Just wanna give a shout out to @hosejockey61 and the BFH Garage (can you tell Mike for me? 
) A few weeks ago I finished an RGA R&P gear change in my 06 Rubi. We shared a PM conversation a while back about doing my own gears and I was on the fence. I decided to do it and literally followed his Dana 44 Rubi video for each step along the way. (My wife didn't like the ring gear in the oven part) The rear was a little easier than the front, needing only two shim adjustments to get backlash and pinion depth where I was satisfied. The front took a few more times and after chasing my tail a bit, I remembered where the video said to just go back to the OEM specs and start over from there. It worked!
The most important things I learned for anyone thinking of doing this the first time:
Time....be patient and allow a few days to complete this job. If you must stop, do it at a point you'll know exactly where you were if coming back after 5 days even though it'll be tomorrow
Notes...I took notes during the entire process, especially when doing the shim adjustments
Measure...measure everything, keep OEM parts separated and for both right and left sides. This helps reset if you wind up chasing your tail.
Gear Patterns...don't settle. Can't say enough about where Mike talks about not making small increments. Get your bookend first, then fine tune from there. This is also where notes help keep you on track.
Tools...the tools mentioned in the video are all that's needed. That and buying a brand new pinion inner bearing for setup bearings made life easier
Axle...take the extra time and pull them. It sucked on the extra labor time but I couldn't imagine doing all that lying on my back
If you've ever done a brake job, you can do this. Time is at the top of the list for a reason, can't stress that and being patient enough.
So far break-in has been flawless and my most recent, mild trail run was smooth. No crazy noises or whines so keeping my fingers crossed that my 500 mile oil change will be unremarkable. Cheers and thanks again Mike!
) A few weeks ago I finished an RGA R&P gear change in my 06 Rubi. We shared a PM conversation a while back about doing my own gears and I was on the fence. I decided to do it and literally followed his Dana 44 Rubi video for each step along the way. (My wife didn't like the ring gear in the oven part) The rear was a little easier than the front, needing only two shim adjustments to get backlash and pinion depth where I was satisfied. The front took a few more times and after chasing my tail a bit, I remembered where the video said to just go back to the OEM specs and start over from there. It worked! The most important things I learned for anyone thinking of doing this the first time:
Time....be patient and allow a few days to complete this job. If you must stop, do it at a point you'll know exactly where you were if coming back after 5 days even though it'll be tomorrow
Notes...I took notes during the entire process, especially when doing the shim adjustments
Measure...measure everything, keep OEM parts separated and for both right and left sides. This helps reset if you wind up chasing your tail.
Gear Patterns...don't settle. Can't say enough about where Mike talks about not making small increments. Get your bookend first, then fine tune from there. This is also where notes help keep you on track.
Tools...the tools mentioned in the video are all that's needed. That and buying a brand new pinion inner bearing for setup bearings made life easier
Axle...take the extra time and pull them. It sucked on the extra labor time but I couldn't imagine doing all that lying on my back
If you've ever done a brake job, you can do this. Time is at the top of the list for a reason, can't stress that and being patient enough.
So far break-in has been flawless and my most recent, mild trail run was smooth. No crazy noises or whines so keeping my fingers crossed that my 500 mile oil change will be unremarkable. Cheers and thanks again Mike!
