Has anyone DIYed their gears?

It has been a struggle to find a shop in Chicagoland that I trust with installing gears. Has anyone DIYed it? Is it really that scary? I have done my share of wrenching, including rebuilding two transmissions, replacing the chain tensioner on the 5.7, and other things of that nature, so I am wondering if this is something I should try to tackle or should I ship out the parts to a shop on the West coast?

 

Honestly, gears aren't horrible. They are part science and part art. Any old school mechanic should be able to do it.

Oh, you'll need a dial indicator to do it.

 

They aren’t that bad, as stated above you will need a dial indicator for backlash, a beam type inch pound torque wrench for rotational force, micrometer for measuring shims. And obviously a press, 1/2 drive torque wrench.

 

I.e. everything OP should already have after doing two transmissions.

 

Correct. I have the tools. It's more that everyone says that you have to have a ton of experience doing them in order to get it done right. Also, some shops don't want to touch the job, so it makes me wonder, is it because it's that difficult, or is it because it takes forever to do it right and they would rather make their money doing "oil changes".

 

I did mine and it went well along with a Speedmaster LSD.
Some good info:
https://www.tundras.com/threads/diy...ntial-regear-at-home-not-for-beginners.67185/

The man...Zuk:

http://gearinstalls.com/

 

To do them right it takes time.

 

My '21 is not my daily, so I can take as long as I need to get it done. I don't care about speed. I care about getting it done right.

 

Latter. I did hypoid gears at home a few times, it is just taking your time, following a known procedure and checking your work, i.e. exactly what a typical "oil changes" place does not do. It is basically getting a good contact pattern and a proper backlash.

 

@copmagnet82, keep this post somewhat updated. I'd like to see how it goes for you. Same story here. Likely doing gears this winter.

FYI, ECGS offers a rebuilt front. You just return yours to them within a month. They don't offer it for the 10.5" because of shipping size and scarcity.