Re-gearing cost / advice

Frankm said:
Cost of anything AND everything has gotten stupidly high/excessive, especially since Covid.

I ve decided to say NO and go without “wants”. Needs allow no options though.

I hope some of this gouging comes back to bite a bunch of these businesses.
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I wouldn't call it gouging. Covid fucked everything up plain and simple. Throw in politics and we're totally screwed with inflation and everything. Businesses need to charge more to cover everything else that goes along with running a shop. If they did the work now and still charged pre-covid prices they would be out of business in short order.

Just to keep people happy now, I charge a flat labor rate to install gears. +/- if it includes a locker etc. I have them pay for the gears, install kits, and lube so there is no upcharge there for them. I have the luxury of NOT running a full time shop so I'm not sweating making a profit for every little thing.
 
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i8b4 said:
It's something I'd love to do myself. I wouldn't say I'm scared of it, but of everything to do to my jeep, it seems like this is the one thing I would take it to a shop for, but maybe someone can give me confidence? It seems the shims and the mil precision are the hardest part. I did my own SYE and I rebuilt my dad's AX5 out of his yj this past winter, among other things, so I'm not afraid, just weary...
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I have a bunch of re-gear videos on my youtube channel. Take a look at them and see if it's something you think you are capable of. Watch them a couple of times through for the parts you are concerned about. I try to take out the mysteriousness and bad rep about gear setting. You can save a ton of money doing it yourself. I taught myself using the billavista gear bible as a reference as I refused to pay the (then) high prices to get them installed. I also know there would be a pretty good chance I'd have to do it more than once in my life.

Edit: don't forget to watch the ads :ROFLMAO:
 
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Apparition said:
But, not everyone wants the challenge or risk.
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Brakes, steering and gearing... I let the pros do it. I don't expect my mechanic to be able to build an investment portfolio as good as I can, and he can do a better job at wrenching. I know & respect my limits and when to let the pros step in. Or maybe I have more money than sense. Either way, it works for me.
 
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MikekiM said:
Brakes, steering and gearing... I let the pros do it. I don't expect my mechanic to be able to build an investment portfolio as good as I can, and he can do a better job at wrenching. I know & respect my limits and when to let the pros step in. Or maybe I have more money than sense. Either way, it works for me.
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I agree with the gearing part. When anyone works on any of my vehicles, a warranty is a must.(y)
 
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i8b4 said:
It's something I'd love to do myself. I wouldn't say I'm scared of it, but of everything to do to my jeep, it seems like this is the one thing I would take it to a shop for, but maybe someone can give me confidence? It seems the shims and the mil precision are the hardest part. I did my own SYE and I rebuilt my dad's AX5 out of his yj this past winter, among other things, so I'm not afraid, just weary...
Click to expand...

I spent about $1100 on parts and tools to do mine. This included the specialty tools required and a HP Dana 30 housing. I started on the front axle. I spent several weeks setting it up. I went slow and quadruple checked everything. Once I had it set up satisfactory I started over. I wanted to make sure I truly understood each step and that I actually had a good set up. I then swapped out the front axle and pulled the rear driveshaft. I broke in the new gears just to be sure everything ran smoothly. With the front running smoothly I then tackled the rear axle. It went much faster as I had some knowledge.
If you have the patience and motivation is a rewarding project.
 
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06lj said:
I spent about $1100 on parts and tools to do mine. This included the specialty tools required and a HP Dana 30 housing. I started on the front axle. I spent several weeks setting it up. I went slow and quadruple checked everything. Once I had it set up satisfactory I started over. I wanted to make sure I truly understood each step and that I actually had a good set up. I then swapped out the front axle and pulled the rear driveshaft. I broke in the new gears just to be sure everything ran smoothly. With the front running smoothly I then tackled the rear axle. It went much faster as I had some knowledge.
If you have the patience and motivation is a rewarding project.
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And the confidence knowing the job was done correctly.
 
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What had put me off doing them myself was the fact that if a shop blew up my gears there would be a warranty to fall back on. But after seeing many people here tackle them, and having other posting very clear step by step videos I decided that the hardest part is figuring out how to orient the dial gauge magnet holder thing. That's a frigging pain.

There are pretty much two things that most amateur mechanics universally say don't do yourself: automatic transmissions & gears. Turns out they were full of S on automatics, and having done just one gear job, I'm pretty confident they were full of S on them too.

wigsajumper said:
Just got a quote from a local shop for a regear to 5.13. He quoted $2500 unseen included parts, oil, and since I am at almost 200k seals and bearings
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Did he give you an itemized quote? Its handy to isolate the labor from the parts so you can see what it would cost you w/o his markup.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I have a bunch of re-gear videos on my youtube channel. Take a look at them and see if it's something you think you are capable of. Watch them a couple of times through for the parts you are concerned about. I try to take out the mysteriousness and bad rep about gear setting. You can save a ton of money doing it yourself. I taught myself using the billavista gear bible as a reference as I refused to pay the (then) high prices to get them installed. I also know there would be a pretty good chance I'd have to do it more than once in my life.

Edit: don't forget to watch the ads :ROFLMAO:
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I assisted with my last regearing and it was sure a great experience. It showed just how correct the comments are that it's not an easy job to get right. Even after having been hands-on for it I wouldn't attempt to do another regearing on my own.

And I can't forget to make my near-daily recommendation to insure the gear oil used through the critical break-in process is conventional. Using a synthetic is inviting the new aftermarket gears to overheat as I found out the hard way.
 
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hear said:
What had put me off doing them myself was the fact that if a shop blew up my gears there would be a warranty to fall back on. But after seeing many people here tackle them, and having other posting very clear step by step videos I decided that the hardest part is figuring out how to orient the dial gauge magnet holder thing. That's a frigging pain.

There are pretty much two things that most amateur mechanics universally say don't do yourself: automatic transmissions & gears. Turns out they were full of S on automatics, and having done just one gear job, I'm pretty confident they were full of S on them too.



Did he give you an itemized quote? Its handy to isolate the labor from the parts so you can see what it would cost you w/o his markup.
Click to expand...

No it was over the phone because the shop is about an hour away and he isn't open when I am not at work.

He did give me separate totals for projected labor and parts. My number was just a total.
 
I've seen some crazy prices here in Colorado that line up with OP's original quote.
However, I had both my axles Re-Geared PLUS rear ARB Locker installed for about $2700 out the door.

For re-gearing alone, my preferred shop only charges $1700 on the Jeep Wrangler platform.
(Evolution Offroad in Colorado Springs)
 
wigsajumper said:
No it was over the phone because the shop is about an hour away and he isn't open when I am not at work.

He did give me separate totals for projected labor and parts. My number was just a total.
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Well the outcome is that you'll be able to do the job for way way cheaper, asuming you even want to, and want to own the tools to do so. Press, bearing puller, and inch-lb beam torque wrench are the ones you're unlikely to already have.

Torque wrench - $26. (cheaper than I remember)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BFGN53Y?tag=wranglerorg-20

Clamshell Bearing Puller - $96 (this seems to be a fire sale, the cheapest I saw just last week was $120)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NAV0LUY?tag=wranglerorg-20
The shop press can usually be had on FB marketplace for ~100, but the right diameter pipe & a sledge hammer might also do the trick.

Gears are $200+ per axle depending on brand, I just got a Dana 35 master install kit with Timken bearings for $116. Sometimes you can buy the whole kit, front & back gears + master install kit for some small savings.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000S6BW08?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I have a bunch of re-gear videos on my youtube channel. Take a look at them and see if it's something you think you are capable of. Watch them a couple of times through for the parts you are concerned about. I try to take out the mysteriousness and bad rep about gear setting. You can save a ton of money doing it yourself. I taught myself using the billavista gear bible as a reference as I refused to pay the (then) high prices to get them installed. I also know there would be a pretty good chance I'd have to do it more than once in my life.

Edit: don't forget to watch the ads :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

I'll be tossing popcorn and sweets down my gullet tonight surfing your YT page. Thanks for posting!
 
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