JK-Forum.com - The top destination for Jeep JK and JL Wrangler news, rumors, and discussion

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippman (Post 4287711)

How much of a difference has the near gearing made? Difficulty on a 1-5 scale? I've done suspensions before, but never ripped apart any of the drive train.

So far its made a difference in overall feel of driving. It stays in OD lot longer, and same goes for ECO mode. The Computer is giving me 15.7mpg in stop and go.. and that is just driving 5-6 miles to take daughter to school or going out to eat. It doesn't get driven much.... Example, its only seen 890 miles since Jan 1st of this year:)

When I do get it on the hwy for 15miles or so.. the mpg start to climb. Up to about 16.5 , but then back to around town driving.

So no hardcore data, but I do feel it will perform and gain me a tad bit more on mpg when we go to Moab in June. Ive always avg about 16 on that 2500 mile trip. Cant use cruise and dealing with constant 5-4-5 up and down shifting. Im anxious to see what its like this time.:thumbs:

Difficulty rating...

2 out of 5 on taking apart and putting together. Can have both axles apart in 1.5hrs

3.5 out of 5 on doing the setup.. Not hard, but pay attention to your measurements and take it slow. Have set up bearings handy. Once you get out the pinions, you'll need a total of 3 set up bearings. The lower bearing at the pinion shim is the same front to rear, the upper pinion bearings are different. So when you get them out, get the number off of them and go to AutoZone and buy those 3. Home them out with a dremel that has a sanding drum. Takes about 3 min for each one. Get them to where the bearing will slip on with a light tap.

Put the new races that come with the kit , into the housing. Then run factory pinion shim and slip on set up bearings. Install pinion like normal, and install yoke... NO SEAL. Tighten yoke to where there is no play. Bolt ring gear to carrier and slid it in. Try to get factory shims in place and if no, start playing with shims.

I was able to get factory carrier shims in , but had ZERO backlash.. it was that tight. So measured what factory shims were and started adjusting. Once we had good backlash, we painted the gears. Patterns can vary and be hard to read and get messy. So make sure your measurements are within spec and you should be ok.

THEN... once its all set up and looking good... you get to take it all apart :gas:

Pull off set up bearings, press or hammer on new one , install crush sleeve and other parts that go with pinion on finally assembly, and drive it home. Getting the sleeve to crush was a mofo... I was using a 1/2 impact and had 160psi , but I was going through a 50ft hose reel and it was choking my ft-lbs. Im sure if I would have tapped right off the 1/2 feed line, it would've been lot easier to get ti crushed.

At the end of the day, my backlash was in the middle of the factory spec, me pinion torque rotation with new bearings was in the middle or just a hair over middle of spec, and total rotating torque was within spec.....Which that measurement is pinion torque to rotate, PLUS 7-11 in-lbs. So you got the sleeve crushed and you are getting 35in-lbs rotating torque on just the pinion with new bearings, then after the carrier is in place and bolted down, your new rotating torque should increase 7-11 in-lbs more.

Again.. its nothing hard hard.. just have to not get in a hurry. Also, if you try to chase the perfect pattern when its painted.. it can drive you up a wall. Even in the Yukon instructions, it states that perfect pattern on drive and coast is almost impossible and can be frustrating. Measurements are where its at.

As for tools.... basic crap. Big sockets for pinion nut, regular torque wrench for typical bolts and dial or stem style in lb torque wrench for checking rotation.... NOT A CLICK STYLE

I had a panic after install... I was setting my dip switches on the ProCal, well guess I moved one in the wrong spot... Go out for drive, and Jeep gets into 3 and stays there:eek2:. So tried to set it back to factory and it wasn't going. After 5-6 attempts, finally got the 3 honks and started over.. Right as rain now:beer::beer: