Re-Gearing Question...

[yjpaul]

I wanted to regear my yj to a more comfortable 4.56 (or even higher if its possible in the stock carrier) and was planning on ordering the parts, and doing it myself, but the more i search for online tutorials, the more discouraged i become.  Is this something i really cant do? or at least can i pay someone to do it? is it really expensive?..

Thanks guys


~Paul

[BlackYJ]

A shop will charge you about 6 hours labour for a gear swap.  There is a lot of precision needed for this but if you are pretty comfortable with doing your own work, it probably would not be a problem.  However, if you do it yourself and your don't set the gears up right, you could thrash your axle.

[Bnine]

You do need some tools that are specific to the job.

Pullers are essential
Dial indicator is essential
torque wrenches(ft lb, and inch lb)
Caliper, can get away without, but it saves a lot of guesswork
Method to heat the bearings. Not hard, stove, deepfrier, whatever works

Some nice to haves

Dead blow hammer
Setup bearings

Not a small job. Like Scott said, typical shop time 6 hours. Your first time do it right will run anywhere from 8-20 plus hours, depending on how good you want them, what tools you have, and if you mess anything up.

If you are going to attemp it, I'd at least have someone who knows what they are doing stop by and check things over for you before final final assembly.

Oh, last point. If you do not have 410's now, you need may need a new carrier to go 456's or more. 488 is max.