So I was quoted by a very popular and well respected jeep shop in my area
for the following parts and labor

Yukon 4.56 front D30/rearD44 ring and pinion
Master rebuild kit with axle seals
front carrier
Arb Locker for rear diff(front D30 will remain open)
arb compact compressor
compressor mount
airlines
pillar switches
fluid
They will do the break in
Their techs have been to the Yukon installer training programs and have been regearing jeeps for decades
we are in new england and prices are high with everything right now
They said 3 days to complete labor is $99 per hour
$4936 Total parts and labor
that would break down to being $3200 parts & labor for regear and $1736 for locker parts & labor

I feel like the price may be worth it for the piece of mind of having a reputable and experienced shop perform the work, I have yet to get other quotes from anywhere else as there are only big corporate garages and small mom & pop shops around me, not many custom or off road shops around, took me months to find someone to work on the supercharged beast in my garage o.O

any thoughts are appreciated! Im looking to schedule this work for the beginning of february as I can not stand having a useless 6th gear any longer 3.21 with 35's is pretty miserable haha

 

Just for a comparison my total cost 5 years ago was $3584…partial breakdown was 1,989.41 for merchandise & 1,180 for labor, extreme plus warranty 5/60.
G2 4.88 R&P Gears for D30/D44
Eaton Electronic locker rear
Flashcal F5
A-Piller switch pod
4Wheel Parts did my install and only had to return to have front pinion seal replaced during the warrantee other than that no problems.

 

Seems high for a shop charging $99 per hour. Are you getting the simple compressor or one of the big boys? Personally I would not drop that kind of money on a 30/44 axle set and would put it towards something better. I would save your pennies for this set. https://fusion4x4.com/collections/je...rcial-shipping

 

Both the price and work time frame seem redonk to me, BUT ^^^ right here about sums it up. I've watched a lot of videos that have reinforced the idea that you guys in the northweast are also having a lot more impact from covid in regard to labor and prices than some other parts of the country. I would not trust basic "corporate garages" to do that kinda of work, nor a mom & pop shop that didn't regularly do regears. I really don't even like big companies like 4WP, but they are at least an option if around.

I think things are getting out of control due to labor shortage, though maybe that is just their standard rate. Buddy pinged me the other day to guess what NTB's basic hourly labor rate was at a store he had swung by for something random. It was $149/hr.....NT freagin' B.

I think given the total cash expenditure, maybe it is worthwhile to contemplate ALL available options. As Dirtman highlights, that is a lot of jack to dump into a 30/44 axle set. A lot of folks will look at that linked axle set and say "$11k+" for axles, what do you think I'm going to do with this jeep?" Though, if the funds do happen to be available, look at that as buying an asset that can be sold in the future if you're ever done with the jeep. It would not take any effort at all to sell a set of axles like that......which is also why you never see them floating around readily available in the aftermarket supply. You could either sell the 30/44 set for some money, or set them to the side and save them for if you ever sold the big bad boy axles and swap them back in to sell the jeep.

Another option, which might require a bit of patience, is looking for axles that have already been regarded to swap under there. These things are easy to buy and ship from most parts of the country through services like what Fastenal offers.

 

$99 per hour in your area is not out of line imo.. I re-geared and every shop (SE Pa.) quoted 11-12 hours for complete regear labor. I have no feedback on the cost of all your parts and labor associated with their install. I did not use an air locker so my labor costs are different. Going with an experienced Trained Techs shop is IMO Good Idea. Keep the forum updated on the progress. Good Luck Good Jeepin.

 

$99 per hour is cheap, thats why I said the overall price was high. In my area $125-$150 is the going rate.

 

hmm yea I think the break in would be additional labor but they didnt tell me how many hours they are charging for labor just the amount of time and the prices which i posted, I could ask them to itemize it more thoroughly but I guess it doesn't really matter cause it's not like they will negotiate, They are slammed with business and would gladly do the work but wont cry if i go else where and wont beg for my money so It's either I have them do this regear and locker install, try to find a different competent shop or go a different route

They would be using the compact arb compressor so not the big fancy one, It seemed high based on everything I have read, but that's where my problem is I can't find anyone else to even give me a quote that would commonly or regularly perform regears and locker installs. But I know it will be done right by these guys also, and the 35" tires are miserable with the 3.21 and a 6speed, I could always sell the tires and get 33" but i mean even before the tires 5th and 6th gear were quite turdy. it needs the regear so bad lol


Oh one other thing, The quote does mention that they will be using Mopar bearings and seals if that makes any difference.

Sadly I'm not looking to spend 8-12K on bad ass beefy axles and the $5k would be a bit of a stretch because I was expecting it to be around 3-4k max so I was a bit surprised, I asked about other options and they said there are a couple other options I could do different kinds of lockers or an LSD but in the end the price would only change by couple/few hundred at most and ARB would be the best option with a regear. I asked about axle swaps and they said that for the money I am wanting to spend this option is my best option. They assured me that I would have zero problems with the D30 because that was one of my concerns, they say they have regeared hundreds of d30's and locked almost as many and that I would have zero problems especially since it's my winter/bad weather daily driver and I won't be beating the living crap out of it. It's just so we can go enjoy some muddy/rocky woodland trails a couple/few times a month

 

it would be the compact ARB compressor the $229 one. Also, those axles are bad ass, I would love to put those on the jeep, but they are worth almost as much as the jeep itself lol I couldn't justify that, the childs mother would flip her lid haha

 

Your best bet then would be to look for some built axles. They come up from time to time. I recently bought a set of rubicon 44's for $2300 with everything done and 5.13 gears, Chromo shafts, C gussets, e lockers. You just have to be patient.