Which ring and pinion gear set and lockers should I buy?

[freedom_in_4low]

Well, glad that it was caught before it became a costly mistake.

thanks again

it's one of the most frustrating mistakes to make, too. Because it's so expensive it's likely you end up living with it and having it in the back of your head every time you drive it on the highway.

For me, I got 4.56 which with my AX15 was the appropriate choice for 33s. Within 2 weeks I started to reconsider my position that I would never go to 35's. I drove it for a year thinking I could totally have lived with 4.88's on 33's whether I went to 35's or not.

Fortunately (kindof), my shop botched the setup and the gears ate themselves, so I got an "opportunity" to fix my mistake and went with 4.88 on the rear. I haven't done the front because I'm waffling on the idea of doing it myself and putting the install labor money toward an e-locker. Then I decided to get a 6 speed LJ where 4.56 and 35's probably would have been ok.

 

[Thatguy]

Called Revolution today, parts still hadn't shown up (luckily now) cancelled my order. Jeep gets loaded on trailer tomorrow and goes to its new home on Wed.

 

[Thatguy]

Resurfacing this thread once again.

On Nov 20th I called and cancelled my long term backorder from Revolution for the 4:56 gear set I ordered back in Aug. Was moving my TJ out to CO and was going to have someone out that way handle the job for me. On Nov 25th I get a call from Revolution saying that my order was being sent out ASAP, problem was, I was enroute to CO from WI with the Jeep in tow. Sure enuf, got back to WI and a box of parts was awaiting. So much for cancelling

While out in CO, I stopped at a 4x4 Jeep shop and inquired about having a re-gear done with them. They recommended lockers be installed at that time as well. They threw me a price in the $2500 ball park for gears + trutrac lockers F/R. Told them that Revolution was sending me my cancelled order, and was told that the price would adjust accordingly, and those were the gears they normally work with.

Also chatted about my 4:10 vs 4:56 options for what would be the better choice. Seeing as I now own a set of 4:56s. He did recommend 4:56s for our area, that the 4:10s would be a better road choice, but the 4:56s would be better for the local altitude stuff. Either way, Id be OK , and far better than the lethargic 3:08s.

Can someone tell me about how long it takes to do a re-gear install ?? Just trying to wrap my head around his pricing. I know that I should have lockers installed at this time, just debating if I want to throw money at these dime store axles, or wait and see what my future needs will be.

Wife and I did explore a bit of the area while we were out there. Really need the re-gear done soon

 

[John L]

Revolution is widely regarded as one of the best for gears. I’ve used them on both my TJs. I would use their gears with ARB or Eaton e-lockers personally.

For a budget build off road on my XJ,Are rough country ring and pinions okay?

 

[Chris]

For a budget build off road on my XJ,Are rough country ring and pinions okay?

Yes, they are just fine.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

For a budget build off road on my XJ,Are rough country ring and pinions okay?

They will be fine since RC doesn't make them.

BUT unless it's you or a friend installing them, and if you are going to pay a shop to install them, I would definitely have the shop provide ALL of the parts. That way the shop's warranty will cover both the parts and their labor.

If you provided the shop with the parts and anything goes wrong during/after the installation they won't cover the parts and you'll be tasked with getting them replaced. And trust me on this... that when something goes wrong during or after an R&P installation, it's always the installer who screwed something up. And to add insult to injury, since the shop is not going to admit to screwing things up, they'll likely charge you the labor again since they'll blame the part and not their installation process.

 

[Christian Y.]

Resurfacing this thread once again.

On Nov 20th I called and cancelled my long term backorder from Revolution for the 4:56 gear set I ordered back in Aug. Was moving my TJ out to CO and was going to have someone out that way handle the job for me. On Nov 25th I get a call from Revolution saying that my order was being sent out ASAP, problem was, I was enroute to CO from WI with the Jeep in tow. Sure enuf, got back to WI and a box of parts was awaiting. So much for cancelling

While out in CO, I stopped at a 4x4 Jeep shop and inquired about having a re-gear done with them. They recommended lockers be installed at that time as well. They threw me a price in the $2500 ball park for gears + trutrac lockers F/R. Told them that Revolution was sending me my cancelled order, and was told that the price would adjust accordingly, and those were the gears they normally work with.

Also chatted about my 4:10 vs 4:56 options for what would be the better choice. Seeing as I now own a set of 4:56s. He did recommend 4:56s for our area, that the 4:10s would be a better road choice, but the 4:56s would be better for the local altitude stuff. Either way, Id be OK , and far better than the lethargic 3:08s.

Can someone tell me about how long it takes to do a re-gear install ?? Just trying to wrap my head around his pricing. I know that I should have lockers installed at this time, just debating if I want to throw money at these dime store axles, or wait and see what my future needs will be.

Wife and I did explore a bit of the area while we were out there. Really need the re-gear done soon


View attachment 210052

I just read up on this whole thread. @Thatguy what did you end up doing?

 

[Thatguy]

I just read up on this whole thread. @Thatguy what did you end up doing?

I ordered 4:10s and they ended up sending me 4:56s, which I did install. Was running 33's at the time, and RPMs were 3600-3800 at 60-65mph. With the exhaust I am running, it sounded like the motor was going to jump out of the Jeep (99 w/auto trans) Quick look on CL and found a semi decent set of 35" BFG KO2's, threw them on there and now runs about 2500-2600 RPMs at 60ish mph = much more tolerable. Installed a rear locker when it was apart, so far this set up has been working great for all the exploring we have been doing lately. I dont do any serious wheeling, mainly gravel and easy trails

 

[Christian Y.]

I ordered 4:10s and they ended up sending me 4:56s, which I did install. Was running 33's at the time, and RPMs were 3600-3800 at 60-65mph. With the exhaust I am running, it sounded like the motor was going to jump out of the Jeep (99 w/auto trans) Quick look on CL and found a semi decent set of 35" BFG KO2's, threw them on there and now runs about 2500-2600 RPMs at 60ish mph = much more tolerable. Installed a rear locker when it was apart, so far this set up has been working great for all the exploring we have been doing lately. I dont do any serious wheeling, mainly gravel and easy trails

Nice! I did factory gearing on 33s for a week until I was ready to jump to 4.56s (4L w/ ax15). Huge difference. Sounds like you had quite a ride getting sorted out. Good to hear it's all sorted.

 

[Tj black y]

From what you describe with respect to off road driving you'll be fine on 33" tires. You'd probably be fine on 31" tires. Light off road doesn't require lockers. Wheel your Jeep for awhile, like for a few years and see what you need. You'll know if you need gears or lockers. Most people that ask questions like yours wheel on street tire pressures, airing down will make more of a difference than any of these mods. If you don't have one then get a compressor and air down when you hit the dirt before you spend money on this stuff.

Down air is the best for light trails %