hnaskoct

iTrader: (31)

i was planning on doing my own gear swap and im real curious if it is really hard or not has anyone done it themselves??? i need some input...

JoeKnowsBaseball

iTrader: (5)

I did an entire rear end swap yesterday and it was faily easy. Time consuming tho.

The quote I've heard on gears is, "Anyone can throw gears in a rear end and make it drive, but only professionals can put them in and make them take a beating."

9000th01ss

iTrader: (10)

I've done it several times on different types of rears.
The only problem I have is with judgement, you look at your contact pattern and it looks close to the pic but not quite. You change a shim one way, it gets worse, change a shim the other way it still doesn't look like the picture of the right contact pattern. I can eventually get it right, but the pros see the pattern and know where to go with the shims and can get the pattern right on in less than three shim changes.
That and the fact they have all the other tools to do it right, like tools to get the pinion bearing off without destroying it. I use a honed out slip fit set up bearing, they take close to an hour to make.

Doc99SS

iTrader: (2)

I have done it twice in my '99 Camaro SS. The 1st time was replacing the factory 3.42s with Motive 4.10s. I was a bit apprehensive at first but it worked out ok. I did not get it perfect because I have a little whine from the rear gears, but not too bad.

One tip that I have is that I bought a medium hard chesil to score and break concrete and ground down the striking edge into a semi circle with a radius that fits the steel shims for spacing the diff, left & right. With this tool, when I beat the last few shims in (that go in real tight) I do not bend them into an oval. The end of the axle will not go thru if the shims do not stay perfectly circular.

Also, get a good caliper so that you can measure the shim thicknesses very accurately.

And, if you are changing out the pinion gear, I would start out by putting the factory shim on the new pinion (for starters) to get the right pinion depth, which is important.

keliente

iTrader: (22)

This will give you an overview of what to expect:

http://www.keliente.com/gears.htm

hnaskoct

iTrader: (31)

what about the measurig tools like some kind of mic and i think a philla gauge or something if im pronouncing it right..

Cap'n Pete

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, you need a micrometer or something to accurately measure the thickness of the shims. You also need a dial-indicator to measure the backlash once you have the carrier in place. AND, since most gears come with a pinion depth stamped on them, you need a means of measuring their depth into the housing, from the centerline of the axles (the face where the carrier bearing caps go). For that I've used a thin plate of steel. Lay the plate from one bearing cap face to the other (left side to right side ... WITHOUT the bearing caps installed, of course ) and measure from the plate to the face of the pinion gear. That gives you your depth.

Clear as mud?

stoverz28

iTrader: (8)

W/ the right tools it can be fairly simple, just need to go slow and get your measurements right. I had a mechanic friend (used to do gears for a chevy dealer) install my 3.73's, they were loud as hell and eventually broke. W/ the help of my uncle, who is a machinist, and had the right measuring tools (depth mic, real good calipers, and a precision machined straight edge) we got it just right first try, no noise or anything. Both of us had never tried it before, just followed richmond's specs and direction's, and took good measurements.

I also did a swap on my 95 1500, I had my head up my a$$ and messed w/ the pinion nut too much while setting the crush sleave. That made it eventually back itself off and left me stranded, but my camaro was always good! lol.