Should I stay with 4.56 gears?

To give you guys an idea, Brothers 4x4 in Montclair told me $1600, Savvy Offload in Corona $1300. This is labor and 4.88 gears. So, I'm still shopping around.
If Savvy will do the job for only $1300 including parts and labor I'd jump at that offer. That's a great price and a great organization.
 
Thank you guys, I’ve got some quotes from shops but not inquired about


You're right, theres so many other mods I still want to do. But I figured gearing it right and spending the money will put less stress on the engine and I plan on keeping it for a long time. I've had over 40 vehicles titled (not a dealer) in my name but this is the first one that I've dumped serious money into and longest vehicle I've ever owned. What set up are you running?

03 Rubicon 5 speed manual 33" tires 4:56.
 
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OK I have a question. I have a 2004 TJ X with 4.0 and manual trans running 31" tire with the dreaded 3.07 gearing. If @Lilbomb's 4.56 gears get removed and are in good shape does it make sense to make him an offer buy the gears and re-gear my TJ with them? Or just buy new gears when I am ready and go from there?
Lou
 
No...you want a complete kit with all new parts .

30 years ago guys used to do things like that but today manufacturing tolerances are so tight that it just isn't a good move... Plus it would force you into putting new bearings with old races and things like that possibly

I'm not going to tell you that you can't but my input is that it's not a good idea if you can avoid it.
 
OK I have a question. I have a 2004 TJ X with 4.0 and manual trans running 31" tire with the dreaded 3.07 gearing. If @Lilbomb's 4.56 gears get removed and are in good shape does it make sense to make him an offer buy the gears and re-gear my TJ with them? Or just buy new gears when I am ready and go from there?
Lou
Used gears are too hard to get set up properly. They have become work-hardened where they meshed together in the original installation and it's a very tough job to get the pinion & ring gears shimmed precisely enough so they mesh at those exact points again. Not to mention most of the expense of regearing is in the labor, saving a couple hundred by buying used gears wouldn't be worth it... especially since many shops charge more to install used gears making them a bad decision.
 
No...you want a complete kit with all new parts .

30 years ago guys used to do things like that but today manufacturing tolerances are so tight that it just isn't a good move... Plus it would force you into putting new bearings with old races and things like that possibly

I'm not going to tell you that you can't but my input is that it's not a good idea if you can avoid it.
Thanks Andy - just trying to be frugal but it would more than likely cost me more in the long run.
Lou
 
Used gears are too hard to get set up properly. They have become work-hardened where they meshed together in the original installation and it's a very tough job to get the pinion & ring gears shimmed precisely enough so they mesh at those exact points again. Not to mention most of the expense of regearing is in the labor, saving a couple hundred by buying used gears wouldn't be worth it... especially since many shops charge more to install used gears making them a bad decision.
Thanks Jerry - I figured that was the case that the labor would be the lion's share of the cost and that the gears might be a tad sloppy due to wear and tear.
Lou
 
Allen's is great .

Just don't pull the trigger on any parts until you talk to a shop , it's nothing but a finger pointing if there are problems.
Very true, the only parts I bought was a front Torq locker. Figured I’d wait till I figured out who was going to do them.
 
Whoops I thought you had a 5-speed manual transmission. Ignore my advice to regear to 4.88.

Your 4-speed automatic with the Overdrive button is a completely different beast, 4.88 is NOT enough gear for 35's. Your transmission's .69 Overdrive ratio drops the highway cruising rpms way too much for 4.88 to work well enough that you'd be happy with it. If you had a Rubicon I'd suggest 5.38 but since your front axle is a Dana 30 that means 5.13 is as low of a ratio as you can regear to. That's what I strongly suggest. Definitely go 5.13.

I bought my present '04 Rubicon with the same 4-speed automatic transmission used with 35" tires with 4.88 gears. It was an absolute dog on the highway, the engine lugged constantly. Mpg never even made it to 12 mpg. I was able to regear it to 5.38 last year and holy smoke, it fixed all the highway lugging issues and the mpg went up into the mid-14's. Make sure to go 5.13, don't make the mistake of only regearing to 4.88 as my TJ's previous owner did.

Hey Jerry I’d love your opinion on something,

I’m buying a wrangler this coming week(due to be t-boned in my previous one) and it’s a beauty. Professionally built, trussed Dana 44’s front and rear with lockers, and 4.88’s running 37’s. It’s a 2000 TJ manual 4.0 5 speed

I’m seeing a lot of talk in this thread about 4.88’s being optimal for dd/moderate trail usage with a manual 4.0 and 35’s but is there a consensus about the optimal ratio for 37’s? I’m sure if it’s current setup isn’t horrible I’ll drive it for a while until the time is right but should I be keeping a ratio change in my mind for the future?