Cost to re-gear to 4.56?

[shufly09]

I am planning to re-gear to 4.56, but I would like to get a idea of what to expect to pay for labor costs. I was quoted by a reputable shop in Colorado at $2,680 for everything, but that seems pretty steep considering the complete Nitro 4.56 gear package kit is $1,314:

Gear Package

What is a reasonable price for the install? I've searched the forums and found someone that paid $2,400, but that also included an ARB locker. I also found that some FJ guys got everything done for $1,600 at Demello, but those posts were 3-4 years old.

Thoughts?

 

[rochmpr]

I am planning to re-gear to 4.56, but I would like to get a idea of what to expect to pay for labor costs. I was quoted by a reputable shop in Colorado at $2,680 for everything, but that seems pretty steep considering the complete Nitro 4.56 gear package kit is $1,314:

Gear Package

What is a reasonable price for the install? I've searched the forums and found someone that paid $2,400, but that also included an ARB locker. I also found that some FJ guys got everything done for $1,600 at Demello, but those posts were 3-4 years old.

Thoughts?

Think about how much labor goes into performing a re-gear. Could be a lot less expensive if you drop the rear third and the front clam shell and drop off at the shop, then re-install after they are geared. That's where most of the cost is for labor.

 

[ST1FLER]

what he said^ that will save you a ton on labor... personally if I know it is a reputable shop that has performed regears in my specific vehicle, I dont mind paying a couple extra bucks for piece of mind and a labor warranty.

 

[Engineer]

Another in between option would be to use East Coast Gear Supply pre assembled 3rds. IIRC I priced it out to around 1700 but you would want to confirm that, and that was after the core return is refunded.

Hassle to deal with shipping cores back yes, but then you have the truck down the least amount of time and the gear install is done by a reputable shop

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

That's standard pricing for re-gearing a toyota diff. About twice the cost of the gears themselves for a full re-gear.

Toyota gears are not just some easy drop-in-and-go affair, there's shims and lots of technical stuff to do it right. I've had a rear diff set up by a REPUTABLE company, and just slightly off with the pinion load, I grenaded the diff a few weeks later with just a slightly heavy load going uphill. They re-did the diff and found it to be their fault, which proves (at least to me) that toyota diffs should be done by someone knowledgeable in setting up diffs.

4.56 gears? You going to run 35's or larger? The stock set is 3.72, that's a pretty big step up if you are still on relatively stock tire size. the 5th gen trans is quite a bit different than the older gens, its a good match to the 3.72 gearing, going up that amount in a newer 4runner will be significantly lower in speed (ie., 55mph will be screaming with stock tires).

Just a quick comparison, the old gens mainly came with 4.10's with the 4 cylinder 22RE engine, and had 29" tires. Most folks went to 4.88 if they stuck with 33-35" tires, and 5.29 if they went with 37+ tires. The 6 cylinder 3VZE didn't change those numbers much, and those with the newer tacomas kept with these ratios for the most part.

With 4.56 gears in a 5th gen, I bet you could run 37's!

 

[rochmpr]

That's standard pricing for re-gearing a toyota diff. About twice the cost of the gears themselves for a full re-gear.

Toyota gears are not just some easy drop-in-and-go affair, there's shims and lots of technical stuff to do it right. I've had a rear diff set up by a REPUTABLE company, and just slightly off with the pinion load, I grenaded the diff a few weeks later with just a slightly heavy load going uphill. They re-did the diff and found it to be their fault, which proves (at least to me) that toyota diffs should be done by someone knowledgeable in setting up diffs.

4.56 gears? You going to run 35's or larger? The stock set is 3.72, that's a pretty big step up if you are still on relatively stock tire size. the 5th gen trans is quite a bit different than the older gens, its a good match to the 3.72 gearing, going up that amount in a newer 4runner will be significantly lower in speed (ie., 55mph will be screaming with stock tires).

Just a quick comparison, the old gens mainly came with 4.10's with the 4 cylinder 22RE engine, and had 29" tires. Most folks went to 4.88 if they stuck with 33-35" tires, and 5.29 if they went with 37+ tires. The 6 cylinder 3VZE didn't change those numbers much, and those with the newer tacomas kept with these ratios for the most part.

With 4.56 gears in a 5th gen, I bet you could run 37's!

The 4.56 gears matched with 285/75 tires (34") puts the gearing at ~7% lower than stock. So the smaller the tire, the larger the difference and the larger the tire, the closer to stock gearing with 4.56. So, yes, 37's would put you darn close to stock gearing! Too bad you can't stuff them in there without most likely going solid axle. Ohhh, that would be soooo awesome!

 

[alfonzo]

The 4.56 gears matched with 285/75 tires (34") puts the gearing at ~7% lower than stock. So the smaller the tire, the larger the difference and the larger the tire, the closer to stock gearing with 4.56. So, yes, 37's would put you darn close to stock gearing! Too bad you can't stuff them in there without most likely going solid axle. Ohhh, that would be soooo awesome!

Do you think that Toyota chose the correct gearing to start with? I don't. Add the weight of front and rear plate bumpers, skids and sliders, extra gas and water, coolers and recovery gear etc and I am certain that 4.56 gears are correct for 33" tires.

I considered the North Carolina gear company, but chose to use a local 4x4 shop who also does gearing for drag cars. They did my body mount chop and boxing for $200. I hope to establish a long term relationship with my shop. They are a wealth of knowledge and treat me fairly. They under promise and over deliver. Unfortunately, there are many shops who will promise a cheaper price but give an inferior product.

Why wouldn't you add lockers both front and rear at the same time?

Please consider more than price. Good luck

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I am going to go 4.56 when I regear and add lockers. Think it will be a perfect fit for the 34s. I thought the stock gear was 3.91 (or something there like).

Price wise I have been quoted about $4k for R and R (front and rear lockers, compressor, gears, labor) of everything and wiring up and plumbing the compressor.

 

[fattire]

I am going to go 4.56 when I regear and add lockers. Think it will be a perfect fit for the 34s. I thought the stock gear was 3.91 (or something there like).



Price wise I have been quoted about $4k for R and R (front and rear lockers, compressor, gears, labor) of everything and wiring up and plumbing the compressor.

That's a really really good price. I went the ECGS route. 4.56s. ARB front and rear plus the twin compressor. I did all the work myself and was close to that if you include all the miscellaneous parts, multiple gear oil changes, etc.

 

[Vettethret]

I am going to go 4.56 when I regear and add lockers. Think it will be a perfect fit for the 34s. I thought the stock gear was 3.91 (or something there like).

Price wise I have been quoted about $4k for R and R (front and rear lockers, compressor, gears, labor) of everything and wiring up and plumbing the compressor.

Im new to 4runners so I have to ask. I thought 4 runners had the rear locker and the front A Trac, what would be the reason for lockers?

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

Im new to 4runners so I have to ask. I thought 4 runners had the rear locker and the front A Trac, what would be the reason for lockers?

Only the trail has a rear e-locker. A-trac is not a locker just a brake modulating system to put power to the wheel that has traction. It also works on all 4 wheels.

Nothing beats lockers but A-trac is good. A-Trac will also still work with one locker engaged.

 

[rochmpr]

Do you think that Toyota chose the correct gearing to start with? I don't. Add the weight of front and rear plate bumpers, skids and sliders, extra gas and water, coolers and recovery gear etc and I am certain that 4.56 gears are correct for 33" tires.

I considered the North Carolina gear company, but chose to use a local 4x4 shop who also does gearing for drag cars. They did my body mount chop and boxing for $200. I hope to establish a long term relationship with my shop. They are a wealth of knowledge and treat me fairly. They under promise and over deliver. Unfortunately, there are many shops who will promise a cheaper price but give an inferior product.

Why wouldn't you add lockers both front and rear at the same time?

Please consider more than price. Good luck

I'm sure Toyota chose the right gears for the vehicle, as designed. It was not designed with all of the armor, winches, gear, that some of us have / carry. In stock form with stock tires, it's fine. Do like many of us have, and a rehear becomes necessary to compensate for everything that is added.

 

[fattire]

Im new to 4runners so I have to ask. I thought 4 runners had the rear locker and the front A Trac, what would be the reason for lockers?

Only the TE/TEP has a locker on an axle. The Limited has a locking center diff (due to full time 4wd) but no lockers on the axles. All have ATRAC.

Lockers force the wheels on the same axle to turn at the exact same rate. Adding a front locker to a rig that has a rear locker (or adding front/rear lockers like many here including me have done) forces all 4 wheels to turn at the exact same rate.

Originally, before electronic systems like ATRAC, lockers helped when you had diagonally opposing wheels with no traction. In that situation, a traditional differential will force power to only the wheels that spin and you're stuck. If you have a locker, you can force the wheel that still has traction to turn and keep you moving.

ATRAC and lockers are good at different things. There are situations where one can definitely be better than another. Do some searches and you'll find threads discussing that very topic. That being said, a locker would generally be preferred in a larger variety of situations. Lockers also give you a TON more control in the application of power as compared to ATRAC (you can finesse things more).

If you were to rank them, I'd go locker/locker > ATRAC/locker > ATRAC alone.

ATRAC is super capable though so don't think my ranking above is some kind of knock against it. It's a good system that will get you through a surprisingly large number of situations.

EDIT: just added some clarity

 

[Vettethret]

Only the trail has a rear e-locker. A-trac is not a locker just a brake modulating system to put power to the wheel that has traction. It also works on all 4 wheels.

Nothing beats lockers but A-trac is good. A-Trac will also still work with one locker engaged.

Got it. Thanks.

 

[flyinhawaiian01]

That's a really really good price. I went the ECGS route. 4.56s. ARB front and rear plus the twin compressor. I did all the work myself and was close to that if you include all the miscellaneous parts, multiple gear oil changes, etc.

So, since you have 4.56 gears already, how does the 4runner do on the highway at, say, 55mph? 65mph? How far off is the speedo at those speeds?

I don't think you can adjust the speedo with techstream, so what have you done to re-cal the speedo?

Are you still running the 285/70/17 tires? That equals to a 32¾" tire, so I would think that your setup will be great for a lot of offroad trails, but kills mileage on the highway and keeps you under 70mph.

 

[fattire]

So, since you have 4.56 gears already, how does the 4runner do on the highway at, say, 55mph? 65mph? How far off is the speedo at those speeds?



I don't think you can adjust the speedo with techstream, so what have you done to re-cal the speedo?



Are you still running the 285/70/17 tires? That equals to a 32¾" tire, so I would think that your setup will be great for a lot of offroad trails, but kills mileage on the highway and keeps you under 70mph.

It does just fine on the highway as long as I keep the speed at 70 or below. Over that and the mileage gets scary bad fast. I'm talking 11 mpg at 80 (yes, that's the speed limit. Some roads go to 85 here). It runs just fine at those speeds it's just the bad mileage that keeps me away

Speedo is on the money. The T4R measures it at the wheel not the diff. Gearing doesn't impact it but tire size will. The 285/70/17s are still accurate as measured by GPS. General consensus on the forum seems to be that the speedo is a little under from the factory. That's the only explanation for the accuracy with a larger tire.

The tires are undersized for the gearing for sure. A 34" or small 35" would be about perfect. Once these wear out that's what I plan to put on. IIRC the speedo would be off by about 7% (low) with that tire size.

 

[rochmpr]

So, since you have 4.56 gears already, how does the 4runner do on the highway at, say, 55mph? 65mph? How far off is the speedo at those speeds?

I don't think you can adjust the speedo with techstream, so what have you done to re-cal the speedo?

Are you still running the 285/70/17 tires? That equals to a 32¾" tire, so I would think that your setup will be great for a lot of offroad trails, but kills mileage on the highway and keeps you under 70mph.

With the 34" tires and 4.56 gears, there is a 7.07% difference (on my 4Runner). Basically, this combination results in an overall 7.XX% lower gearing, so everything is off by 7.XX %. So at 70 mph on the spedo, actual speed is 75 mph. But, factor in all the added weight, and that extra 7% gear reduction helps out. Hope that clarifies / helps.

 

[Seattle206]

a bit off topic...

If you're running a rear ARB locker is it absolutely necessary to re-gear? I would like to add an air locker and twin compressor to my SR5 but don't want to shell out the extra money to re-gear since the truck is my DD.

 

[GSPRunner]

a bit off topic...

If you're running a rear ARB locker is it absolutely necessary to re-gear? I would like to add an air locker and twin compressor to my SR5 but don't want to shell out the extra money to re-gear since the truck is my DD.

No it's not necessary

 

[jwkilgore]

I'm just going to patiently wait for someone to make 4.10 gears that will fit in the SR5 rear diff and install them along with an air locker. Sometime next decade at the current rate of saving.