd, and it's $250 and prob more like $300-$350 in kali.

i'd say a typical regear w/ yukons should be in the $700-$800 range for your location.

add in a ARB RD23 Air Locker for another $639 online or $700 local, and then another $200 for the compressor - no additional labor.

so, that would put you at about $1550 to $1700 to regear AND add an ARB

best prices i've found is performance offroad center. 866-540-7672 or email at performanceoffrd@bellsouth.net

you'll still need to get everything installed locally.

 

I just got back from talking to Dennis at Four X Doctor (nice trucks & Jeeps in the lot by the way) and he said $550 for a re-gear. Any locker that I want to add is strictly cost, no labor since they aren't doing anything different. The only one he charges labor for is an ARB because they have to run hoses and wires, etc from the compressor, yada yada yada. So, if I can find a good price on a locker, say a Detroit or the similar, should be a do-able project.

Just told the wife we can get our gas mileage and power back for $500... and she basically hung up on me. So, I guess that news wasn't well received by her. I guess I'm going to have to wait awhile until I pull this project off.

As much as I hate it, she's probably right, but this seems better than spending an extra $125/month for gas because of the wrong gear ratio. Oh well, thanks for your help guys. Gotta put my tail between my legs and beg my wife to talk to me again.

 

extra 125$ a month?? How much do you drive? I guess you should have considered keeping some smaller tires around with the current gas prices.

A few months of this extra expense is the cost of either new gearing or tires.

 

If you're paying the bills who cares what the wife thinks.

 

Let me give you a little advice, if your trying to regain mileage, it won't help much with a regearing. The tires you chose have much more ground friction than the stock one's. When I went to 265/75-16 BFG's, I went from 21mpg to 17mpg, after gearing no noticable change, but that could be directly related to the ratio I went to (4.88's). After going to 315/75-16 MTR's, the mileage went to 15mpg, but recently I had to swap out my third member, due to a bearing going out and tearing up my gears. With 4.10's and running in 4th on the highway, my mileage actually went up.

 

$1000 bucks for a re-gear seems really high. I had both ends of mine done at a very good shop in Phoenix for about $700 (labor). If you decide that you will ever want a locker, put it in when you regear. You get it installed for free basically since the pumpkin is already opened up.

I have an extra gear set from Yukon (4.88) new in the box - I can't remember if it is for the front or back. If you decide to regear, let me know and maybe we can work out a deal.