jdphillips73

Im about to change from 3.55 to 4.10 on my f-150 to help for towing and Ive been researching for the past month about proceedures and tools. I have seen that you should have a press (check) lots of hand tools (check) plus torque wrench, breaker bar , etc.. (check) I do not have the calipers to measure tolerences, i have heard some say they did it with feeler gauges (check) anyone have any hints, tips, experience on changing your own gears. How long did it take you on your first time.

I would like to use the truck as practice on my mustang and perform the same thing on it..

06elnr

I would not try it...

marcuskeeler

Absolutely DO NOT attempt this unless you have ALL the right tools including a preload gauge AND experience, a lot of it.

Take it to a shop and save yourself untold grief.

howarmat

have you ever done a gear install before?

black S197

Yes I have.. 3 times on jack stands. It is much harder than a 9". It sucks.

jdphillips73

No, I havent ever done gears.. I have rebuilt a 350 engine in my chevelle, installed a tranny, and countless other items on lots of cars, i also built a 2600 sq ft house ...i did all electrical, heating, cooling, plumbing, siding, and other things... i say that to only say that i consider myself mechanically inclined.. I have heard many folks say that they have done this... I understand that many dont want to and would not attempt it. Im looking for folks that have already done it... surely there is someone on here??

Thurman

DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!!!!

marcuskeeler

Yes,I have. It was not good. The things whined bad and I ended up taking it to a shop within days. I've done the whole Engine/gearbox rebuild thing many times and I'm very DIY. My point there is that having experience at brain surgery does not qualify you to fly the space shuttle, there's certainly no disgrace involved

howarmat

if you are hurting for 300-400 bones then try the truck, but the money i paid for my gears and my LTs was some of the best spent 750 i have done to the car

281GT

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do anything. If you beleive that you can't do something it will come true!!
I would not reccomend a gear cange for a newbie but....
You've rebuilt an engine so you obviosly have a good degree of mechanical aptitude. Based on that I would think you can do this.
I did two sets of 8.8 gears last year. Both are working fine.
It IS a pain in the @$$ but if you're careful and have the right tools you'll be ok.
You will need a hydraulic press to get the old pinion bearing off.
Air tools are your friends!!!
Don't count on saving the pinion bearing as there is a good chance of ruining the old one getting it off. Change the bearing race in the housing also. A bearing and a race should always be replaced in a pair as they wear together.
Most ring and pinion sets come with pinion shims but no carrier shims. You may or may not need carrier shims. Of the two I did last year, one needed a carrier adjustment, the other did not.
One one of the 8.8s' I did gears in last year we first discovered that we had to move the pinion gear a lot further foreward than it was to get the right amount of backlash. (approx. 0.010"). Even though the backlash was ok at this point the gears howled on acceleration and decelleration. We took it apart again and used shims to move the carrier away from the pinion, then brought the pinion back to it's original position and all was good.
On the other 8.8" we did all that was neccesary was a couple of thousands adjustment to the pinion depth and it was bang on.
Don't use the crush sleeve more than once. Get a spare as the kit will only come with one and sometimes it is neccesary to take it apart and re-do it.
I would suggest having carrier shims on hand. Ford sells a kit that includes a selection of carrier shims, pinion shims, a crush sleeve and pinion seal. I would suggest getting this kit in addtion to what comes with your ring and pinion set. If you are able to do the job with what comes in the ring and pinion set fine, you can take the other kit back if you don't need it.
The pinion nut is torqued to a very high spec. You'll want a good 1/2" drive torque wrench. Be prepared for something like 250 ft lbs to get the sucker off and something similar to torque it back on.
Also use the new pinion nut that comes in your kit.
You CAN do this, just take your time. Count on this eating up an entire day. Remember the old rule:
The amount of time required to do any particular job will automatically expand to the amount of time available x .37

Good luck!!!