Cost to re-gear axles

[pontiac58]

I built my share of rears at my old job, so here is my $0.02

Do you need a case spreader??? Not really they get in the way more then anything. Is there times when you have to have it, YES. 95% of the time you wont need it. The other 5% you just wish it wasnt hanging there waiting to fall on your foot.

As for price, we would charge anywhere from 250 to 450 depending on the rear or vechile. Whatever you do dont take it apart to save money unless you talk to the builder first. I hated getting a pile of old parts and figuring out where each shim was. A good builder will start with what shims were there first and go from there. Plus they will probably want to clean it themselves anyway, so you may not save all the much in the long run.

We would charge more if it came in a pile. Unless they talked to us first. Then we could explain to them how to take it apart,tag, and clean it.

If you do try it yourself, take the rears out, unless you have a lift. You dont want to be laying under the jeep that long.

Building rears are not hard, its a art.

[JeepDawg]

One little tidbit to add.....

This is where axles like the Ford 9" have an advantage....you can take out the pumpkin without having to remove the whole axle.

[Joel]

Thanks for all the info! I am going to price out a few more places and hope I can find someone closer to the $200-250 range this week.

[Jeeper99xj]

For a "shop" to do gears $200-$500 is about average. What type of locker was he going to charge a lot more for? I agree that the only locker that i would charage more for would be an ARB. Try to find someone locally in a jeep club that sets up gears on the side. I've set up a couple sets for people, depending on what axle it is and if it's in the truck or on a bench depends on price. If you brought me a dana 44 stripped down with just the old gears in the axle I'd probably charge $100 to set up your gears though i live in a pretty low income area and i'm still trying to make a name for my self. I agree with talking with the builder first about how they want it. If you don't know what your doing and tear the axle down to nothing and put the parts in a box you are making a lot more work for your builder.

I agree with the 4x4 shop thing, there's usually 2 types of 4x4 shops. The shop that bolts on brush gurads, body lifts, and mud flaps. And the shops that do mechanical work and actually "build" rigs.

[RRich]

""""I agree with the 4x4 shop thing, there's usually 2 types of 4x4 shops. The shop that bolts on brush gurads, body lifts, and mud flaps. And the shops that do mechanical work and actually "build" rigs. """"

So true and most are of the former category.

Putting axle gears in and making them work is easy. Making them LAST A LONG TIME is the trick.

[Joel]

I found a guy that wants to trade a running 350 I have that needs new lower end bearings for the gear swaps. I'm putting in 4.88s I already bought and now just need to get (I think) duel ARB's. Anyone know who's got the best prices? Thanks again, Joel