Just took my Rubicon to have the gears changed fron the 4.10s to 4.88s. How many hours should this take, and about what have you paid to have this done? The shop said that the manual said 10-12 hours? This seems like a lot.

 

Yep shop hear on the cape said the estimate total is 950.00 for both axles and that it was a 10-11 hour job. With the superior 4.88 gears that I got from Claytonoffroad they informed me that I needed to call superior to tell them the model, year of my Jk as there is a ring bolt spacer kit that might be needed. Sure enough I needed them. That would of costed me big time as it would of added hours if not days to the process. Since you are going to 4.88 gears you should do the same and give Superior a call.

 

you also need to find out if you are paying "book time" or actual time. Mechanics can get paid for 19+ hours of labor in a single 8 hour shift! How? If the book calls for a job to take 4 hours but he can do it in 1. I worked at a shop doing turbo installs during the summer (I'm a teacher) and "book time" was used to calculate price.

 

with parts, you should be looking at about $1200 or so

 

Just out of curiosity which shop are you using? I don't think there are many in the Des Moines area, but if you are looking at Ice it seems like everything they do is overpriced. I am planning on going to Burnsville Offroad for this when I lift, and the Jeep arrives

 

I paid Northridge $700 for the front and rear gears. Sounds like the price is about right then. The shop is charging $60/hr. Thanks for the heads up on the ring bolt spacer kit.

I'm using Dales Tires and More in Des Moines. They did a good job with the FT Ultimate lift and seem to have experience with gear swaps. Hopefully, they know what they're doing.

 

That sounds like a good deal then being 700.00 for both axles with the fluids. I found cheaper in the 600-700 range but there were really only 3 shops that came as a tier 1 recommendation including Clayton Offroad. They are all 2 plus hours away so I choose te one near where I'll be on vacation this summer. The better shops in this area are around $85/hr. so price makes sense with lube oil.

 

You guys are lucky you have a variety of shops in that area that are reasonable.
I'm still looking for a reliable installer out here.

Most I've heard bad things about, are way overpriced and offer no warranty on their work.
They just expect you to grab your ankles....No lube oil included


Sorry, I just smacked my own hand for that, and sat myself in a corner

 

Just checked with Superior. I do need the kit, and they are out for 2 weeks.

 

Wow, that's just crazy. I had my truck's gears changed for $500 + $30 for fluids. Are the JKs really that much harder?