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Time to regear seriously

franco802

franco802

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Posts
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Location
San Diego, CA
should I go 4.88 or 4.56? I have stock 10 bolt axles with 3.08's and 35x12.5 15 bfg's th700r4 trans. I just took another trip up to Corral Canyon and the Alpine grade sucked bad, also didn't like watching my engine temp gauge climb to 220:eek1: These ****ty gears with my 35's are just putting too much stress on the engine and trans. Even when driving in 3rd on the freeway.

Please don't bring up the "you can just find 14 bolt axles it would be cheaper" comments. I don't have time to convert and rebuild axles/rear ends. Just want to take this beast somewhere and get gears put in. 4wheel parts quoted me $1k for both axles, parts, rebuild kits and labor with warranty. What do you guys think?
 
franco802 said:
should I go 4.88 or 4.56? I have stock 10 bolt axles with 3.08's and 35x12.5 15 bfg's th700r4 trans. I just took another trip up to Corral Canyon and the Alpine grade sucked bad, also didn't like watching my engine temp gauge climb to 220:eek1: These ****ty gears with my 35's are just putting too much stress on the engine and trans. Even when driving in 3rd on the freeway.

Please don't bring up the "you can just find 14 bolt axles it would be cheaper" comments. I don't have time to convert and rebuild axles/rear ends. Just want to take this beast somewhere and get gears put in. 4wheel parts quoted me $1k for both axles, parts, rebuild kits and labor with warranty. What do you guys think?
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I would go with 4.56 gears.

Go somewhere else to get your gears done. 4WP likes to pimp their genuine gears which are the worst you can possibly buy.

You should be able to pay $1K or less somewhere else with better quality stuff.
 
I agree with 4.56s, but consider swapping to a locker while you're at it. Those stock carriers don't hold up well in the rear.
 
I planned to do the same but then I found out I needed to change carriers to go with 4.56, or get a spacer for the ring gear. Is it aight to run em with the spacers??
 
wetbackZO said:
I planned to do the same but then I found out I needed to change carriers to go with 4.56, or get a spacer for the ring gear. Is it aight to run em with the spacers??
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I would avoid using a spacer if you possibly can. They should make "thick" gears for your axle which eliminates the need for the spacer.
 
Gosh damn, so having 4.56's put in to this thing is also going to be a pain?? Now I am reading about spacers and that its bad. no wonder everyone goes with the 14ff. What a pain in the ass. I remember when i had my jeep, everything was much simpler.
 
franco802 said:
Gosh damn, so having 4.56's put in to this thing is also going to be a pain?? Now I am reading about spacers and that its bad. no wonder everyone goes with the 14ff. What a pain in the ass. I remember when i had my jeep, everything was much simpler.
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You are buying new gears. You don't need the spacer. You just need to buy "thick" gears, they should be about the same price.

All axles are like this, not just 10 bolts.
 
wish I could put these in myself. i just don't know how to align everything and make sure it dosen't blow up, so i guess I will call my local gear guy down here tomorrow. Any locals have a guy they use to do their gears? I woudn't mind buying axles, but i just don't have the time or help to install them. I had purchased a 14bff last year and it sat for months. could never get a buddy over to help me. So i ended up selling it.
 
You could probably get away with finding a set of take-out 10 bolts with the fairly common 3.73 gears in them, change the diff oil, pack the bearings, check the brakes and swap them in. I doubt it would cost much more than $200-$300 and it would still be leaps and bounds better than those 3.08's. Yes there is the chance you might have to replace the ball joints or bearings, but then are you 100% sure your current axles aren't going to need some attention too? Maybe you could find a member in the SoCal area that would be willing to help you do the swap on a saturday for a few extra $$$.
 
Let me start by saying that 10 bolt axles there is no carrier split like most other axles. The stock carrier will accept 2.73-5.57 gearing. NO SPACER REQUIRED. Now might i mention that 4.56 gears in a 10 bolt axle the pinion gear is very small which equates to very weak. This is why most people choose to swap in 3/4 ton 14ff out back.
 
franco802 said:
Please don't bring up the "you can just find 14 bolt axles it would be cheaper" comments. I don't have time to convert and rebuild axles/rear ends. Just want to take this beast somewhere and get gears put in.
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If you are going to blatantly ignore the obvious good advice, do you just want us to make up something? You lost me? You would be dumb to invest that kind of money in 10B axles, end of story.
 
10 bolts from 2.73 and lower ( higher number ) use the same carrier . You will not need a spacer .

Maybe you should find 3/4 or 1 ton axles though . You can't wheel without them . You can only run 8.5 inch 10 bolts in musclecars :wink1:
 
3/4 Ton Blazer said:
If you are going to blatantly ignore the obvious good advice, do you just want us to make up something? You lost me? You would be dumb to invest that kind of money in 10B axles, end of story.
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No offense, but no help no 14bff. that's why the one I had never went in. I don't want to bother people on their days off to help me when i know they really don't want to. So, having someone regear for me is better because then I can just take it somewhere and be done with it. If I had someone do the axle swaps at a shop for me, it would cost a fortune. Better off buying a one ton truck with everything and wheel that instead.
 
franco802 said:
No offense, but no help no 14bff. that's why the one I had never went in. I don't want to bother people on their days off to help me when i know they really don't want to. So, having someone regear for me is better because then I can just take it somewhere and be done with it. If I had someone do the axle swaps at a shop for me, it would cost a fortune. Better off buying a one ton truck with everything and wheel that instead.
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Sorry, but why are you so against spending a "fortune" yet you can justify dropping $1000 into a set of 10 bolts? If you lived closer to me I'd offer to do the swap for you. It wouldn't be hard to locate a set of 3/4 ton axles, go through them, do the swap, and still charge way less than $1000. Surely there has to be a member in the SD area who's done this swap before and could use a little extra Xmas $$$. The thought of spending that kind of money just to regear a set of 10 bolts makes me cringe. :crazy:
 
BigEasy said:
Sorry, but why are you so against spending a "fortune" yet you can justify dropping $1000 into a set of 10 bolts? If you lived closer to me I'd offer to do the swap for you. It wouldn't be hard to locate a set of 3/4 ton axles, go through them, do the swap, and still charge way less than $1000. Surely there has to be a member in the SD area who's done this swap before and could use a little extra Xmas $$$. The thought of spending that kind of money just to regear a set of 10 bolts makes me cringe. :crazy:
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I am not against it at all!! i would loooove the 14bff or even a 14bsf on my K5. I talked to a shop about putting in a 14bff they said they would rebuild the rear axle install it and do all the proper mods to make it fit for about 3k. 1k sounds less than 3k to me. 4wheel parts guy offered to do both axles with master rebuild kits seals etc.. for $975 out the door with a warranty. Very tempting deal. I have spent alot of money on parts there and have known the guy for about 7 years.
 
I have had 4.56's with 32, 35, & 37" tires. I loved it with 32" tires. The RPM motor was in a great powerband on the highway. When I did the 35" tires I was a little disappointed because I lost a decent mount of power because of the tire height. It was ok because I have a pretty torque TPI350 in my truck but still not the best. With 37" tires I would have really liked 4.88 gears.

I would personally do one range deeper then you think you want. This will allow you to step up in tire height if you ever feel like it and also try an make sure you don't get disappointed with gear choice.

I was on the fence between 4.10's and 4.56's when I did my swap. I did 4.56's and was happy with them till I stepped up in tire height to 37". If I had done 4.10's I would have been kicking myself forever. If I had a do over though I would have done 4.88's.

Sure the pinion's are getting small but its a 10 bolt. It is only a matter of time till something breaks. Whether it is the R&P, carrier, or spider gears who cares, if any one of them breaks it is probably going to ruin the other stuff.

If you are in need of a traction device I would do it in the rear when you do the gear swap. If you don't need a locker get a good full case limited slip. This will eliminate the weak carrier and weak spider gears.

Harley
 
If it is a 3/4T 14B FF, it will bolt right in for the most part. You can get a conversion u-joint to make your current driveshaft a direct swap (Napa PN447 if I remember correctly). The spring perches are spaced differently on the 1 ton 14B FF. You may even be able to find a set of 3/4 Axles with 4:56's already in them. That would be alot cheaper to have installed as opposed to re-gearing your axles.
 
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