i just got my new gears (3.73's) in the mail from summit today and i've been calling all the shops around here asking for estimates. so far, the cheapest i have found is $275 (including the labor and the fluid). for $500, however, they told me that they would install new bearings. should i go for the new bearings? im a little tight for cash so if its not really needed i dont want to do it. what should i do? those of you that swapped your gears, did you also swap your bearings? thanks a lot for the advice!

 

It might be a good idea to go ahead and change your bearings before they cause trouble later down the road... However, see if you can't purchase them somewhere else. You know what they say... "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

Some food for thought.

-Flea

 

If you're tight on cash, a decent drivetrain mechanic should be able to evaluate your bearing condition. The problem is that evaluation requires disassembly. If your vehicle has alot of years and mileage on it, do yourself a favor and buy a complete kit with bearings; it's an expensive blunder if you have problems later. Shop around for the best priced kit and take it to them if it's cheaper.

 

considering my truck is 12 years old and it has over 100,000 miles, i think i am going to have them install the new bearings also. does $500 sound like a good price? that includes everything (fluid, seals, bearings, gasket, labor) except the gears, which i already purchased from summit.

 

$275 is a "good" price for a gear installation. The $500 is an "ok" price if they're replacing every bearing, including axle bearings. The kits can be found cheaper than that, but they're probably considering the additional labor beyond the gear change that it would take to install differential and axle bearings.