Rear End Gears

optimus_prime0787 · March 30, 2008

how hard is it to install a ring and pinion on a 2006 silverado. ive heard a lot of horror stories on doing this and that you should only do this if you know how. they said the same thing about porting and polishing heads and that wasnt too bad. i work on c-130's in the AF and we have to deal with clearances and different tolerances. cant be too much different, right?

i currently have 3.23 gears in there now and i would like to put 3.73 in there mainly for pulling better and driving through the mountains (as i am moving to WV in two months). i really dont want to have to pay someone if i can do it myself and save a few hundred bucks...

dietz4ibanez · March 30, 2008

I am currently working on building a 14 bolt 9.5 for my truck. You can get a ring gear and pinion for like $175-$250 depending on brand. Than you will need the minor install kit for crush sleeve or shims if needed and all the seals for around $50...

You really need a press to put the bearings spacers and everything back onto the pinion gear. You will need a pinion depth gauge, measuring calipers and a couple other random tools like rubber hammer can be used, ect.

I only looked a couple of places for these tools that are needed and the range an additional $300-$500 depending on what you got. I did as much work as I could on my rear end and I think that I am going to leave the rest for someone who had experience. I spent a lot more money cause I had to buy axle shafts $350 and the full bearing kit that was like $200.

I thought that I could do mine but there is all the preloading and backlash that has to be within a 10,000th of an inch, and marking the teeth on the pinion gear with marking compound to check the pattern on the ring gear.

I figured that for the money that I paid for all these parts that it will be well worth it to have everything aligned for $250!

Hope this helps!

optimus_prime0787 · March 30, 2008

man that is kind of depressing. i love learning new things and doing them myself but with the lack of time i have because of getting out of the military and moving in two months it might just be easier to pay someone to deal with it.

so about $200 for the gears and another 50 for the installation kit...ii wonder if i could steal some tools from work enough to do it

desrtrat · March 30, 2008

i would check with some of the local wrecking yards, and see if they have one. then just R&R it

chakis24 · March 30, 2008

personally, id pay some one to do it. this way if its done wrong, its their fault and they need to pay up to fix it- it wont come out of your pocket again. especially for something as crucial as the rear end.

dietz4ibanez · March 31, 2008

Yeah the other thing to think about this type of a repair is if you did it yourself and say you bought the parts from Yukon gears they wont warranty if anything goes wrong unless it was professionally installed even though the warranty is only like 1 yr... Or something like that!

optimus_prime0787 · March 31, 2008

well i was reading about how to do it and looking at pictures of people doing it and it doesnt look too bad to be honest. one of my buddies at work knows a little bit about it (did a 4.10 swap in his mustang) and wants to help. the pressing the bearings and everything is easy as i can get a hydraulic press. i also have a magnetic dial indicator that i can use to check the backlash. from what i read as long as you shim it properly and get the wear pattern right you are money. if i decide to do it ill post up some pics that go step by step with any info that is important if anyone else decides to give it a whirl.

the only part that i think will be a bitch is torqueing the ring gear bolts...might have to use a vice?? im throwing up the idea of doing this instead of the planned Wait4Me tune...as i can do the tune afterwards so i dont have to send the PCM back to get the retune with the new gears.

from what i read i will see a 15% increase in power by the gear swap...pretty damn impressive for just going up a bit in gears (3.23 to 3.73)...im not too worried about the fuel mileage (even though in the mountains i think 3.73s will be better!!) also the little 4.3l needs all the help she can get in pulling power!

The Factory Man · March 31, 2008

well i was reading about how to do it and looking at pictures of people doing it and it doesnt look too bad to be honest. one of my buddies at work knows a little bit about it (did a 4.10 swap in his mustang) and wants to help. the pressing the bearings and everything is easy as i can get a hydraulic press. i also have a magnetic dial indicator that i can use to check the backlash. from what i read as long as you shim it properly and get the wear pattern right you are money. if i decide to do it ill post up some pics that go step by step with any info that is important if anyone else decides to give it a whirl. the only part that i think will be a bitch is torqueing the ring gear bolts...might have to use a vice?? im throwing up the idea of doing this instead of the planned Wait4Me tune...as i can do the tune afterwards so i dont have to send the PCM back to get the retune with the new gears. from what i read i will see a 15% increase in power by the gear swap...pretty damn impressive for just going up a bit in gears (3.23 to 3.73)...im not too worried about the fuel mileage (even though in the mountains i think 3.73s will be better!!) also the little 4.3l needs all the help she can get in pulling power!

You may have the knowledge and tools to do the job! Contrary to a previous posting, the tolerances are in thousands of an inch, not ten thousands. I have set up many differentials and I'm still not sure I would want to tackle this at home without a good selection of shims available to me.

optimus_prime0787 · March 31, 2008

well its official...i ordered a set of 3.73's from summit today. my truck only has 60,000 miles on it but i still decided to get new pinion bearings and both carrier bearings as i do not want to have to tear back into it later on to replace a failed one. not only that but i have it apart already and have to press them off..why not put new ones on?!?!

i also got the hellwig ez-990 helper springs from my rear leafs too..anyone have any experience with these?? i dont like how my truck squats with as little as 300 lbs on it!!!

i will be installing the gears this weekend at a buddies shop if they get here in the mail in time...i will take my time to get everything just right and take good pictures and post them on the install along with results. I cant wait to see how the truck responds to the 3.73's!!!

dietz4ibanez · March 31, 2008

well its official...i ordered a set of 3.73's from summit today. my truck only has 60,000 miles on it but i still decided to get new pinion bearings and both carrier bearings as i do not want to have to tear back into it later on to replace a failed one. not only that but i have it apart already and have to press them off..why not put new ones on?!?!

i also got the hellwig ez-990 helper springs from my rear leafs too..anyone have any experience with these?? i dont like how my truck squats with as little as 300 lbs on it!!!

i will be installing the gears this weekend at a buddies shop if they get here in the mail in time...i will take my time to get everything just right and take good pictures and post them on the install along with results. I cant wait to see how the truck responds to the 3.73's!!!

If you ordered them from yukon gears or something like that you should have them by this weekend. I ordered my stuff Sunday night and I had everything Tuesday except for the disc brake conversion which came today! But I didnt order the brakes till Tuesday anyways!

The leaf springs, hmm I dont know. I am planning on using some leaf springs off of a 3/4 ton truck. I know the add a leaf kits arent worth a flying flip.

But I usually put a lot of weight in my truck!