will do, I did not know that thanks

 

And just when I was thinking to myself, "Ya know, I could probably do my own regear in the garage!" Oh, NOPE! Gonna let a pro handle this

 

Reviving this thread to get some help and questions answered.

First off, I'm a missionary doctor serving in Papua New Guinea. I just purchased a 2013 JK Unlimited Sport from a dealership up in Indiana. I've already got Yukon 5.13 gears and Eaton E-Lockers on order for the Dana 30 and Dana 44 from Northridge as well as a ProCal tuner. I'll soon be ordering some 35" BFG Mud-Terrain T/A tires on 17' wheels.

I've never replaced gears before, but I'm pretty mechanically inclined, so to save money for a MetalCloak 3.5" Game-Changer suspension with Fox shocks, I've made the command decision to do my own gears. I'll have enough time, but I'm scrambling to accumulate all the necessary tools. I don't want to rent tools, because if I need them in the US, then I want them with me in PNG in case I need them. I've only got few weeks to prep this JK (starting 1st week of November) to bring it back for duty in Papua New Guinea, so I don't want things to grind to a halt because I'm missing a crucial tool or I broke and have to reorder something.

I'm getting a dial indicator with a magnetic base and a beam-type 1/4" inch/pound torque wrench, and I think I've got all the necessary hand tools (all mine are here in PNG) from friends in Sylva, North Carolina.

Things I'm not sure on:
1. A Housing Spreader
2. A pinion clamshell bearing puller.

I'm 54yo and have never done gears. It's unlikely I'll ever do them again, so I'm understandably reluctant to buy expensive tools (which will prevent me from getting more stuff for the JK) that will only get used once. It seems the housing spreader is very useful to have, especially for people who do gears regularly, but is not absolutely essential to do the job.

Does a clamshell puller such as the one linked below require a hydraulic press to use?

http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-131...ller-tool.html

I want to try and get the old pinion bearing off intact and use a flapper grinding wheel to turn it into a set-up bearing. I saw on a different site that someone bought a puller from Harbor Freight and managed to use it twice before it was too bent to use again. If I went that route, and got two uses out of it, that's all I'd need, and I'd save $300.

I'm not looking for criticism on my selection of gears or lockers or tires or suspension ( seems there's always one in the crowd), I'm just looking for advise and help on what tools I NEED to get this done without breaking something and having to reorder more parts, or wasting needless money.

One more thing, I have an air impact wrench here, but can't afford the weight to bring it with me, so I'm looking at getting a Dewalt 20V 1/2" cordless Impact wrench to use for all the work I'll be doing, because I can REALLY USE IT when I come back to PNG. This is the one I chose which seems to be the strongest.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-20-V...ench/999947862

It can put out 700ft-lbs and up to 1200ft/lbs of breakaway torque. Will that be enough to crush the crush washer? I hear that's one of the hardest parts of the job. I've also read I need a pinion wrench. Is one necessary if I"m using an impact wrench to crush the washer? I know, I know, be careful and go slow!!

Thanks so much guys!!

Tom in Papua New Guinea

 

Anyone??

Tom

 

Tom, short response submitted on the other thread. Not saying nobody here does their own, but I think you'll find more support from people regearing their own on one of the other sites. I think that over the years the various sites have evolved to certain groups of owners, and in general I think there is less support for this task on this particular site at the moment.

 

That's true....

If I want the best advise on installing mud flaps, waxing my vehicle and such I go to WF.

If I want the best advise on trouble shooting and suspensions, I come to JK Forum.

If I want hard core gearing advise I go to JK Freaks.

 

Y, I like JK-Forum as my forum of choice for various reasons....although I've noticed several regulars have dropped off lately. I was thinking mainly JKOwners or Pirate4x4 for hardercore things like a DIY regear or aggressive type builds.

 

I just finished the gears in my Dana 44. All went well up until final assembly when I torqued down the pinion nut. I went showly until I got to 25inch pounds on my beam torque wrench. But as I spun it around, I noticed a 45 degree spot where it increases to 35 inch pounds. The increased drag comes on slowly, stays constant for a second, then slowy dissipates. There’s no binding, no grinding, but it is noticeable.

It didn’t do this with the setup bearings, only the final bearings.

I checked the outer races after I installed them during final assembly with a feeler gauge. Even the thinnest one never even hinted at going behind the race in any of four quadrants I checked, so I KNOW the outer races are fully seated. As for the pinion inner bearing (I watched the shop press it on myself, there were no problems and it seated fine with him applying some extra force after it seated just to be sure. And it was pressed on via pressure to the inner race only. Once on, it spun freely.

Thoughts?

Should I be alarmed, or go ahead and throw the cover on?

Someone PLEASE reassure me...

Tom

 

No comments, good, because I'm going to leave it as is and just see what happens. Cover is installed, axles in, tomorrow I fill her with oil.

Tom

 

Awesome write-up! Thanks for taking the time. Very informative