Gear upgrade opinions

jumpmanpz

New member
I'm running 35's Kumho road venture m/t's,also have a 3" lift kit on my 2010 jk Sahara to help with clearance...I was wondering if its a huge deal to upgrade my gears from stock to help push those huge tires around...I'm a weekend warrior,otherwise my jk is a daily driver to work during the week...new to the forum so any advise is appreciated..
 

WJCO

Meme King
I'm running 35's Kumho road venture m/t's,also have a 3" lift kit on my 2010 jk Sahara to help with clearance...I was wondering if its a huge deal to upgrade my gears from stock to help push those huge tires around...I'm a weekend warrior,otherwise my jk is a daily driver to work during the week...new to the forum so any advise is appreciated..

Welcome to WAL. Based on your post, gears are not something you want to tackle yourself. They require specialty tools and are fairly time-consuming and require a bit of knowledge/experience. If you plan on doing them at a shop, you're looking anywhere from 1000-1500 usually, parts and labor for both axles, depending on the shop. I would recommend 4.88s for your setup.
 
I was wondering if its a huge deal to upgrade my gears from stock to help push those huge tires around.

Changing your gears is actually very simple if you have the right tools and are mechanically inclined. One thing you'll need is a dial indicator so you can check backlash once there in. I'm sure there if you looked on the net there are several videos showing how to. Otherwise as stated above, expect to pay around $1000 for a shop to do it for you. $1500 would be on the high side.
 

dwvninety

New member
I'm running 35's Kumho road venture m/t's,also have a 3" lift kit on my 2010 jk Sahara to help with clearance...I was wondering if its a huge deal to upgrade my gears from stock to help push those huge tires around...I'm a weekend warrior,otherwise my jk is a daily driver to work during the week...new to the forum so any advise is appreciated..

Welcome to WAL
 

allwhitejeeps

New member
Changing your gears is actually very simple if you have the right tools and are mechanically inclined. One thing you'll need is a dial indicator so you can check backlash once there in. I'm sure there if you looked on the net there are several videos showing how to. Otherwise as stated above, expect to pay around $1000 for a shop to do it for you. $1500 would be on the high side.

There are a few things I would say to not do yourself and gear change is one of them. But if you trust yourself to do it perfect and have all the tools then I would consider doing it yourself. It would be a shame to have everything break if it is not done correctly
 

2nd.gunman

Caught the Bug
There are a few things I would say to not do yourself and gear change is one of them. But if you trust yourself to do it perfect and have all the tools then I would consider doing it yourself. It would be a shame to have everything break if it is not done correctly

This is exactly right! Setting up gears isn't that hard but it's got to be right. If you put them in and the backlash is a little bit out or the pattern is a little bit off you need pull them out and do it again and again until it's right. If you're not willing to do this don't attempt them yourself
 

jorgelrod

Hooked
Like most guys have said, this is not your avg weekend mechanic type project unless you have the correct tools and experience. With that said, if you live in say Florida, regearing will not look like much off a difference except when passing other vehicles, but if you live in an area where hills and mountains are a common occurrence, you will see the value of regearing immediately. I will always say yes to regearing after putting bigger tires, It'll give you better performance, less engine wear, and return some of your lost fuel economy...
 

OkstateJK

New member
Personally, new gears was the single best mod I've done on my Jeep (2014 JKU). But mine came with 3.21's and I run very heavy 35" Toyo MT's. I now have 4.56. I really like weekend projects and doing stuff myself on the Jeep but gears were not something I wanted to tackle. I paid a shop to do it and would gladly do it again. It took them about 8 hours to do both axles. Cost seems to vary by region you're in. In OK, $1500-$1800 is the going rate at a reputable shop.
 

RedSyndrome

Member
I'm running 35's Kumho road venture m/t's,also have a 3" lift kit on my 2010 jk Sahara to help with clearance...I was wondering if its a huge deal to upgrade my gears from stock to help push those huge tires around...I'm a weekend warrior,otherwise my jk is a daily driver to work during the week...new to the forum so any advise is appreciated..

Well, you don't say what you have now, but with the Sahara I would think 3:73's. With the 3.6 engine and 35's how does it feel to you? There is a good gear/tire chart posted here at;
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-Every-Newbie-has-about-the-Jeep-JK-Wrangler

Looks like 4:10 would bring you back close to stock, 4:56 would give you power and 4:88 would make you have plenty of power to crawl up rocks. Each will affect your mileage. Also think about future upgrades. Will you go to bigger tire on your current axles? You only want to regear once.
 

cozdude

Guy with a Red 2-Door
Well, you don't say what you have now, but with the Sahara I would think 3:73's. With the 3.6 engine and 35's how does it feel to you? There is a good gear/tire chart posted here at;
http://wayalife.com/showthread.php?...s-Every-Newbie-has-about-the-Jeep-JK-Wrangler

Looks like 4:10 would bring you back close to stock, 4:56 would give you power and 4:88 would make you have plenty of power to crawl up rocks. Each will affect your mileage. Also think about future upgrades. Will you go to bigger tire on your current axles? You only want to regear once.

He has a 2010 so he has the 3.8 not the3.6. Also it is pointless to go from 3.73 to 4.10 even if he had a 3.6.
 
He has a 2010 so he has the 3.8 not the3.6. Also it is pointless to go from 3.73 to 4.10 even if he had a 3.6.

^^^This. He could also have 3.21's. Either way you only want to do gears once because of the cost so best do em right. I would say either 4.56 or 4.88's. If you do a lot of highway driving the 4.56 will net you a little better fuel mileage. If you off road a lot and do more around town driving then 4.88's:thumb:
 

RJEEPO

New member
just had 4.88s put in my Sport (35" M/Ts, cut fenders no suspension mods) and love it, got the off the line acceleration back and running on the freeway is so much more enjoyable and dare I say it effortless again. went with 4WP install as got it all warrantied for extra peace of mind since the factory warranty is now a goner for sure. did not do any lockers as D30 up front and depending on the stock BLD system. plus barely do any hard core wheeling as is. but I tell ya this jeep is more than capable enough and has yanked plenty others out the mud so far :) with one of those orange ARB snatch straps. step by step more mods to follow just can't do it all at once!
 
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