Corky54

I'm curious as to what the cheapest/easiest way to regear is. Everything is stock on my Jeep, so I've been told. And they've said I would want 3.73's or 3.90's for my size? As you can tell I'm still very new at this. Thanks for your help.

gpeade

I can't really answer your question with much experience but in order to get an answer you need to give more info. You say your Jeep is stock. If it's stock then why the desire to change gears. You also say you have been told specific gears for "my size". What are you doing here? Are you looking to lift and add tires and you want to know what gears for a specific size tire or what? If this is the case we need to know what your plans are. What you untimatly do with mods will dictate what gear range you should consider. ALso how you plan on using it will play a factor. If it's a daily driver then you will want a good " all around gear that will keep the power up as well as leave the mileage at a reasonable level. If this is going to be an off road toy then obviously you want as much power as you can get and mileage is of no concern. Post this information and im sure you can get some good advice.

fishtaconc

The easiest way would be to locate a set of axles already geared in the ratio you want or need. Having a shop regear your current axles will be $5-800 labor or more (emphasis on the more) depending on the shop rate plus parts. The cost of the tools required to properly set up a ring and pinion will be close to this figure, so its not worth it unless you plan on doing this several times.

djb383

Do a little arithmetic. Presume stock tire height is 28.29" (mathematically) and stock diff gears are 3.55:1. If you want to go to a 30" tall tire AND keep the same mechanical leverage as the stock gear ratio, mathematically u need 3.76 gears.....call it 3.73. Divide stock tire height into new tire height and multiply that number by the stock gear ratio.

30 / 28.29 = 1.06
1.06 X 3.55 = 3.76 or 3.73 gears

33" (tires) / 28.29" = 1.17
1.17 X 3.55 = 4.14 or 4.10 gears

Corky54

oh sorry I knew I left something out! I have a 3.5" lift and 31" tires. The gears and axles etc are still stock. I like the idea of getting a used assembly that has been geared already.

beefmobile

i would disagree with the comment about it being 'easier' to find complete axles geared to to what you want and put them in. It may come out cheaper overall if you find axles out of a junker, but maybe i'm missing something. Let's say you magically find two perfectly good axles with your desired gear ratio...you still have to take your old ones off and put the new ones in. That's not exactly a quick job. I think it would be much more time efficient to spend a few evenings searching around and find two sets of gears for the best price, and find a mechanic that will do the best job and the lowest rate. I had my gears put in for $250 per set a long time ago and they're running strong. Sure, it's going to be expensive and laborious either way, but taking chances on mystery axles and hoping they are in fact the right ratio and have been treated right is a pretty far leap, IMO

However, in light of always making your rig better, if you really want to find used axles already geared to what you want..upgrade! Find a Ford 8.8" for the rear and a Dana 44 for the front. Again, the catch is you have to find them already geared to the correct ratio, and they should be in good enough shape to last. In my opinion, it would be a waste of your time to swap in stock axles solely for the ratio of the gears.

Corky54

Thanks very much beefmobile. I was thinking about upgrading the axles anyways. Then maybe I could hold on to these stock pieces in case of unfortunate circumstances. Though I am exploring all of my options. I've called around and haven't gotten a quote cheaper than $1400 for parts and installation =S

beefmobile

sure thing. Yes that about right but slightly on the high side for gears, master rebuild kit, and installation for both front and rear diffs. You just have to factor in what routes you personally want to go, such as: cost and availability of parts and/or labor vs. how much you're willing to spend and wait for parts/labor, your future mods such as bigger tires and what type of offroading you will be doing, how long you want your Jeep to be down for, and lastly, but simply, what YOU want on your Jeep.

In this case, the 4 obvious options are:

1. Drop off your Jeep at a shop and have them re-gear your diffs. Low time, but on the higher end of cost.

2. Find stock axles with the gear ration you want. Low cost, but will take the most time to find what you're looking for. Also factor in if you're going to do the labor (time) or if somebody else will (money). The life expectancy of these will greatly vary depending on how they've been treated and what you plan on doing with them.

3. Find upgraded axles with the gears you want. This is similar to the second option, but the cost of the axles will probably be a little more, but on the other hand will probably last much longer than factory axles, depending on what you get.

4. Find upgraded axles with gear ratios other than what you want. This will take less time than options 2 & 3 because it doesn't matter what they're geared at, you just want the beefy axle assembly. This is what i did because my front axle was geared at 4.56 and it's next to impossible to find an axle assembly in that ratio. I found a Ford 8.8" out of an Explorer Sport Trac with disc brakes. This will most likely be the highest cost out of all your options, but gives you the ability to make exactly what you want. The axle cost me $230, the gears ran me about $215 (plus the rebuild kit), and the labor ran me $250 (this was just for the rear axle....). Would have been waaaaaay more if i had just dropped it off at a shop and said 'Go', but, again, it's all about how you want to play this.

Hope this helps and good luck....

Corky54

What I want from my Jeep, in the foreseeable future: staying with 31" tires on my 3.5" lift. I am going to build up the topside after my gearing issue. Rack of lights, winch & bumper etc. So it will probably stay this size for a series of years. Is also my daily driver. So I want it geared more towards highway travel than power (I know, I know... I wept when I said this I promise) and I've been advised that 3.73 is the best ratio for 31" etc etc.

djb383

Did whomever that advised u that 3.73 was the best for 31s do the math? The math doesn't take into consideration the extra weight of taller tires.

beefmobile

honestly if you're only running 31" tires and you're going to be running it on the highway, i would just stick with 3.55's. you're not going to notice anything spectacular with 3.73's.....

hidetheid

Or u can be cheap and go get a set of axles out of a 4 cylinder from the wrecking yard it will give u 410 gears

Corky54

I feel a big loss in power if I'm traveling up hill, like a mountain pass or anything. I was advised the 3.73's would remedy this issue

djb383

3.90 would be better and 4.10 would compensate both numerically and for the extra weight of the tires.

Corky54

Thanks. I may just go with the 3.90's I'm not going any bigger with the tires anytime soon. I don't tow either. Now I just have to locate a pre geared axle assembly