I have a question about gear ratio's, this may seem dumb but is it necessary that I do both front and back at the same time? Will it wreck the transfer case if i run two different ratios for awhile until i save up to do the front later on? What should I expect to pay for labor?

 

Yes it will thrash your transfer case.... It is suppose to spin the front and rear and the same time and if they cant becuase you have different ratios in there you are going to put a lot of things in a bind and break it. You could do the rear, but you would have to take the front DS off becuase it will be geared different if you just did one at a time

 

if you have two different ratios and in 4wd the thing probably wont even move cause it will jus bind up. the only time you can get away with different ratios is say like a 4.10 and 4.11, because some axle dont offer one or the other ratios.

 

*Never use different ratio gear sets in the front and rear axles in a vehicle used on the road.
*You might get away with it for awhile if your vehicle has a t-case that allows you to drive in 2WD-HI only. JMO
I'd save my money until I could do both axles at the same time. And the price varies widely. I've heard it ranging from $400 each to $1,200. It depends on location and whether it's a shop or a mechanic doing it in his spare time.

Dan

 

ok thanks alot everyone. I guess this is why I'm an air traffic controller and not a mechanic. I called the stealership and they said $800 just for labor. That seems pretty high to me. What is normal for parts for this?

 

no one can answer that for you...you didnt specify what gears you want...as 3.92+ require completly new carries.........

 

Well, this will give you an idea on parts. The two links below are for a ring and pinion for a HP D30 reverse cut (like what's on my '99) and master install kit.

Ring and Pinion
http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=3000

Master Install Kit
http://www.ringpinion.com/ProductDet...px?ProdID=6604

Roughly $250 just in parts for the front end. Rear will run you right in the same neighborhood. If you take it to a shop you'll probably pay about that same amount in labor, so figure $1000-$1200 for parts and labor when it's all said and done.

If it were me, I'd stay away from the stealership and have a reputable gear shop do the install. Hope this helps.

 

Oh yes I didn't mention that part. I am going to go with 4.10 for the ratio and I think i found a decent deal on ebay. It was gears and master install kits for both d35 rear and d30 front for $375. Everything was new. I also need a new carrier for the front, the break for the d30 is 3.73 and up. The back should be good.

 

ok first of all you dont have to drive around with the dang driveshaft out... ive got 3.07's in the front of mine right now and 3.54's in the back because of my D44 swap... ive been driving like this since July... NO you dont want to drive it in 4x4... athough i did get stuck once and stuck it in only to get out and i was in wet dirt, mud, grass whatever... so my axles were able to spin different speeds anyway... it will cause either your front axle to pull your rear... or your rear to push the front... dragging your tires... but its fine as long as you dont run it in 4x4... if u have full time 4x4 well then deff dont do it... driving around with no driveshaft causes your axle and transfer case seals to go bad faster...

 

its not 3.73 and up... its 3.92 and up use the large carrier... 3.73 down use the smaller... i know this to be true with th D44, D30, D35 for sure... not to sure about the 8.25 cause i havent had to deal with one yet... but im sure its the same...

 

ok thanks for the clarification, I read a few places it was 3.73 and up, I guess it doesn't matter since I'm going to 4.10 anyways

 

go to a local junkyard and look for a 4 cylinder cherokee. it'll be geared with 4.10 already and its a direct bolt on. if ur gonna spend the money please save urself the time and money and find a dana 44 and get that regeared not a dana35 cuz ide hate to see a fellow heeper spend 600 dollars to just break the axle and upgrade later and spent another 600!

 

ok... they had 3.73's in 4 banger also... in fact theres on in my junkyard now thats a 4 banger with 3.54's so gotta get this junk right... people read these even when there like 8 years old... SOME 4 banger xjs's had 4.10 and yes this would be your cheapest option... in fact rumor has it that there were some made with 4.56's but thats a RUMOR for now... as for going d35 vs d44... i would never buy and regear a D35... however if it was a street driven maybe alittle off roadin XJ then i would stick a cheap easy to find 8.25 in mine... D44's are hard to come by... even though ive found 2 this year in the same JY a mile away... lol

 

very true, right now im running 32s on stock gears and its not toooo bad, but i got a D35 so i eventually upgrade to something better, prolly a 44, and then i can build that up before i put it on. actually, i was wondering, are stock gears 3.55 or 3.73?

 

if you have a 4.0 auto then you have 3.55, unless you have the factory towing package, which came with 3.73