ring & pinions

[jme94xlt]

I'm thinking about doing my suspension to my 94 explorer this summer (yes, 4wd). Right now I'm looking at a James Duff 2.5" suspension lift, Rancho RS5000 shocks and steering stabilizer (because I can), 4.10 gears front and rear, and a Detroit locker in the rear. Sooner or later I'll upgrade to BFG 31x12.50R15 A/T's on AE 589 15x8" wheels. I still have a whole lot of miles left on my Michelin LTX M/S's. My question is, what's the best way to go about having my gears changed out? Should I just take it to an offroad place and say "give me some 4.10 gears", or should I go ahead and buy the ring & pinion set online and have someone put them in, so I know exactly what I'm getting? What brands are most people getting for their ring & pinions when upgrading? I know of Superior Gear, Precision Gear, Genuine Gear, and Motive Gear. Also, about what price are 4.10 gears running at (without installation)? Thanks for your help.

 

[Alec]

Gears are usually about $200 or a bit below. I bought mine from and had mine done at 4WheelParts and they were great. Not the cheapest, but good service and good folks. Many places will not install customer provided parts, so if you have a specific place in mind to get them done, ask first.

 

[ajevenson]

The cheapest I've found was a set of brand new 4.10's for the 8.8 for $110 on ebay and $179 for the dana 35 4.10's from www.completeoffroad.com.
The trade off with going to a shop is that they make their 10-15% markup on the gears that they sell. The cheapest I was quoted for gears up here was $850 ($530 american). I ended up buying mine for $560 ($349 american) by shopping around on eBay and offroad sites.
As Alec said most shops wont install parts that you supply (especially if they're used), so either find a local mechanic who knows how to do it or get a friend who's done it before. 8.8" are fairly easy to set up but its the D35 that can be a bear. Make sure your mechanic knows what/how a D35 works and that he's set one up before.

 

[jme94xlt]

Thanks for the responses, I'll take all this into consideration.

 

[Jefe]

In my experience (I've regeared twice) It is a lot cheaper to go to a Rear-End shop, than to a 4x4 shop. Do research, ask people that race (as in 1/4mi, etc) and other 4x4 guys where they get rear ends done. Find who does good work for a good price. Diff gears are something that you don't mess with price over quality, so go with a brand name.

When you find a nice shop, just ask for a quote broken out and you'll be able to see the price they're charging for parts. Just know, that like mentioned, they do make quite a bit of their profit off of the gears, so they may change the quote if you bring in your own.

First time I regeared (4.10's) I was clueless and so I paid $1200 to an off-road shop, second time (4.88's) I shoped around, did some research, pulled my own front diff and did it all for $800, where the same off-road shop was quoting me $1400+ (realize that I live in So Cal, where everything custom is much more expensive)