What's Involved in Re-gearing a JK, Doing your own re-gear DIY

RageKage

RageKage

Member
nbunga said:
Well thanks to WJCO I've decided to tackle regearing myself. Figured I'd do the front first since it's a take off Rubicon axle and it's not on the Jeep yet. Everything is going smooth so far. Just painted the gears to check the pinion depth and want to see other opinions on the markings. I'm finding it hard to actually see very defined marks.
View attachment 306043 View attachment 306044 View attachment 306045
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Did a quick search for correct patterns hopefully this helps. I think yours is too deep. IMG_8088.JPG


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WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
nbunga said:
Well thanks to WJCO I've decided to tackle regearing myself. Figured I'd do the front first since it's a take off Rubicon axle and it's not on the Jeep yet. Everything is going smooth so far. Just painted the gears to check the pinion depth and want to see other opinions on the markings. I'm finding it hard to actually see very defined marks.
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Don't blame me for getting yourself involved in this, lol. Personally, I would run that pattern. It's so close. What's your backlash at currently? Also, as far as seeing the mark better, use a little bit less paint. Also when you're trying to read the pattern, hold the ring gear with a glove really tight, then spin the pinion over while keeping pressure on the ring gear.
 
nbunga

nbunga

Caught the Bug
WJCO said:
Don't blame me for getting yourself involved in this, lol. Personally, I would run that pattern. It's so close. What's your backlash at currently? Also, as far as seeing the mark better, use a little bit less paint. Also when you're trying to read the pattern, hold the ring gear with a glove really tight, then spin the pinion over while keeping pressure on the ring gear.
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Good tip about holding the ring gear to give some resistance. Left a much better pattern. My backlash was a little high so I got that going to at .007" and cleaned everything up. Here's what I have now. Seems pretty good. 1531778891961.jpg 1531778940060.jpg
 
nbunga

nbunga

Caught the Bug
With the axle not in the Jeep it was actually very easy to get at everything. I just sat it up on some saw horses and put a couple of lag bolts through the holes in the bottom side of the shock brackets. I'm debating just removing the rear axle and doing the same thing. 1531779413853.jpg
 
nbunga

nbunga

Caught the Bug
So now I can't get the pinion nut tight enough to remove all of the play. Still moves in and out about 1/8". My electric impact is an older DeWalt plug in. Is it that hard to tighten the crush sleeve down?
 
VeruGE*144

VeruGE*144

Caught the Bug
nbunga said:
So now I can't get the pinion nut tight enough to remove all of the play. Still moves in and out about 1/8". My electric impact is an older DeWalt plug in. Is it that hard to tighten the crush sleeve down?
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4 foot cheater bar?
 
VeruGE*144

VeruGE*144

Caught the Bug
nbunga said:
So now I can't get the pinion nut tight enough to remove all of the play. Still moves in and out about 1/8". My electric impact is an older DeWalt plug in. Is it that hard to tighten the crush sleeve down?
Click to expand...

IMG_7044.JPG
You will probably need another cheater bar setup to hold the yoke in place, if using a cheater bar for the pinion nut.
 
WJCO

WJCO

Meme King
nbunga said:
So now I can't get the pinion nut tight enough to remove all of the play. Still moves in and out about 1/8". My electric impact is an older DeWalt plug in. Is it that hard to tighten the crush sleeve down?
Click to expand...

To start the crush, it can take about 300+ ft pounds. Buy a yoke holder and wedge it onto the ground or something solid so the yoke doesn't turn. Then get another breaker bar for the pinion nut and use a jack handle for a cheater bar. If that axle housing isn't heavy enough, it may lift up when you torque it. I would only go about 45 degrees of turning, then check the bearings for play/preload. If you go to far, you have to re-do the process and use a new sleeve and nut. Take your time.

RAT-18002_ml.jpg
 
nbunga

nbunga

Caught the Bug
WJCO said:
To start the crush, it can take about 300+ ft pounds. Buy a yoke holder and wedge it onto the ground or something solid so the yoke doesn't turn. Then get another breaker bar for the pinion nut and use a jack handle for a cheater bar. If that axle housing isn't heavy enough, it may lift up when you torque it. I would only go about 45 degrees of turning, then check the bearings for play/preload. If you go to far, you have to re-do the process and use a new sleeve and nut. Take your time.

View attachment 306060
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I made a homemade yoke holder, drilled holes in some angle iron to mount to the flange. Couldn't find any bolts at the moment so I called it a night. Hopefully wrap it up in the morning.
VeruGE*144 said:
View attachment 306057
You will probably need another cheater bar setup to hold the yoke in place, if using a cheater bar for the pinion nut.
Click to expand...
 
nbunga

nbunga

Caught the Bug
Clutch said:
Andy, how did the regear go?


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Click to expand...

Just saw this. The regear went really good. I did the front axle before I installed it under the Jeep, it was nice having it sitting on saw horses. The rear axle went pretty smooth too. I did break the copper air line on the locker in the process of installing and removing everything. Luckily I was able to braze it back on to the collar it came off of. Still holding. I’ve got probably about 6000 miles on them now with no problems. It’s a world of difference going from 3.73 to 4.88. I actually use 6th gear now.
 
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