What kind of idiot has spare parts and doesn't carry them on the trail?

Are you telling us xjmarc that if you swap the gears over and they pattern good that its still the wrong way? I have swapped many gear sets on many vehicles and 9/10 they pattern very well with the shims that came out of the donor. Not every thing has to be done by the book to be right.

Now on the other hand I DO pattern every set I put in, before it comes out of the donor and after it goes into the new housing. I want the pattern to look the same as it did in the previous housing if there is visible wear, if there is not I want my pattern to be set up like a new gear set.

 

x2

 

Spare parts are one thing an axle or even a ring and pinion isn't something someone carries. I carry spare shafts but not a ring and pinion. And when I set them up I use new bearings so I start from scratch. I prefer to use new gears anyway. My front had 4.56s in it when I bought it, otherwise it'd be much lower, and I swapped the carrier because I hated the truetrack and put in a stock carrier and lunchbox. I replaced the carrier bearings so I had to work with shims and I did check the pattern before and after the swap because gears do wear and I don't like listening to them whine. Maybe on a trail only vehicle you could just slap them in but if it sees pavement and decent speeds I'd want is set up right.

 

My point was that just because someone slaps them in does not make them setup wrong......if they pattern well they are setup right....and usually they do. By the way I would run improperly set up gears on the road long before I would do it on the trail, the forces on the trail are way greater than they will ever see on the road.

As far as spare axles, gears and carriers go....I can tell ya don't wheel around here....or at least the group I wheel with you would be stoned to death if you broke an axle and didn't have a spare in the back, same with pretty much every other drive train part.

 

So when I posted a question just a week or two ago about swaping a disco front into my 99 because it has 4.11 gears and I bought an 8.8 with 4.10 gears, I was told be quite a few people on here that the housing was actually stronger BECAUSE of the disco setup! But it was also mentioned that the axles have a smaller joint making them less desirable, so swap in my 99 axles instead and have a stronger housing with better axles. Now everyone is saying the housing is not stronger???

 

Id buy that axle for 50. Pull the gears, some day you'll get a rear set. If you don't like the hoursing sell the scrap weight. Round here the ring and pinion can't be had for 50.

 

I don't buy one being significantly weaker than the other....they usually bend at the differential not where the disco is....I would run the housing that had the gears in it you wanted and the newer axles. And if you are a lazy *** like me you can just use those outer axle seals rather than change over the internal seal....they work good you just have to keep an eye on them as they don't last as long.

 

you F***ing idiot....

... ACE Hardware sells the good F/C's with the 13 megawammy upgrade. Walgreens are barely an improvement over stock.

 

I carry spare shafts but not a ring and pinion. If I break gears I'll use the other axle to get me out. I'm not rebuilding an axle on the trail. I did that once when I was running my stock 35 and snapped a shaft with a lunchbox locker. Had to pull everything to get the chunk out of the housing. That's what I like about my current rear, if I break a shaft I can still run it and it won't hurt anything. Your sig says you run a welded 35 on 36s so you better bring lots of shafts, I'm running a FF60 so I'm guessing I break a little less often. I couldn't get my old 35 to hold up to 35s for more than one trip on alloy shafts.
And I'd much rather break a gear at low trail speeds than on the highway.

 

I have yet to break a shaft running with the crap Dana 35..(Non C-clip....and I do carry lots of spares)....and with my setup I can run with a broken shaft also....Ever seen anyone break a gear set going down the highway? Not gonna happen. Gears break when they are shock loaded with high torque, as in taking off or getting a wheel bound up. I am willing to bet you use way more throttle to get threw things than I do....I drive very slow and technical, hence the 35 holding up.

 

 

I put my gears in with a led hammer and a spork and then I just get in there and floor that sumbich till I get to the other side

 

Sorry OP. This got out of hand as usual. Just buy the damn axle and be done with it. I got most of mine for that price even through the buddy discount