I went ahead and rented the video. for $10 I figure it can't hurt, even if I don't end up doing it myself.Best advice is to rent the video I linked to on the first page.
I went ahead and rented the video. for $10 I figure it can't hurt, even if I don't end up doing it myself.Best advice is to rent the video I linked to on the first page.
I picked up a HF press and bearing removal kit and got my magnetic dial indicator from summit. I had to get some longer bolts for the bearing puller from lowes. But other wise it worked pretty good. I did my Dana 44 first a couple months ago, then a few months later I helped PBlaze do his front an rear 10 bolts. If you take your time and are patient. It's not bad and with Dana's if you make a set of set up bearings it helps alot.
400 bones....but cheaper than paying a shop.
The 12ton works great for gears and most other things I think I'm going to weld it up though because it's not the sturdiest thing out there. Lol no I just typed it stupid I have the crappy $40 bearing/gear puller from HF. Im a work on a budget and make the best of it kinda guy



true words man.Remember set a mans gears & he's good for a rig, teach a man to set gears & he's good for a lifetime.
Good luck reusing your old bearings. Setting those up will be a pita seriously not worth the $100 some odd dollars you would save. Buy a new bearing kit. You will want to save the old bearings and grind the inside so they slip on and off the pinion easily like shown in the video.true words man.
most of the high dollar items are from randy's. going to do a bit of shopping around and see if I can't beat that price.
also, the install kits I have listed are assuming I'm going to be reusing my bearings. is that likely, or a dumb idea?
trying to come up with a parts list I need to buy in order to pull this off.
Dana 44 front:
ring and pinion:
"thick" gear set for dana 44 4.56 ratio $163.87
minor install kit $76.49
12 bolt rear
ring and pinion:
Yukon ring and pinion for GM 12 bolt truck 4.56 ratio $296.20
minor install kit $82.65
12 ton HF press $129.99
HF bearing separator $29.99
summit racing dial indicator $29.95
craftsman beam style torque wrench(from summit) $25.19
grand total: $834.33 (not counting shipping)
that's not a great savings over the $1000 I was quoted from the shop. of course I do end up with about $200 worth of tools out of the deal...![]()
You will need to double check what you have. Usually you only need to change the carrier if you go above 4.56 on some axles. They sell "thick" gears for others.in the front I have to change the carrier unless I use a gear spacer? I'd really like to avoid having to buy a new carrier, along with all the setup that would entail.
thanks for the replies and advice man. yeah, since I wrote that I found the "thick" type ring gears and it appears I'll be able to go that route.You will need to double check what you have. Usually you only need to change the carrier if you go above 4.56 on some axles. They sell "thick" gears for others.

This is the one I got http://littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=1782thanks for the replies and advice man. yeah, since I wrote that I found the "thick" type ring gears and it appears I'll be able to go that route.
all I could find in searching randy's was minor install kits. I'll look for the master install kits and plan on using those.
I'm pretty sure I can get the tools cheaper too, but that was what was listed on the hf and summit websites. for what it's worth, hf has a dial indicator that attaches to a channel lock rather than magnetic. I might go that route...![]()