11:07 am
Club Member
August 14, 2020
Offline
Hey all! So I am going to regear my truck in the near future, upgrading to 5.29s. However I do have a couple questions.....
I have not done this project before so I was thinking of going to a shop, anyone have any recommendations? I called Ring and Pinion in Rancho but they are booked over 30 days minimum and won't schedule appointments for that sort of work currently. They quoted me $1800 and I was hoping it would be cheaper.
My other option is buying the parts/tools needed and doing it myself to save some cabbage from going to a shop. Does anyone here know how to change out gears on a Toyota? I would be willing to learn and pay for the help of course. I would have my third members out and already on the work bench ready to go, but changing the gears is what has me nervous. I would hate to attempt it then they grenade on me driving on the freeway or on the trail.
Thanks!
Sean Rose
916-502-5082
1991 Toyota 4runner
11:30 am
Club Webmaster
August 5, 2017
Offline Ring & Pinion, run away very quickly! They did my original regear and when i gave it to Mark to put a locker in the rear, it had worn improperly due to incorrect installation. It had worn off the hard metal surface in to the base metal in less than 20k miles. When I took them the parts and showed them, they tried blaming it on me not breaking them in properly which is absolutely not true, I followed it exactly as I should! They also cross threaded one of my diff cover bolts. If you want more opinions, go read on Yelp, a fair number of unhappy customers last time I looked.
There have been a few recommended in the past in this forum if you search, and they are the same ones I see regularly recommended on the Nor-Cal 4x4 Recovery web site.
K6NUB
5:05 pm
Club Member
December 14, 2018
Offline Back in the day when I had a Toyota I used to take it to S&H Four Wheel Drive on Arden. I'm talking more than 30 years ago but they are still in business. I may take a crack at doing my own gears in the fall but will definitely getting a crush sleeve eliminator kit because I know I will be taking them out after a few thousand miles to check the wear. I rebuilt the rear TrueTrac on my TJ a year and a half ago and that is holding up well.
7:26 pm
Club Member
October 29, 2020
Offline Im currently working on my 8.8 swap with new gears front and rear and lockers. I had to buy a ton of tools like bearing separators, torque wrenches, hydraulic press and various other tools. Im spending the same amount on the gear install as it would be to pay someone. I have all the stuff to do it again and if i blow them up it just costs me the gears and my time to do it again. I do all my own work and it’s extremely rewarding. You can do it.
8:31 am
Club Member
September 3, 2008
Offline We haven't met yet, so take my advice as what you will, but Sean at River City Differentials is a great shop for wheeling rigs. He is a wheeler and has been doing diffs for 20+ years. He has done a few of our vehicles. He's a goof ball, but know what he's doing. I guarantee he is cheaper than $1800.
Um...what?
11:33 am
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline x2 for Sean at River City diffs and x2 for doing it yourself if the tool purchase makes sense.
If going with a shop, the rule of thumb is $500 per diff in labor plus whatever parts are. Air lockers are typically a little more since they have to drill and tap the case. If you just bring the dropout to the gear shop it is typically cheaper. Are you just swapping gears or are you putting in lockers at the same time?
If doing the work yourself, plan a full day to do the first diff and a half day for each after. Also either get a crush sleeve eliminator or extra crush sleeves. You will need a decent list of tools to do the work like Robert said: Shop press, bearing separator, in-lb torque wrench, brass drifts/punches, bearing driver, dial indicator with magnetic base, machinist calipers, deadblow hammer, die grinder, and some others. Budget $500-600 for harbor freight quality stuff. And you will also probably go though a few cans of carb clean per diff or need a parts washer.
Having done Ford 9in, Dana 30, and Dana 44 axles a few times I will only do the ford 9in anymore. I pay for dana axle work since I hate how long it takes to get a good pattern and change pinion depth. Yota is right between with threaded backlash adjusters but press in pinion bearings.
2:33 pm
Club Member
December 14, 2018
Offline I agree with Rob. Luckily I have the factory repair manuals for my TJ. I have all the tools from doing other projects on the Jeep so I have no more investment than the gears themselves. The key is finding a good reputable shop. I bought my TJ from Nevada and ended up fixing some mistakes that a shop in Las Vegas made. Whichever direction you go let us know how it went.
7:02 pm
Club Member
August 14, 2020
Offline I already have lockers, so I am just swapping out the gears. Since I have limited time coming up with work picking up again my plan will be to take my third members into a shop to just swap them out. If there is time I will attempt to do it myself, found lots of videos and threads on doing them in the yota, just need a couple tools not too much. Big one is the press. My goal is to have them done in 30-60 days! I just need to fix my drive shaft first and find a companion flange for my transfer case.
Sean Rose
916-502-5082
1991 Toyota 4runner
7:51 pm
Club Member
December 14, 2018
Offline If you're near the El Dorado Hills area I have a 20 ton Harbor Freight bottle jack press you can use to press the bearings on. I bought it when I replaced the rear axle bearings.
8:40 pm
July 14, 2016
Offline I had Rockhound do my gears on my 60 and my 10.5 he did everything including parts and labor fully rebuilding the axles and it was reasonable and he is a good Christian guy so I like giving him my work
8:55 am
Club Member
August 14, 2020
Offline Sloguy said
If you're near the El Dorado Hills area I have a 20 ton Harbor Freight bottle jack press you can use to press the bearings on. I bought it when I replaced the rear axle bearings.
Oh that would be awesome. I live in La Riviera so the drive would not be too bad for me. I will let you know! Thanks for the offer!
Sean Rose
916-502-5082
1991 Toyota 4runner
9:25 am
Club Trailmaster
March 13, 2015
Offline Will this one work for you?
7:40 pm
Club Member
August 14, 2020
Offline no, my transfer case is chain driven and 23 spline. I have looked all over the web can't find anything. Need to go junk yard hunting for this one. Toyota said that it is discontinued and none of them exist in their inventory. I ordered one similar that said it was 23 spline but it did not work. With dry weather approaching I hope to find it this next weekend.
Sean Rose
916-502-5082
1991 Toyota 4runner
8:32 am
Club Member
October 29, 2020
Offline If you are on Facebook search around for 4x4 buy, sell and trade groups. There are a couple of them. I’ve been successful a few times posting “in search of” and finding what I needed.
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