Going 4.10's and Aussie Locker

I have been pondering a gear swap for some time now, and it is all finally coming together. I have been driving on my 32's and 3.73's for a while now, my fuel mileage and general driveability are suffering. Regearing to 4.10s will put me a touch deeper than stock with my 32's, and I can bump to 33's and be spot on. On down the line, I can run 35's with the 4.10's if I really want to, but it will be about like it is now.

My truck has 125k on it now, so it won't hurt to freshen up the axles while I'm at it.

For the rear-

I have a brand new set of Yukon 4.10 gears for my 8.8 on the way. I have a complete overhaul kit for my 8.8, new bearings, seals, everything. I also have an open carrier, Aussie locker and 3 quarts of Amsoil gear oil. I plan to rebuild and set up the rear end myself. It will come out from under the truck, be cleaned up, painted, rebuilt and set up over a day. (I hope)

For the front-

I have a used set of 4.10's, but found a third member at my salvage yard factory geared with 4.10's. It only has 40k on it. I bought and paid just a little more than what it would cost me to rebuild my third member. I figure since I don't have to set up the gears or rebuild it, I am way ahead. I cracked the cover the other day, the gear mesh is perfect, oil was pretty good, no shavings or anything. Buttoned it back up and refilled with oil. It's going to be a bolt in deal.

awesome

I have 4.10 with 35's in the BII and with the V8 and 4r70w highway is *****in, and its still low enough for trails

4.10 with 33" will kick ass

Thats awesome. I wish i had a locker in the rear, and not that damn limited suck ford threw back there.

410Fortune said:

awesome

I have 4.10 with 35's in the BII and with the V8 and 4r70w highway is *****in, and its still low enough for trails

4.10 with 33" will kick ass

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Thats the exact setup I'll go with my '93-97 Ranger that I'll eventually be building (haha, when I'm not living in IN, have a garage, etc... EVENTUALLY!)

Phase one begins tomorrow- the front differential will be installed, everything connected except for the front DS, that way if it accidentally gets put into 4wd, there will be no bindage or carnage. I just hope it doesn't snow or something like that.

I will have everything in for the rear rebuild / regear next week and will do that ASAP. I have a Ford dealership that will press my bearings on the carrier and pinion and set it up for 2 hours of shop labor. 2 x $45 = $90 not to bad IMO. I have to take them the bare axle to save from having to tear it all down. They will do it all for 6.7 hours of labor, too much money for me. Its all coming together nicely.

Front diff is in, filled with synthetic gear oil, a nice fresh coat of paint. It doesn't make any gear noise bolted right in.

The superlift helped with the install a little I guess, the rear crossmember got in the way a little, but the drop brackets made it easier to remove the differential. It sat low enough I was able to fill it with oil through the wheel well opening. I am half way there I guess.

Its all done, finally. I rebuilt the rear axle, replaced all seals and bearings. After some problems got the aussie locker in and working.

My speedo is now off +1 MPH vs. the old -2 MPH. I plan to get my friend at the dealership to recalibrate it and hopefully get it within .5 + -

The rear end makes a little noise, not loud but noticeable, I can only assume the new gears will break in and it will get a little quieter. If not, I dunno.

I can't really get into it hard until I get the gears broken in, but the power is nice already. I barely have to get into the throttle and I get up to 50 MPH quickly around town. 4 low is going to be stout.

Sweet i knew you could do it Evan!

glad to hear that everything worked out for you.

For the benefit of those who want to do a gear swap, Ill break down my costs and what I got and did.

I started with a IFS pumpkin from a salvage yard. 4.10 gears from the factory- $200.

4.10 Yukon Gears for the 8.8- I have $35 in them and 8 hours of my time, I traded for them. To buy new, figure on $150-$170.

Yukon Gears master install kit, new bearings and seals for the whole rear axle, including outer axle bearings and seals, an extra crush sleeve. $138

Gear Oil- 3 quarts for the front, $8 a quart for full synthetic. You would need twice that for a new gear setup, the oil needs to be changed after 500 miles.

8 Quarts for the rear for a full rebuild. It takes 5 when bone dry, then will only take about 3 for the second change. Use cheap stuff the first time, then full synthetic for the second.

5 x $4 = $20 + 6 x $8 = $48 = $68

I got my rear ring and pinion set up at a dealer for $45 an hour, charged for 2 hours because I took the stripped axle to them to be set up.

I installed an Aussie Locker, which is entirely optional, and depending on what you have as far as carriers can vary costs. Aussie lockers from offroadlockers cost $250

$200- Front Pumpkin
$35- Gears
$138- Rebuild Kit 8.8
$68- Oil
$90- Labor
$250 Locker

My total cost-
$781

As far as difficulty, this is a fairly labor intensive swap, the differentials are heavy, many sockets and tools are needed. Air tools helps a whole lot. I spent extra time cleaning and painting, making everything just right, so I spent 20+ hours of my time on the swap. Its not a job for the meek, but over a weekend and with a couple of friends a guy could do it.

MountaineerGreen said:

The rear end makes a little noise, not loud but noticeable, I can only assume the new gears will break in and it will get a little quieter. If not, I dunno.

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Update: I changed the rear differential fluid today at 500 miles for the gear break in. I used Amsoil 75w90 Full Synthetic gear oil in- no more gear noise. It made some noise all the way up until I changed the oil. So, run synthetic gear oil with aftermarket gears and properly setup, they wont make noise.

I love the 4.10s, city mileage picked up, highway may suffer a little, I still don't know, but the power is worth it.