from what i understand there is some measuring and some preload set involved which i dunno too much about. i'd like to know if i will be required to do all that even if i reuse my old gears. i just wanna change the bearings. most of the posts i've read are about aftermarket gears. can i do this without any special tools or am i better off taking it somewhere? AFAIK the front bearing should come out easily and the back will have to be pressed on to the shaft. also not sure how the races would have to be removed.

TIA

guess it depends on what you call special tools, if you have a dial type in/lb torque wrench, dial indicator, depth mike or pinion setting tool, mic or dial caliper, bearing seperator and a press you ought to be ok. you ought to be able to get the pinion depth reset the first time by measureing the thickness of the old and new bearings and adding or subtracting from the shim thickness, most likely it'll be the same shim. after the pinion is reinstalled and preload set reinstall the carrier and check back lash and contact pattern. the races come out pretty easy with a BFH and punch.

looks like it'll be going to a shop

i just got quoted about $400 to change all the bearings except the 2 axle ones. is this reasonable? they said $250 alone for labor and the rest for parts.

Labor is darn near $65 an hr in most shops. They get $45-50 in lawnmower shops. And most places charge close to 200% on parts.

So its worth it in some cases just make sure your getting quality work. Size of the place and the people working there.

If anything cost me more than $300 I do it myself but that is a tricky job.

i would love to save the money but i dont have the knowledge or the tools to mess with rear ends. that $400 is sounding not too bad right now. i just called 2 other places and they said about 500 to 600. problem with the first shop is,,,from being there i dont think i trust 'em enough for this kinda job.

150 for parts seems a little high, but not out of line and the labor sounds right. might be a good time to think about how many of the needed tools you could buy with the labor part of it, if you have the skills to do the work.

$250 labor sounds about right. With the rear in the car it's about a 3-4 hour job; at a typical $65/hr shop rate, that works out to somewhere in the $200-250 range. The bearing kit costs about $100, and $50 for fluid, supplies, cleanup, disposal charges, etc. is pretty much in line for what a shop has to charge.

Considering that if you change the pinion bearings, you're going through exactly the same procedure putting it back together as you would if you were changing gears, now would be the time to spend the extra $200 for the gears of your choice. The labor charge will be the same. All they'll do is lay your old pinion aside and put the bearings on the new one instead, and stick the new ring gear to the carrier instead of the old one.

No need to reshim anything. Just replace the bearings, reuse the old shims, and set the pininon preload with a new crush collar. With air tools, 2 hours max! BTW, If anyone can explain how a solid pinion spacer can benefit any rear axle assembly let me know. Once preload is set how can the collar become "loose". The driving force of the pinion trying to separate from the ring gear is absorbed by the larger rear bearing on the pinion gear. If preload on the crush collar is set right, the pinion bearings are touching the races. Why would they get loose!

so now i have some decisions to make. basically my main goal with this car is to run high 12s but low 13s would also be fine, while keeping the LTR setup. i never thought about upgrading rear gears. i think the highest i would go is 3:42s, since i often do go on the highway and dont like the RPMs to go up too high. how would these gears go with my current setup and future plans? would i spin even more if i switch? traction is already a problem for me.

also since i'll have to get this done no matter what, how many hours labor would they charge me for if i actually bring the rear end to the shop? it doesnt look like a big deal to remove it or put it back in. i wouldn't mind doing that. wanna try and save as much as i can especially if i end up buying new gears.

TIA

you won't save any on labor if you r&r the rear. i'd guess the flat rate to be around 3.5 to 4 hours. you might get lucky and find a shop to make an allowance for the rear being out, it'd help too if you pulled the axles and did a little cleaning. might want to weld the tubes to the center section while you're at it. i'd look in yellow pages under transmission and driveline instead of auto repair.

not sure what is meant by this. you talking about the outside part of the housing?

i found a guy who'd do it for $400 parts and labor. i'll call him tomorrow and ask if it'd be less by bringing the rear there. one more thing. will it be worth spending all this money on just bearings on a 10 bolt? from what i've heard these rear ends tend to be weak and i'd like it to last me for a while longer. i'm not pushing out insane amounts of power, but i do tend to run the car hard every once in a while. mainly just on weekends.