installing new gears
Thread Starter
JK Freak
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
From: new jersey
installing new gears
a year ago i was talking with people about doing a lift kit and what would be needed. one main thing was new gears. so with the lift i also bought 5:13 gears. i installed the lift last year and used it everyday but never put the gears in because i did not have a grand to install them. now i have noticed that my fluid is leaking and i need to diff covers. so why not do the gears at the same time. one problem i have is i dont have the cash to do it. so is there anyone on here that can tell me honestly if it is doable to do it in my driveway and if it is could anyone tell me how to or give me a hand on it. i have no idea how to install them and i really do not want to blow up my axles by doing it wrong. thx
JK Super Freak
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 1
From: East Bridgewater, MA
It "can" be done in your driveway but it is a huge undertaking. Besides having all the right tools to do it including a press and stuff to dial in the backlash, it takes some know how and a lot of patience. My brother in law did it in his driveway. He is a BMW motorcycle mechanic so is quite famiiar with a wrench but he was in over his head. We had a friend come up to help who is an ASE (or whatever it is called) certified mechanic who has done alot of gear installs so he brought all his tools to help. He did 75% of the job but it was tough because we left the axles on so it was all up and down while getting the right tools. The crush sleeve was the biggest headache as none of the breaker bars, wrenches, air tools could get the crush sleeve started. We ended up at harbor freight getting a 48" pipe wrench and 3/4" rathet to get enough torque to crush it. (we've been told since then that a press could be used to start it!!).
If you plan on doing it yourself, make sure you have someone there that knows what they are doing. If you don't get the backlash correct, 5 minutes of driving will tear the gears up. You really need to have the tools to make the proper measurements.
If you plan on doing it yourself, make sure you have someone there that knows what they are doing. If you don't get the backlash correct, 5 minutes of driving will tear the gears up. You really need to have the tools to make the proper measurements.