DAVEAUSTIN

Hey Guys:
I am thinking about getting 3.73 gears installed...I wanted to know what's involved in changing them AND how much will that roughly cost to have someone install them.

Thanks.

Devil Wolf

i dont know how to correctly set up a gear without having it whine so i cant help you with your first question, but i had mine done for 225 in labor for a t-lok and a gear set up.

the differential has to come out anyway for new gears, so doing a t-lok at the same time will save you money in the long run and the hassle of setting up a used gear later when you want to get rid of the one wheel peel.

shanec

That's a little bit over my head. What do you mean by this?

Devil Wolf

stock 7.5 has an open differential; power is only going to one wheel. the rear is set up in three parts: the differential, the ring, and the pinion. pic:



ring is on the left, seated on the differential. the pinion is behind the differential on the bottom of the assembly lined up with the ring gear.

everything comes out to do a gear install, might as well upgrade to a posi or t-lok (power to both wheels) while youre doing gears. if you do it later, its the same effort and cost and the gears have to be set up again, but this time used, which has the potential for gear whine because no one will be able to set them up EXACTLY how they were before.


GTs dont have this issue, the 8.8 has a posi rear end from the factory.

Silver Vert 06

The v6 cars came stock with an open differential. That means only one wheel puts power to the ground. When installing after market gears its a good idea to have a t-lok (limited slip differential) installed. New gears will make traction worse with an open differential. You may as well have both done at the same time because the cost of labor would be the same since the entire rearend will be apart.

DAVEAUSTIN

Thanks for all the replys... Does anyone know about how much in Labor it will cost? Is this a 1, 2 or 3, etc hour job?

Devil Wolf

depends how long it takes him to set up the gear properly. make sure you are going to someone with experience! anyone can set them up in a few hours, but it takes skill to set them up correctly and without whine! i had a guy spend 10 hours with my 4.10s and he still couldnt do it correctly. on the flip side, took another speed shop 2.5 hours to set up a silent 3.73 gear.

quotes should range from 200-400 for labor. a good shop should be able to get it done in 2-3 hours in real time, most shops like to quote for 4.

also, they should be silent as you drive away, whine from improperly set gears will only get worse, a lot of shops like to tell you it will go away as they wear in; this is not true so be careful.

illin

Just FYI, it is about the same cost to just buy a takeoff 8.8 rear and have a better setup all around. Yo get the gears you like, tlok, a stronger rear and a factory install. You are looking at less than $1000 installed.

You are going to to spend around $700-800 to buy the parts and have them installed...and there is always a chance you will have rear end whine. The 8.8 takeoff is a sure bet.

Devil Wolf

just to play devils advocate, it cost me less than 600 bucks to get my gears+t-lok+labor...thats quite a bit cheaper than the 8.8. and if you dont have a forced induction setup or are not a track junkie, i wouldnt want the extra weight of the larger and heavier rear.

remember too, if youre getting a take off with 3.73s or 4.10, all of those are NOT from the factory, someone took out the stock gear and set up the new one! buying a takeoff has the same risk for whine as a normal install does.


it is a lot easier to bolt up the 8.8 rear than do a gear install. the 8.8 swap is something you may be able to do yourself.

Dwisforme05

if your going with a 4.10 gear, you are going to have whine. its a very tight gear. i had some installed the other day and mine whine but i dont mind. also if you get motives they tend to whine more the FRPP because of the way they are cut.