Man, I am comfortable tearing an engine down, but I sure leave the gear setup to the pro's. I watched one do mine and well.... He needed shim sets and special gauges to get it proper after just changing the bearings in my rear end. This is using my old carrier even.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail >I'll also mention a bearing press and that all valuable tool - experience!
Like me, he wasn't born knowing that. And they are not the same in all respects.
I've done several differentials with good success. The first one I did was a straight replacement when I chipped a tooth and that really suckered me in for the later ones - pinion depth was dead on first try, backlash was right in the center of the range, wear pattern took one shim change to get dead on - man, this is easy! The other times were a mix, but after taking nearly two days to set up the last one I did, I came to the same conclusion you did: pay a pro! I like to never got the pattern right on that one when I was going to a different ratio.
You can mess things up even if you have the special tools. You get these tools from Miller Special Tools, who makes all the special tools for Jeep and Chrysler. Your dealer can order them for you.
Earle
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