lochenjons
1/2 ton status
I need to swap the gears in my '77 blazer's front diff from 3.73 to 4.56. How much should that end up costing (including labor, parts, etc)? Just a ball park range you know nothing exact.
CK5
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Gear swap to 4.56, cost?
- Thread starter lochenjons
- Start date
it all depends on which carrier you have...if you have a 3.73 carrier then you either need to buy a thick gear or a carier...if you have 4.10 and up all you need is a regular gear...what gear is in the axel now..lochenjons said:
There is no reason to get a new carrier as long a thick gears are made for that axle (they are for pretty much everything GM, definitely for a 10 bolt). I would guess $500.
i was just sayong sometimes its cheaper to find some one with a carrier 4 cheap then buying a thick gear...i could be wrong but my 488 thick gear was about 100 bucks more than a regular from rieder racing...38377k5 said:
K5MONSTERCHEV
1/2 ton status
lochenjons said:
At the shop where I work parts and labor it would be over a grand, plus in all those old axles the inner shafts are usually bad and all pitted, change shafts, then change joints, bj's if they are bad, wheel bearings...oh yeah front axles are big money!
dcnffrost
Newbie
im changing mine o a 410 from a 307 all four parts is like 400 bucks instaled not sure
lochenjons
1/2 ton status
Ok so I'm hearing anywhere from $400-$1000+ so the estimated $700-800 the shop I'm taking it to is a pretty decent avg. Tommorow I'm taking it over and they should give me a more specific price range so I'll let you all know what they say it'll be.
I don't know how the shop you are taking this to feels but you can buy the gears and install kit (all new diff bearings and seals) for ~$300. IMO, labor should only at the most ~$250 on top of that (based on what I have heard from local shops). Anyone asking more is looking for suckers, IMO.
I have setup all of my own gears (after having a mechanic help me with the first) so I guess all of my opinion on this is subject to some speculation
I have setup all of my own gears (after having a mechanic help me with the first) so I guess all of my opinion on this is subject to some speculation
front gear swaps are more labor intensive the rear. there is a lot more tear down and reassembly. Now is your chance to replace worn out stuff like balljoints and axle u-joints. Its also the time to put in a locker.
$700 is reasonable.
$700 is reasonable.
lochenjons
1/2 ton status
Great so I go there today and the guy says itll be about $900 now. $145 for the gears, $85 for the master kit, $20 for the seals, $50 for the carrier, $30 for freight and then there's labor which supposedly I'm getting a discount for for being in a local 4x4 club but it's still $560. So there goes my $1200 i had set aside for tires and gears. This leaves me with now about $100 for tires (had to get gas today so there went the rest of it). I gotta wash my truck too before they work on it which I've never done and it's covered in mud. So thats my rant for the day.
EDIT: its a d44 btw
EDIT: its a d44 btw
for 900 you could buy the stuff to do it your self and be able to do the gears more than one time i would look into doing it my self
87BrnRsd
1/2 ton status
Setting up gears is a pretty tough job. You have to have nice accurate tools on top of that (they are very precey).
The shop is ripping you off. Go somewhere else. Ring and pinion should be around $150. Install kit is about $35. You shouldnt spend more than about $500-550 on this job. I paid $250 for the installation of my front gears. Find a cheaper place, then spend the money you saved on a lockright, and still have money left over.
-Harrison
The shop is ripping you off. Go somewhere else. Ring and pinion should be around $150. Install kit is about $35. You shouldnt spend more than about $500-550 on this job. I paid $250 for the installation of my front gears. Find a cheaper place, then spend the money you saved on a lockright, and still have money left over.
-Harrison
K5MONSTERCHEV
1/2 ton status
lochenjons said:
Im sorry, how is that shop in business? He is making zero profit on the parts. What brand of gearset is it?
$250 labor for a front axle, what are you smoking? Thats comes out to 3 hours at $85/hour, it takes a good day to do a COMPLETE rebuild, not a half-ass shmeg over job. We charge $525 labor for font axles which is fair considering what we do and the fact it takes more time to tear down the front end, clean and repack the wheel bearings, adjust them, put the hubs together ect.
It might be worth your time to try and find an axle with 4.56 gears already installed. I bought a D44/14 bolt with 205 and both driveshafts for $300. I sold the 205 for $200. I had $100 in both axles before rebuild. they were both 8 lug. $900 is high in my area but you need a carrier.
