Which locker?

I just wanted to update on this post. I picked up the jeep from Poly Performance today. Had gears installed, rear axles, and rear ARB locker installed. Total cost with labor came out to $3200. There were a few other misc parts in there as well, like a new diff cover since mine was banged up.

Im still breaking in the gears, but i was amazed at the difference. There is a grade on my way home (Cuesta Grade US HWY 101 north, just north of San Luis Obispo). With the 3.73 gears on 35" tires going up that grade the auto trans would bounce between 3rd and 4th to maintain around 70 mph. Coming home today with 4.56 gears it only shifted out of OD to 4th and maintained 4th gear at about 3200 rpm all the way up the grade. The part that confused me most was seeing 17.2 MPG average with the new gears even though i was at a higher rpm.

Anyhow, gonna put my 200 miles on, change the fluid, then go wheeling May 7th thru the 10th out at Last Chance Canyon/Goler Gulch area. If anyone is interested i will update how the upgrades did.

I want to say thank you to everyone for all your advise. It was much appreciated and listened to. Thank you. I cant say it enough.

Sent from my SM-G935V using WAYALIFE mobile app

scrota76 said:

I just wanted to update on this post. I picked up the jeep from Poly Performance today. Had gears installed, rear axles, and rear ARB locker installed. Total cost with labor came out to $3200. There were a few other misc parts in there as well, like a new diff cover since mine was banged up.

Im still breaking in the gears, but i was amazed at the difference. There is a grade on my way home (Cuesta Grade US HWY 101 north, just north of San Luis Obispo). With the 3.73 gears on 35" tires going up that grade the auto trans would bounce between 3rd and 4th to maintain around 70 mph. Coming home today with 4.56 gears it only shifted out of OD to 4th and maintained 4th gear at about 3200 rpm all the way up the grade. The part that confused me most was seeing 17.2 MPG average with the new gears even though i was at a higher rpm.

Anyhow, gonna put my 200 miles on, change the fluid, then go wheeling May 7th thru the 10th out at Last Chance Canyon/Goler Gulch area. If anyone is interested i will update how the upgrades did.

I want to say thank you to everyone for all your advise. It was much appreciated and listened to. Thank you. I cant say it enough.

Sent from my SM-G935V using WAYALIFE mobile app

Click to expand...

Man, that's a pretty good price. It's 2200 here just to do a regear. I'm waiting as much as I can till I get back to the mainland.


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scrota76 said:

Anyhow, gonna put my 200 miles on, change the fluid, then go wheeling May 7th thru the 10th out at Last Chance Canyon/Goler Gulch area. If anyone is interested i will update how the upgrades did.

Sent from my SM-G935V using WAYALIFE mobile app

Click to expand...

With that low a milleage on them, go easy on the throttle when off roading, within that 000-600 mile range, the steel is still tempering under load. I'll go ahead and leave this excerpt from a break in recommendation I read a long time ago...

In most stock vehicles with stock tires there is seldom a risk of a burned gear set. For those of us who modify and use our trucks, there many situations that can contribute to burned gear syndrome. Motorhomes, towing, tall tires, and high numeric gear ratios (4.56 & up) can all generate a lot of heat and cause the gear oil to break down. The greatest damage to a new gear set results from running for ten minutes or more during the first 500 miles when the oil is very hot. Any heavy use or overloading while the oil is extremely hot will cause it to break down and allow irreversible damage to the ring & pinion.

In order to make them run cooler and quieter, new gears are lapped at the factory. However, they are not lapped under the same pressures that driving creates. The loads generated while driving force any microscopic high spots on the gear teeth back into the surface of the metal. This is called "work hardening". Work hardening is similar to forging in the way that it compresses the metal molecules into a very compact and hard formation. This can only be accomplished if the metal surfaces are lubricated and the gear temperature stays cool enough that the molecular structure does not change. If the temperature of the metal gets hot enough to change the molecular structure, it will soften the surface instead of hardening it. This may seen like a balancing act, but it all happens easily and passively as long as the oil keeps the gear cool while it is breaking in. Some of the synthetic oils on the market today can help a gear set live longer. I've had great success with Red Line ®, Torco ®, and Richmond Gear ® synthetic gear oils. These oils will continue to lubricate at temperatures where many crude oils break down.