Getting Ready
So, now you have a basic understanding of the differential. You also have gathered all the necessary tools so you don’t end up damaging expensive parts, or burning down your vehicle out of anger (we’ve all wanted to do that before).
The next step in the process is preparing for the task. We recommend having the differential / axle out of the vehicle to work on it, though you can do it in the vehicle if necessary. Having a 2 post lift is helpful so see if any of your friends will let you borrow their garage and lift for the weekend. If not, you can do it on the ground / jack stands. It’s just a lot more comfortable working on a bench or some sort of axle stand (you could even make one out of some 2x4’s).
It’s also recommended to make a clean workspace where you can lay out all the bearings, shims, and other “delicate” parts where they won’t be rubbed through dirt and grit. You can use some wide masking paper or cut open garbage bags to tape down on your bench. Print out our handy and free organizer sheet so you can keep track of everything during the process.
Another tip is to bribe a friend or family member to give you a second set of hands when disassembling and assembling the differential. It can be challenging to hold everything at once sometimes, and then you end up dropping parts that can get dirty or bent. So plan to have someone there to simply help hold things if possible.
Of course you need parts too. You can either figure out the parts you need and order them, or we can help you figure that out. We are a dealer for Revolution Gears and can supply you with anything they offer - gears, master install kits, yokes, etc. We can also just let you know which part numbers you need to order if you want to purchase them directly- just reach out! So for example if you want to change your Jeep gears to 5.38 ratio, we can tell you the part numbers needed for the front and rear gear sets, master install kits (bearings, shims, ring gear bolts, pinion nut, pinion seal), any extra axle seals, differential carrier options, and more.
The best gears in the business!
If you don’t know what gear ratio you need, this Tremec Calculator can help. There are also tons of charts for specific vehicles that show engine RPM for certain gear ratios and tires sizes.
Next step will be learning about gear patterns and the other critical specifications. Check out the next post to see more!
