downpour11
New member
Can anyone tell me a reasonable price to pay to re-gear to 4.88's or 5.29's front and rear.
Going to have a shop do the work...
Going to have a shop do the work...
Re-gearing...
- Thread starter downpour11
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xskydivingdudex
Senior Member
id like to know this too since i want 4.88s for the 35s im planning to get soon.
chris360hawks
New member
Just to install? 150-200 per third.
downpour11
New member
sooo gears I should figure 400 front and rear, 400 for install, and however much the install kit is? so roughly 1100-1200? that sound right? I'm talking about everything including gears and install.
chris360hawks
New member
I think gear sets are about 150 a pop from marlin? Correct me if I'm wrong. I think all that's in the install kits are new seals and stuff. If your stuff is in good shape you won't need them.
brian2sun
Elite Member
If you can remove your own 3rds (or have a shop do it), you'll save $$ by going through eastcoastgearsupply.com. They ship you 3rds pre-set up with the gears of your choice (and lockers installed if you choose). Then all you have to do is swap the 3rds out and send them back your old 3rds and get several hundred back with the core $$. They come with the backlash and everything already setup and have a 5 year P&L warranty. They are about the most reputible gear setup place in the country and they do gears all day everyday. Even if you have a shop swap the 3rds for you, the labor will still be way cheaper.
For a normal shop to do everything, you're usually looking at ~
$350 for the front and rear rings and pinions
$400 for the master bearing kits
$600 labor for front and rear
+ tax.
Don't get 4.88s w/ 35s. Otherwise you'll be spending a lot of $$ to end up still not getting the power you want. 5.29s will put the power back to about what it was with 30-31s and 4.10s. 4.88s would put you under the stock power curve and that doesn't include the drag created by your lift and the weight from any armor like sliders, bumpers, skids, etc.. 5.29s and 35s is definitely the only way to go with an auto tranny. As a matter of fact, I think 5.29s and 33s is totally acceptable and even ideal for a weighted-down 4runner. Just don't want to see you spend all that money and not get the power you should for the price.
BTW, your freeway rpms will be completely in the acceptable range w/ 35s and 5.29s (~3K @80 mph with an auto).
xskydivingdudex
Senior Member
Really Brian? i mean i trust u since u know alot about this stuff... when i talked to alot of guys a while back everyone told me since its my DD its smarter to get 4.88s bc 5.29s would sound terrible on the highway. But if 5.29s work then thats wat ill be going for once these 33s have no tread left.
brian2sun
Elite Member
The only reason new gears (regardless of ratio) would sound "terrible" on the highway is if they weren't setup properly. Gears will whine if the backlash is off or if they reused the bearings (didn't buy a master install kit), but that's not because tof the ratio. I wouldn't mind if I had 5.29s even with 33s, but there would be no question if I was stepping up to 35s.
xskydivingdudex
Senior Member
Ok so wat do i need exactly to change my gears to 5.29s? Sry im jsut not exactly sure of everything i need...
brian2sun
Elite Member
It'll be cheap for you because you're 2wd and the rear 3rd member is a lot easier to get out and back in than the front. If you go thru ECGS you'll have everything pre-installed in the new 3rd so it'll take about an hour just to swap them.
If you have a shop regear your 3rd, you'll need one 8" ring and pinion set, 1 rear master install kit, and that's it (besides labor of course). You should be able to do it for ~$600.
If you've ever considered a locker or posi, I highly recommend adding it when you do the gears because there won't be any additional labor charge since the backlash has to be set for the gears anyways. Whether they re-use your carrier and spider gears or install a locker doesn't matter on labor time.
brian2sun
Elite Member
You'll still have to regear the front since you're 4x4 so your looking at two ring and pinion sets and 2 master install kits. I don't recommend setting up gears if you don't have the experience, it's one of the more difficult things a mechanic does and it must be very precise. The vast majority of people (even if they work on their trucks a lot) leave regearing to the professionals.
For the retro-fit of an elocker 3rd into your stock housing, you will need a welder and a grinder because you have to cut a notch out of your housing and build up a weld to make the elocker 3rd fit and seal up properly. There are a few writeups on this floating around and I would tackle this before trying to regear.
EDIT: BTW, I forgot to mention you should replace your driveshaft output seal on the front diff too (which is ~$15-20 at the dealer) when you regear or install a locker.
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Pikeman
New member
Downpour- there is a guy on TTORA selling a front diff with 5.29's for $450. Then all you have to do is swap your front diff out and pay to regear the back. Here is a link
Sac sale! - TTORA Forum
Sac sale! - TTORA Forum
AddictedOffroad
New member
Brian is pretty much spot on.
The front is where a majority of the labor is at. Those stupid clam shell diffs are the worst design. And, they take about 4-5 hours of labor just to pull and re-install not counting the rebuilding of the 3rd itself. They are a royal PITA to get out and back in.
The front is where a majority of the labor is at. Those stupid clam shell diffs are the worst design. And, they take about 4-5 hours of labor just to pull and re-install not counting the rebuilding of the 3rd itself. They are a royal PITA to get out and back in.
